Giuseppe Meazza
Encyclopedia
Giuseppe "Peppino" Meazza (dʒuˈzɛppe meˈattsa; 23 August 1910 – 21 August 1979), also known as il Balilla, was an Italian
footballer playing mainly for Internazionale
in the 1930s, scoring 242 goals in 365 games for the club. He led Italy to win two World Cups
: in 1934
and in 1938
, winning the Golden Ball Award in 1934. He is widely considered the best player of his generation, and one of the greatest of all time. He has been ranked fourth-best player in the history of World Cup.
. He was a great leader with excellent shooting and intoxicating dribbling skill, an eye for the pass and, despite his middle height, an exceptional heading ability.
His nickname, "il Balilla", was given to him in 1927 by his older teammate Leopoldo Conti
, who thought "Pepp", who was only 17 when he joined the senior team, was too young to be associated to the senior team, and was surprised after Inter coach Arpad Weisz decided to give Meazza his debut for Inter in his place. "Now we even take players from kindergarten!" exclaimed Conti sarcastically. The National Opera Balilla, the Fascist youth organisation which collected all children aged 8 to 14 years, was established in 1926 and so Conti thought it a good way to describe the young rookie. Meazza scored two goals on his debut in a 6–2 win against Milanese Unione Sportiva in the Coppa Volta in Como, leaving old "Poldo" Conti speechless The "Gazzetta dello Sport", the day after his official debut in the Italian championship on 12 September 1927, praised his game "intelligent, fresh, quick", something that didn't happen very frequently during those days.
Meazza was born in Porta Vittoria, Milan. Having lost his father in 1917 during the tragic fighting of World War I at the age of seven, young Peppe grew up in Milan with his mother, Ersilia who came from Mediglia
, helping her sell fruit at the market. However, it was football that was his true calling. His mother hid his shoes so he would not waste his time, so young Peppin learned to play barefoot. He began playing at six years old on the streets on a team named the "Maestri Campionesi" who played with a ball made of rags. At twelve years old he finally got permission from his mother to pursue being a footballer, and began playing for Gloria F.C.. It was here that a fan bought him his first proper pair of football boots.
Meazza was the first Italian football player who became famous worldwide, and was the first player with personal sponsors. He loved his cabriolet, champagne and women and was the only player on the national team that was allowed to smoke. Meazza was famous for humiliating the best defenders of the era and for sleeping at a brothel the night before a match. With his plush touch on the ball, he would cause panic in the robust defenders from an era where two footed tackles from behind were often waved on. Sometimes he would not get out of bed until his teammates were already done practicing. He also loved the Tango and used this proficiency to make him unpredictable on the field and could score goals at fox-trot tempo. He was a superb dribbler who despite his speed, never had a single brylcreemed hair out of place, and although he was not tall, was remarkably good in the air. Meazza created many chances for his teammates and scored goals as well. His goals "a foglia morta", the "dead leaf technique", were also feared by goalkeepers. He was a brilliant passer, both-footed, had remarkable field vision and was noted for his turns and spins.
His trademark goals were ones where he would collect the ball at the half-line, dribble through several opponents with a series of twinkle-toed shuffles, and turns, until arriving in front of the goal, where he would stop and invite the goalkeeper to attack him like a matador, before faking a shot, then dribbling past the beaten goalkeeper to slot home easily. In away games, the defenders would often foul and hack him to avoid being humiliated. "Gol alla Meazza" and "finte alla Meazza" have since become popular sayings for Italian football fans to describe a truly inspiring goal off the dribble or a series of jukes. His goals “ad invito”, where he would invite the goalkeeper out before dribbling around him is yet another popular saying. Meazza once said, "There is nothing worse than having a penalty kick saved by a keeper who didn't understand the fake."
Vittorio Pozzo
, the mastermind coach behind both Italian World Cup victories, wrote of him: "He was a born forward. He saw the game, understood the situation, distributed the ball carefully and made the team offense operate. Having him on the team was like starting the game 1–0 up."
Gianni Brera
called him "Il Folber", and his style of play the "fasso-tuto-mi" because he considered him the complete central midfielder and a nimble acrobat. "He was only Italian that stood out amongst the sensational Brazilians and Argentines" said Brera.
Peppino Prisco, who became vice-president of Internazionale in 1963 and won every trophy possible with the club considered him the best of all time and said, "Meazza was great, unbeatable, even if he would occasionally run into a frightful crisis, caused by his intense sexual activity and his passion for the game. When he took over on the field, he did things that left the mouth ajar."
Bruno Acari IV, who played with Meazza on AC Milan and later coached, once said that "Peppino never wanted to hear about tactics. He was a simple person who became a king when he entered the goal box, with a technical ability that was comparable to Pelé
."
San Siro
, the principal stadium in his native city of Milan
, which is today shared by Internazionale and crosstown rivals AC Milan
, is now officially called Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
. He was randomly observed juggling a rag ball in the street by an Inter scout and quickly signed. They fed him steaks so he would get bigger and stronger. At first he was used to fill a gap in defense instead of being allowed to follow his attacking instinct, but luckily Inter's junior coach later corrected the mistake. He scored two goals on his debut in a 6–2 win against Milanese Unione Sportiva in the Coppa Volta di Como.
Meazza still holds the record for the most goals scored in a debut season in Serie A
, with 31 goals in his first season (1929–30). The year before, when Serie A did not exist, and the Italian Championship was composed of 2 leagues (North and Central-South) with playoffs, Meazza played 29 matches, scoring 38 goals at the age of 18 years. He scored 5 goals in a single game, twice in one season: 6 January 1929 Inter against Pistoiese 9–1 and 17 March 1929 Inter v Verona 9–0. That same season (1928/29) on 12 May 1929, he scored six goals as Inter beat Venezia 10–2. 27 April 1930 was the first time Inter ever played AS Roma in Milan. Inter won 6–0 and Meazza scored four goals, scoring his first three within three minutes of the game.
With Meazza on the squad, Inter (re-christened Ambrosiana while under Fascist law) won 3 national championships in 1930, 1938 and 1940, and helped win the team's first Coppa Italia
in 1939. The 1930 championship was Inter's first since 1920 and they were considered underdogs to teams like Bologna, Torino, Juventus and Genoa. It was Meazza's dazzling form that clinched the inaugural Serie A
title. In the deciding game, he scored a second half hat-trick to tie the game against Genoa after Inter had been down 3–0. He was top-scorer of Serie A
3 times (1930, 1936, 1938), top-scorer in the pre-Serie A year of 1929 and top scorer of the Mitropa Cup three times: 1930 (7), 1933 (5) and 1936 (10).
During the 1933 season, Meazza made a bet with Giampiero Combi
, goalkeeper of Juventus and captain of the 1934 World Champion Italian National Team. Combi challenged Meazza, claiming that nobody, not even Meazza, could sidestep him to score a goal. Meazza accepted the challenge. Combi also made another bet with Meazza. A few weeks earlier, while training with the national team, Meazza scored a splendid bicycle kick against the Juventus goalkeeper. Combi wagered that he could not repeat it in an official game. The next game between Ambrosiana Inter and Juventus was played in the Arena Civica
of Milan on 25 May 1933. Meazza managed to score two stupendous goals. The first goal was an identical overhead kick to the one he had scored against Combi in practice. For the second goal he dribbled through a series of defenders, before faking out Combi, dribbling past him, and scoring a tap-in goal. Combi immediately got up and shook Meazza's hand.
Sometimes his love of champagne and woman would cause him trouble with the board of directors.
"Luckily I lived near the stadium, and I managed to get there in a rush. My teammates and the coach looked at me disapprovingly. It was only five minutes before the kick-off, so I quickly changed and joined the team on the pitch. I could hear the Inter directors saying: 'We'll deal with him after the match. We'll find out what he's been up to.' Luckily I scored a hat-trick so afterwards no one said a word!" Giuseppe Meazza.
Incidents of the sort soon became common. In 1937, it was the day of the game against Juventus in Milan with only an hour before the game and Meazza had still not shown up. The directors became nervous and sent a masseuse and another trainer in a car to find him. They found him in bed, sleeping profoundly and snoring. Without even washing his face, they dragged him up and rushed him to the stadium. While lying down in the back seat Meazza told them of love filled night and said he felt like a lion. The Lion Meazza entered the dressing room and without any squabbling, they quickly gave him his number 9 jersey. He scored two goals that game and was the best on the field. Inter won the game 2–1 and beat Juventus for the Serie A scudetto by two points.
When Ambrosiana beat Bari in the 1937/38 championship, he scored five goals in a 9–2 victory. The next week he scored a hat-trick against Lucchese. Along with fellow Inter players Ferraris II, Ferrari, and Locatelli, Meazza was involved in the Azzurri set-up that wins the 1938 World Cup in Paris. The same year, Inter won their fourth Scudetto, while the clubs first Coppa Italia success came in 1939.
An injury put him out of action for most of 1938/39, and after having devoted the best part of his career to Inter, Meazza transferred to AC Milan on 28 November 1940. In almost a century of rivalry, Meazza is the only man who has ever come close to bridging the chasm between the two clubs. The next 9 February, before the derby with Inter, Meazza cried in the dressing room, but then he scored the equalizer for Milan in a 2–2 draw. He wore the red and black shirt from 1940–1942. Later in his career he also played for Juventus, A.S. Varese 1910
and Atalanta Bergamo.
His debut for Juventus, 18 October 1942, took place in the derby against Torino. It was not a happy debut. Meazza was untrained, looked overweight and slower in movement. When he entered the game with the number eight jersey and came face to face with goalkeeper, the crowd waited for one of its famous "goal by invitation only," but he did not have the necessary speed of motion and he ended up losing the ball ignominiously. The game was eventually won by Torino 5 to 2. Things went better when he was moved to the center of the attack, where he contributed ten goals, even scoring two against his old club Ambrosiana.
In 1946 he was recalled to Inter as a player-coach. He played seventeen games, scoring the last two goals of his career to help an Inter team that was in danger of relegation.
in the 1934
and 1938
World Cups
, both of which Italy won. Apart from being on and captaining the first team to win a World Cup when not the host in 1938, Meazza, along with Giovanni Ferrari
, Guido Masetti
and Eraldo Monzeglio
, also set a record for being the first players to win two World Cups (consecutive ones). Up until today, they are still the only Europeans to have achieved this record.
His debut with the Azzurri
was in Rome on 9 February 1930 against Switzerland. Still only nineteen years old, Meazza scored twice that game (in the 37th and 39th minutes) to help Italy to a 4–2 victory after they had been down by two goals in only 19 minutes. The next game Italy played was on 2 March 1930 against Germany in Frankfurt, where Meazza scored a goal in a 2–0 win. A few months later, 11 May 1930, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 game as Italy beat the Hungary of Larcos, Hirzer and Pál Titkos
for the first time ever while playing in Budapest. Meazza helped Italy win the Dr. Gero Cup
(the forerunner to the European Championship) that year, a cup was a 3 year international tournament between the strongest national teams of central and eastern Europe.
On 25 January 1931, Meazza scored another three goals in a 5–0 win against France.
During the Dr. Gero Cup game on 22 February at the San Siro, Meazza helped Italy to victory after overcoming an early deficit when Horvath had scored in the 4th minute to beat for the first time in its history the dreaded Austria. While dribbling the ball in attack, he noticed two defenders closing down on him. He stopped the ball with the sole of his shoe, making both defenders fall to the ground, before racing towards goal, running forty yards then faking Josef Smistik
, dribbling around Roman Schramseis, drawing out the keeper Rodolphe Hiden
, faking and dribbling around him, making the off balance keeper crash into Schramseis, before tapping the ball into the net for the equaliser and one of the most beautiful goals in soccer history. Italy won 2–1.
His first fifteen caps were at center-forward, but in 1933, he showed his versatility during a 3–1 victory over Germany in Bologna, when he was moved to an inside-right position by the Italian coach Vittorio Pozzo
, to accommodate teammate Angelo Schiavio
, a switch that would help Italy win the World Cup the next year as the goals flowed in. During the tournament, Meazza once again demonstrated his adaptability when he was switched to an inside-left, when needed.
In the 1934 World Cup, which was hosted by Italy, Meazza appeared in every game for the Azzurri. On 25 March 1934 in Milan, Italy beat Greece 4:0 in a qualifying match with two goals coming from Meazza. He then scored the final goal in their 7–1 victory over the United States in the 89th minute in their World Cup opener. In the game against Spain, Giovanni Ferrari
scored a goal against Ricardo Zamora
after the latter was supposedly fouled by Meazza. Meazza was himself almost knocked unconscious by a collision of heads with Jacinto Quincoces
during the game. The game ended 1–1 and had to settled the next day. Forty-three thousand screaming Italian fans witnessed Meazza score from a corner sent in by Raimundo Orsi
in the 11th minute. Meazza took another nasty hit when he crashed into the desperate keeper. It was the only goal of the game. There were claims that the replacement Spanish goalkeeper, Juan José Nogués
, who was replacing the injured Zamora after he was hurt in a clash with Schiavio in the first game, was fouled by Meazza in the play. However, footage exists that exonerates the Italian of any wrong doing. Meazza only ever scored one time against Zamora, in a friendly match.
The semi-final was against the Wunderteam
, managed by Hugo Meisl
and with Josef Bican
of Rapid Vienna and Matthias Sindelar
of FK Austria, two of the world’s finest players, Austria was widely considered the strongest continental side and had already beaten the Italians 4–2 in Turin only four months earlier. A deluge a few hours before kick-off left the San Siro pitch resembling a bog, but Meazza, who knew this ground better than anybody on the Italian team, made light of the conditions to book his country's place in the final. Playing his fourth game in a week, Meazza out-played an Austrian forward, dribbled past him, then collided into the grounded Austrian goalkeeper, Peter Platzer, who had pounced on the ball to quell the attack. The ball came loose, hit the post and bounced to Enrique Guaita
, to score the only goal of the match.
55,000 fans turned out to see the final against Czechoslovakia in Rome's Stadio Nazionale PNF
. Italy suffered badly after Meazza was injured in a tackle. He soldiered on though. Cries of a conspiracy were heard in the 54th minute after Meazza, who was playing in the final even though carrying an injury from the semifinals, punched Rudolf Krcil
in the liver in retaliation for a hard foul, without being disciplined by referee Ivan Eklind
, who had also officiated the semi-final. After ninety minutes the two teams were 1–1. Italy, though, was in far more trouble as the game went into extra time, until Meazza became the inspirer again. His injury became a mixed blessing as the Czechs did not bother to mark him and he made them rue that decision. In the 96th minute, Eraldo Monzeglio
sent a long ball to the hobbled Meazza from the right side of the Italian defense. Meazza, who was being left alone on the wing to drift in and out of the match, recovered sufficiently enough to send a slicing pass to Guaita that unlocked the Czech defense, and then went about setting a series of blocks to free up his strikers. The Roma midfielder slid the ball to Schiavio, who hit a snap-shot past Frantisek Planicka
, another legendary goalkeeper of the era, for the winner five minutes into the extra period. Meazza was elected into the All-Star Team of the tournament and won The Golden Ball, the award presented to the best player at each FIFA World Cup finals.
After the World Cup victory, Meazza represented Italy against England in the infamous "Battle of Highbury
", the Azzurri's first game since winning the World Cup five months earlier. England and Italy had drawn, 1–1, 18 months earlier in Rome, in their only previous meeting. They game started terribly for the Azzurri. After losing Monti to a broken foot in the 2nd minute, England were leading three goals to nil by the 12th with two goals from Eric Brook
and one from Ted Drake
. With no substitutes allowed in those days, the Italians had to play the rest of the game with 10 men. They lost the game, however Meazza salvaged some pride by scoring two goals four minutes apart, in the 58th and 62nd minute in very heavy rain to make it 3–2. The first was the result from a skillful move by Guaita that set Meazza free to crown the straggling raid with a fine rocket shot that beat the goalie. The second on a header after he made the most of a free-kick from Attilio Ferraris
. He was only denied an equalizer by the woodwork and by some fine saves by England's goalkeeper, Frank Moss who playing in what was to be his last international.
On 9 December 1934 against Hungary, Meazza scored his 25th goal (in 29 games) with the blue jersey, to tie Adolfo Baloncieri as top goalscorer for the national team. In the next game against France he had another two goals, which allowed him to jump in command of the ranking. In 1935 he claimed the Central European International Cup again.
In the 1938 World Cup hosted by France, Meazza captained Italy, again playing in every match. The Italian team had extra pressure to win the World Cup. Dictator Benito Mussolini laid down the gauntlet by sending Meazza a telegram engraved with the words: "Win or die!".
After what turned out to be their toughest game of the tournament in the opener against Norway (Italy won 2–1 in extra time) Meazza petitioned Vittorio Pozzo
, to allow the team a night off to relax. In his wisdom, Pozzo saw that his players needed to unwind after having trained for so long in preparation of the tournament and allowed the players a night of indulgence. Meazza was reported to have spent the night with two beautiful French girls.
Another of his memorable moments in that tournament was the goal he scored against Brazil
in the semi-final. Italy were awarded a penalty after Silvio Piola
, the team's new center forward, was chopped down in the box by "the Divine Master", Domingos da Guia
. The Brazilian goalkeeper Walter, who was famous for hypnotizing his opponents and for saving penalties back in Brazil, arrogantly claimed he was certain he would save the shot. Meazza made no fuss, but as he stepped up to take the kick, his shorts fell down because the elastic around the waist had earlier been pulled and ripped by a defender. Meazza, without letting this stress him, pulled up his shorts with one hand and shot past the confused Walter, who was still busy laughing. His celebrating team-mates surrounded him until a new pair of shorts were produced. The goal sent Italy into their second consecutive World Cup final. It was his last goal for Italy.
In the final, the Italians faced Hungary, a surprise package, playing a similar brand of flowing football to that of the Wunderteam. With the Italians having defeated France, home fans were well and truly behind the Magyars and hoped they could spring a surprise, but Italy's dynamic inside-forward partnership of Meazza and Giovanni Ferrari, took hold of the game. Meazza set up goals for Silvio Piola and Gino Colaussi
before halftime. The first assist he gave came after a quick exchange with Colaussi, who put Italy up 1–0. The next assist came after he faked a shot, making his defender jump past him, and dribbled past another defender, before sending in a quick pass on the ground for Piola to slam home. Ten minutes before half, after another quick exchange between Ferrari and Meazza, the latter found the unmarked Colaussi with an illuminating pass, and winger netted his second of the game to make it 3–1 at the break. After the tournament, Piola, who scored five goals in France, paid his colleague the compliment of being responsible for his own good performance: "At the FIFA World Cup, I mainly lived off Meazza and Ferrari".
He played his last match for the national nine years after his debut, on the 20 July 1939 at the Olympiastadion in Helsinki when he captained Italy to a 3–2 win over Finland.
He played 53 times with Italy, losing just 6 matches and scoring 33 goals.
Meazza is still today the joint-third top-scorer ever in Serie A along with José Altafini
.
>
1930
5
6
1931
6
5
1932
4
2
1933
5
5
1934
9
7
1935
3
2
1936
4
2
1937
5
1
1938
6
3
1939
6
0
Total
53
33
(Italy's score shown first)
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
footballer playing mainly for Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
in the 1930s, scoring 242 goals in 365 games for the club. He led Italy to win two World Cups
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
: in 1934
1934 FIFA World Cup
The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934....
and in 1938
1938 FIFA World Cup
The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:...
, winning the Golden Ball Award in 1934. He is widely considered the best player of his generation, and one of the greatest of all time. He has been ranked fourth-best player in the history of World Cup.
Early life and technical gifts
He began his career as all out striker, but showed his skill and ability by also becoming an accomplished midfielder, playing for more than half of his career as inside forwardInside forward
In football, the position of inside forward was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries. The inside forwards would support the centre forwards, running and making space in the opposition defence, and, as the passing game developed, supporting him with passes...
. He was a great leader with excellent shooting and intoxicating dribbling skill, an eye for the pass and, despite his middle height, an exceptional heading ability.
His nickname, "il Balilla", was given to him in 1927 by his older teammate Leopoldo Conti
Leopoldo Conti
Leopoldo Conti was an Italian professional football player and coach.-Honours:* Italian Football Championship champion: 1919/20.* Serie A champion: 1929/30....
, who thought "Pepp", who was only 17 when he joined the senior team, was too young to be associated to the senior team, and was surprised after Inter coach Arpad Weisz decided to give Meazza his debut for Inter in his place. "Now we even take players from kindergarten!" exclaimed Conti sarcastically. The National Opera Balilla, the Fascist youth organisation which collected all children aged 8 to 14 years, was established in 1926 and so Conti thought it a good way to describe the young rookie. Meazza scored two goals on his debut in a 6–2 win against Milanese Unione Sportiva in the Coppa Volta in Como, leaving old "Poldo" Conti speechless The "Gazzetta dello Sport", the day after his official debut in the Italian championship on 12 September 1927, praised his game "intelligent, fresh, quick", something that didn't happen very frequently during those days.
Meazza was born in Porta Vittoria, Milan. Having lost his father in 1917 during the tragic fighting of World War I at the age of seven, young Peppe grew up in Milan with his mother, Ersilia who came from Mediglia
Mediglia
Mediglia is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 15 km southeast of Milan.-External links:*...
, helping her sell fruit at the market. However, it was football that was his true calling. His mother hid his shoes so he would not waste his time, so young Peppin learned to play barefoot. He began playing at six years old on the streets on a team named the "Maestri Campionesi" who played with a ball made of rags. At twelve years old he finally got permission from his mother to pursue being a footballer, and began playing for Gloria F.C.. It was here that a fan bought him his first proper pair of football boots.
Meazza was the first Italian football player who became famous worldwide, and was the first player with personal sponsors. He loved his cabriolet, champagne and women and was the only player on the national team that was allowed to smoke. Meazza was famous for humiliating the best defenders of the era and for sleeping at a brothel the night before a match. With his plush touch on the ball, he would cause panic in the robust defenders from an era where two footed tackles from behind were often waved on. Sometimes he would not get out of bed until his teammates were already done practicing. He also loved the Tango and used this proficiency to make him unpredictable on the field and could score goals at fox-trot tempo. He was a superb dribbler who despite his speed, never had a single brylcreemed hair out of place, and although he was not tall, was remarkably good in the air. Meazza created many chances for his teammates and scored goals as well. His goals "a foglia morta", the "dead leaf technique", were also feared by goalkeepers. He was a brilliant passer, both-footed, had remarkable field vision and was noted for his turns and spins.
His trademark goals were ones where he would collect the ball at the half-line, dribble through several opponents with a series of twinkle-toed shuffles, and turns, until arriving in front of the goal, where he would stop and invite the goalkeeper to attack him like a matador, before faking a shot, then dribbling past the beaten goalkeeper to slot home easily. In away games, the defenders would often foul and hack him to avoid being humiliated. "Gol alla Meazza" and "finte alla Meazza" have since become popular sayings for Italian football fans to describe a truly inspiring goal off the dribble or a series of jukes. His goals “ad invito”, where he would invite the goalkeeper out before dribbling around him is yet another popular saying. Meazza once said, "There is nothing worse than having a penalty kick saved by a keeper who didn't understand the fake."
Vittorio Pozzo
Vittorio Pozzo
Vittorio Pozzo 21 December 1968) was an Italian football coach who was most famous for leading the Italian national team to victory in the 1934 FIFA World Cup and 1938 FIFA World Cups; managed the side that won the 1930 and 1935 editions of the Central European International Cup, as well as the...
, the mastermind coach behind both Italian World Cup victories, wrote of him: "He was a born forward. He saw the game, understood the situation, distributed the ball carefully and made the team offense operate. Having him on the team was like starting the game 1–0 up."
Gianni Brera
Gianni Brera
Giovanni Luigi "Gianni" Brera was an Italian sports journalist and novelist.-Biography:Brera was born in San Zenone al Po, near Pavia, the son of Carlo, a tailor, and Marietta Ghisoni...
called him "Il Folber", and his style of play the "fasso-tuto-mi" because he considered him the complete central midfielder and a nimble acrobat. "He was only Italian that stood out amongst the sensational Brazilians and Argentines" said Brera.
Peppino Prisco, who became vice-president of Internazionale in 1963 and won every trophy possible with the club considered him the best of all time and said, "Meazza was great, unbeatable, even if he would occasionally run into a frightful crisis, caused by his intense sexual activity and his passion for the game. When he took over on the field, he did things that left the mouth ajar."
Bruno Acari IV, who played with Meazza on AC Milan and later coached, once said that "Peppino never wanted to hear about tactics. He was a simple person who became a king when he entered the goal box, with a technical ability that was comparable to Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
."
San Siro
San Siro
The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, originally and commonly referred to as the San Siro because of its location, officially given its current name on 3 March 1980, is a football stadium located in the San Siro district in Milan, Italy. It is the home of both A.C. Milan and F.C. Internazionale Milano...
, the principal stadium in his native city of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, which is today shared by Internazionale and crosstown rivals AC Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, is now officially called Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Club career
At the age of 13, Meazza admired AC Milan, but was rejected by them for being too skinny. However, he was received with open arms by InternazionaleF.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
. He was randomly observed juggling a rag ball in the street by an Inter scout and quickly signed. They fed him steaks so he would get bigger and stronger. At first he was used to fill a gap in defense instead of being allowed to follow his attacking instinct, but luckily Inter's junior coach later corrected the mistake. He scored two goals on his debut in a 6–2 win against Milanese Unione Sportiva in the Coppa Volta di Como.
Meazza still holds the record for the most goals scored in a debut season in Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
, with 31 goals in his first season (1929–30). The year before, when Serie A did not exist, and the Italian Championship was composed of 2 leagues (North and Central-South) with playoffs, Meazza played 29 matches, scoring 38 goals at the age of 18 years. He scored 5 goals in a single game, twice in one season: 6 January 1929 Inter against Pistoiese 9–1 and 17 March 1929 Inter v Verona 9–0. That same season (1928/29) on 12 May 1929, he scored six goals as Inter beat Venezia 10–2. 27 April 1930 was the first time Inter ever played AS Roma in Milan. Inter won 6–0 and Meazza scored four goals, scoring his first three within three minutes of the game.
With Meazza on the squad, Inter (re-christened Ambrosiana while under Fascist law) won 3 national championships in 1930, 1938 and 1940, and helped win the team's first Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
in 1939. The 1930 championship was Inter's first since 1920 and they were considered underdogs to teams like Bologna, Torino, Juventus and Genoa. It was Meazza's dazzling form that clinched the inaugural Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
title. In the deciding game, he scored a second half hat-trick to tie the game against Genoa after Inter had been down 3–0. He was top-scorer of Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
3 times (1930, 1936, 1938), top-scorer in the pre-Serie A year of 1929 and top scorer of the Mitropa Cup three times: 1930 (7), 1933 (5) and 1936 (10).
During the 1933 season, Meazza made a bet with Giampiero Combi
Giampiero Combi
Gianpiero Combi was one of Italian football's greatest goalkeepers of all-time. He spent his entire career at Juventus FC and won the 1934 World Cup with the Italian national team...
, goalkeeper of Juventus and captain of the 1934 World Champion Italian National Team. Combi challenged Meazza, claiming that nobody, not even Meazza, could sidestep him to score a goal. Meazza accepted the challenge. Combi also made another bet with Meazza. A few weeks earlier, while training with the national team, Meazza scored a splendid bicycle kick against the Juventus goalkeeper. Combi wagered that he could not repeat it in an official game. The next game between Ambrosiana Inter and Juventus was played in the Arena Civica
Arena Civica
Arena Civica is a multi-purpose stadium in Milan, Italy, which was opened on 18 August 1807 and is one of the city’s main examples of neoclassical architecture. During its history it has been used for many kinds of events, including the reconstruction of naval battles; William Frederick Cody ...
of Milan on 25 May 1933. Meazza managed to score two stupendous goals. The first goal was an identical overhead kick to the one he had scored against Combi in practice. For the second goal he dribbled through a series of defenders, before faking out Combi, dribbling past him, and scoring a tap-in goal. Combi immediately got up and shook Meazza's hand.
Sometimes his love of champagne and woman would cause him trouble with the board of directors.
"Luckily I lived near the stadium, and I managed to get there in a rush. My teammates and the coach looked at me disapprovingly. It was only five minutes before the kick-off, so I quickly changed and joined the team on the pitch. I could hear the Inter directors saying: 'We'll deal with him after the match. We'll find out what he's been up to.' Luckily I scored a hat-trick so afterwards no one said a word!" Giuseppe Meazza.
Incidents of the sort soon became common. In 1937, it was the day of the game against Juventus in Milan with only an hour before the game and Meazza had still not shown up. The directors became nervous and sent a masseuse and another trainer in a car to find him. They found him in bed, sleeping profoundly and snoring. Without even washing his face, they dragged him up and rushed him to the stadium. While lying down in the back seat Meazza told them of love filled night and said he felt like a lion. The Lion Meazza entered the dressing room and without any squabbling, they quickly gave him his number 9 jersey. He scored two goals that game and was the best on the field. Inter won the game 2–1 and beat Juventus for the Serie A scudetto by two points.
When Ambrosiana beat Bari in the 1937/38 championship, he scored five goals in a 9–2 victory. The next week he scored a hat-trick against Lucchese. Along with fellow Inter players Ferraris II, Ferrari, and Locatelli, Meazza was involved in the Azzurri set-up that wins the 1938 World Cup in Paris. The same year, Inter won their fourth Scudetto, while the clubs first Coppa Italia success came in 1939.
An injury put him out of action for most of 1938/39, and after having devoted the best part of his career to Inter, Meazza transferred to AC Milan on 28 November 1940. In almost a century of rivalry, Meazza is the only man who has ever come close to bridging the chasm between the two clubs. The next 9 February, before the derby with Inter, Meazza cried in the dressing room, but then he scored the equalizer for Milan in a 2–2 draw. He wore the red and black shirt from 1940–1942. Later in his career he also played for Juventus, A.S. Varese 1910
A.S. Varese 1910
A.S. Varese 1910 is an Italian football club from Varese, founded 22 March 1910. It currently plays in Serie B, ranked one division below Serie A in the Italian football league.-History:...
and Atalanta Bergamo.
His debut for Juventus, 18 October 1942, took place in the derby against Torino. It was not a happy debut. Meazza was untrained, looked overweight and slower in movement. When he entered the game with the number eight jersey and came face to face with goalkeeper, the crowd waited for one of its famous "goal by invitation only," but he did not have the necessary speed of motion and he ended up losing the ball ignominiously. The game was eventually won by Torino 5 to 2. Things went better when he was moved to the center of the attack, where he contributed ten goals, even scoring two against his old club Ambrosiana.
In 1946 he was recalled to Inter as a player-coach. He played seventeen games, scoring the last two goals of his career to help an Inter team that was in danger of relegation.
National team career
Meazza played for ItalyItaly national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
in the 1934
1934 FIFA World Cup
The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934....
and 1938
1938 FIFA World Cup
The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:...
World Cups
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
, both of which Italy won. Apart from being on and captaining the first team to win a World Cup when not the host in 1938, Meazza, along with Giovanni Ferrari
Giovanni Ferrari
Giovanni Ferrari was an Italian football player. He played 125 times for Juventus F.C and scored 35 goals for the club...
, Guido Masetti
Guido Masetti
Guido Masetti was an Italian football goalkeeper. Born in Verona, he played for Hellas Verona and A.S. Roma — with 339 matches and one Italian title in the 1941-42 season....
and Eraldo Monzeglio
Eraldo Monzeglio
Eraldo Monzeglio was an Italian football defender.Monzeglio was born in Vignale Monferrato, in the province of Alessandria ....
, also set a record for being the first players to win two World Cups (consecutive ones). Up until today, they are still the only Europeans to have achieved this record.
His debut with the Azzurri
Azzurri
Azzurri is the Italian plural form of azzurro, light blue . Light blue was the official color of the Savoia family, Italy's monarchs until 1946. For this reason azure is the color usually worn by Italians in sport events....
was in Rome on 9 February 1930 against Switzerland. Still only nineteen years old, Meazza scored twice that game (in the 37th and 39th minutes) to help Italy to a 4–2 victory after they had been down by two goals in only 19 minutes. The next game Italy played was on 2 March 1930 against Germany in Frankfurt, where Meazza scored a goal in a 2–0 win. A few months later, 11 May 1930, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 game as Italy beat the Hungary of Larcos, Hirzer and Pál Titkos
Pál Titkos
Pál Titkos was a Hungarian footballer. He played for MTK Hungária FC and the Hungary national football team. He scored two goals in the 1938 FIFA World Cup, including one in the final itself....
for the first time ever while playing in Budapest. Meazza helped Italy win the Dr. Gero Cup
Dr. Gerõ Cup
The Central European International Cup was an international football competition held by certain national teams from Central Europe between 1927 and 1960. There were competitions for professional and amateur teams...
(the forerunner to the European Championship) that year, a cup was a 3 year international tournament between the strongest national teams of central and eastern Europe.
On 25 January 1931, Meazza scored another three goals in a 5–0 win against France.
During the Dr. Gero Cup game on 22 February at the San Siro, Meazza helped Italy to victory after overcoming an early deficit when Horvath had scored in the 4th minute to beat for the first time in its history the dreaded Austria. While dribbling the ball in attack, he noticed two defenders closing down on him. He stopped the ball with the sole of his shoe, making both defenders fall to the ground, before racing towards goal, running forty yards then faking Josef Smistik
Josef Smistik
Josef Smistik was an Austrian football player and manager.He played for Rapid Wien, ESV Stadlau, FACJosef Smistik was an Austrian football player and manager....
, dribbling around Roman Schramseis, drawing out the keeper Rodolphe Hiden
Rodolphe Hiden
Rodolphe Hiden, or Rudolf Hiden was an Austrian–French football goalkeeper, who became a coach in Italy after his playing career.-Playing career:...
, faking and dribbling around him, making the off balance keeper crash into Schramseis, before tapping the ball into the net for the equaliser and one of the most beautiful goals in soccer history. Italy won 2–1.
His first fifteen caps were at center-forward, but in 1933, he showed his versatility during a 3–1 victory over Germany in Bologna, when he was moved to an inside-right position by the Italian coach Vittorio Pozzo
Vittorio Pozzo
Vittorio Pozzo 21 December 1968) was an Italian football coach who was most famous for leading the Italian national team to victory in the 1934 FIFA World Cup and 1938 FIFA World Cups; managed the side that won the 1930 and 1935 editions of the Central European International Cup, as well as the...
, to accommodate teammate Angelo Schiavio
Angelo Schiavio
Angelo Schiavio was an Italian football player. Schiavio spent his entire career with Bologna FC, the club of the city where he was born and died...
, a switch that would help Italy win the World Cup the next year as the goals flowed in. During the tournament, Meazza once again demonstrated his adaptability when he was switched to an inside-left, when needed.
In the 1934 World Cup, which was hosted by Italy, Meazza appeared in every game for the Azzurri. On 25 March 1934 in Milan, Italy beat Greece 4:0 in a qualifying match with two goals coming from Meazza. He then scored the final goal in their 7–1 victory over the United States in the 89th minute in their World Cup opener. In the game against Spain, Giovanni Ferrari
Giovanni Ferrari
Giovanni Ferrari was an Italian football player. He played 125 times for Juventus F.C and scored 35 goals for the club...
scored a goal against Ricardo Zamora
Ricardo Zamora
Ricard Zamora i Martínez was a Spanish footballer and manager. He played as a goalkeeper for, among others, RCD Espanyol, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. As an international he played for both the Catalan XI and Spain...
after the latter was supposedly fouled by Meazza. Meazza was himself almost knocked unconscious by a collision of heads with Jacinto Quincoces
Jacinto Quincoces
Jacinto Francisco Fernández de Quincoces y López de Arbina was a Spanish football player and manager, as well as President of the Valencian Pilota Federation....
during the game. The game ended 1–1 and had to settled the next day. Forty-three thousand screaming Italian fans witnessed Meazza score from a corner sent in by Raimundo Orsi
Raimundo Orsi
Raimundo Bibiani "Mumo" Orsi was an Italian Argentine footballer who won the 1934 FIFA World Cup with Italy and the silver medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands.-Club:...
in the 11th minute. Meazza took another nasty hit when he crashed into the desperate keeper. It was the only goal of the game. There were claims that the replacement Spanish goalkeeper, Juan José Nogués
Juan José Nogués
Juan José Nogués Portalatín , also known as Joan Josep Nogués, was a Spanish Aragonese footballer and manager. During the 1930s and 1940s, he played as goalkeeper for FC Barcelona, the Catalan XI and Spain...
, who was replacing the injured Zamora after he was hurt in a clash with Schiavio in the first game, was fouled by Meazza in the play. However, footage exists that exonerates the Italian of any wrong doing. Meazza only ever scored one time against Zamora, in a friendly match.
The semi-final was against the Wunderteam
Wunderteam
Wunderteam was the name given to the Austria national football team of the 1930s. Led by manager Hugo Meisl, the team had an unbeaten streak of 14 games between April 1931 and December 1932. The style of the team was based on the Scottish school of football that focused on quick passing introduced...
, managed by Hugo Meisl
Hugo Meisl
Hugo Meisl , brother of the journalist Willy Meisl, was the multi-lingual football coach of the famous Austrian 'Wunderteam' of the early 1930s, as well as a referee.-Background:...
and with Josef Bican
Josef Bican
Josef "Pepi" Bican was a Czech-Austrian football forward. It is estimated by respected footballing statistics page RSSSF that Bican scored around 800 goals in all competitive matches, not including friendly games...
of Rapid Vienna and Matthias Sindelar
Matthias Sindelar
Matthias Sindelar was an Austrian footballer.He played centre-forward for the celebrated Austria national team of the early 1930s known as the Wunderteam, which he captained at the 1934 World Cup....
of FK Austria, two of the world’s finest players, Austria was widely considered the strongest continental side and had already beaten the Italians 4–2 in Turin only four months earlier. A deluge a few hours before kick-off left the San Siro pitch resembling a bog, but Meazza, who knew this ground better than anybody on the Italian team, made light of the conditions to book his country's place in the final. Playing his fourth game in a week, Meazza out-played an Austrian forward, dribbled past him, then collided into the grounded Austrian goalkeeper, Peter Platzer, who had pounced on the ball to quell the attack. The ball came loose, hit the post and bounced to Enrique Guaita
Enrique Guaita
Enrique Guaita commonly known as "Enrico Guaita" was an Italian Argentine footballer who played for both Argentina and Italy...
, to score the only goal of the match.
55,000 fans turned out to see the final against Czechoslovakia in Rome's Stadio Nazionale PNF
Stadio Nazionale PNF
The Stadio Nazionale del PNF was a multi-purpose stadium in Rome, Italy. It was built in 1927 and held 50,000 people. It hosted three of the 17 matches of the 1934 FIFA World Cup, including the final between hosts Italy and Czechoslovakia on 10 June 1934.Clubs S.S. Lazio and A.S...
. Italy suffered badly after Meazza was injured in a tackle. He soldiered on though. Cries of a conspiracy were heard in the 54th minute after Meazza, who was playing in the final even though carrying an injury from the semifinals, punched Rudolf Krcil
Rudolf Krcil
Rudolf Krčil was a former Czech football player and later manager.He played for several clubs, including Teplitzer FK and SK Slavia Praha....
in the liver in retaliation for a hard foul, without being disciplined by referee Ivan Eklind
Ivan Eklind
Ivan Henning Hjalmar Eklind was a football referee from Sweden famous for refereeing the controversial 1934 FIFA World Cup Final between Italy and Czechoslovakia in Rome.-Rene Mercet:...
, who had also officiated the semi-final. After ninety minutes the two teams were 1–1. Italy, though, was in far more trouble as the game went into extra time, until Meazza became the inspirer again. His injury became a mixed blessing as the Czechs did not bother to mark him and he made them rue that decision. In the 96th minute, Eraldo Monzeglio
Eraldo Monzeglio
Eraldo Monzeglio was an Italian football defender.Monzeglio was born in Vignale Monferrato, in the province of Alessandria ....
sent a long ball to the hobbled Meazza from the right side of the Italian defense. Meazza, who was being left alone on the wing to drift in and out of the match, recovered sufficiently enough to send a slicing pass to Guaita that unlocked the Czech defense, and then went about setting a series of blocks to free up his strikers. The Roma midfielder slid the ball to Schiavio, who hit a snap-shot past Frantisek Planicka
František Plánicka
František Plánička was a Czech football goalkeeper and one of the most honoured players in the history of Czechoslovakian football. He played the majority of his career for Slavia Prague, during which time the club won the Czech league eight times and the Mitropa Cup once...
, another legendary goalkeeper of the era, for the winner five minutes into the extra period. Meazza was elected into the All-Star Team of the tournament and won The Golden Ball, the award presented to the best player at each FIFA World Cup finals.
After the World Cup victory, Meazza represented Italy against England in the infamous "Battle of Highbury
Battle of Highbury
The "Battle of Highbury" was the name given to the football match between England and Italy that took place on 14 November 1934 at Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London...
", the Azzurri's first game since winning the World Cup five months earlier. England and Italy had drawn, 1–1, 18 months earlier in Rome, in their only previous meeting. They game started terribly for the Azzurri. After losing Monti to a broken foot in the 2nd minute, England were leading three goals to nil by the 12th with two goals from Eric Brook
Eric Brook
Eric Fred Brook was an English footballer who played in the outside left position. He is the all time record goalscorer for Manchester City in all competitions and was an England international. Brook was a muscular player with 'one of the fiercest shots in pre-war football' and was a good penalty...
and one from Ted Drake
Ted Drake
Edward Joseph "Ted" Drake was an English football player and manager. As a player, he first played for Southampton but made his name playing for Arsenal in the 1930s, winning two league titles and an FA Cup, as well as five caps for England. He was also a cricketer, but only ever played sparingly...
. With no substitutes allowed in those days, the Italians had to play the rest of the game with 10 men. They lost the game, however Meazza salvaged some pride by scoring two goals four minutes apart, in the 58th and 62nd minute in very heavy rain to make it 3–2. The first was the result from a skillful move by Guaita that set Meazza free to crown the straggling raid with a fine rocket shot that beat the goalie. The second on a header after he made the most of a free-kick from Attilio Ferraris
Attilio Ferraris
Attilio Ferraris was an Italian football midfielder.He played 10 seasons in the Serie A for A.S. Roma, S.S. Lazio and A.S. Bari...
. He was only denied an equalizer by the woodwork and by some fine saves by England's goalkeeper, Frank Moss who playing in what was to be his last international.
On 9 December 1934 against Hungary, Meazza scored his 25th goal (in 29 games) with the blue jersey, to tie Adolfo Baloncieri as top goalscorer for the national team. In the next game against France he had another two goals, which allowed him to jump in command of the ranking. In 1935 he claimed the Central European International Cup again.
In the 1938 World Cup hosted by France, Meazza captained Italy, again playing in every match. The Italian team had extra pressure to win the World Cup. Dictator Benito Mussolini laid down the gauntlet by sending Meazza a telegram engraved with the words: "Win or die!".
After what turned out to be their toughest game of the tournament in the opener against Norway (Italy won 2–1 in extra time) Meazza petitioned Vittorio Pozzo
Vittorio Pozzo
Vittorio Pozzo 21 December 1968) was an Italian football coach who was most famous for leading the Italian national team to victory in the 1934 FIFA World Cup and 1938 FIFA World Cups; managed the side that won the 1930 and 1935 editions of the Central European International Cup, as well as the...
, to allow the team a night off to relax. In his wisdom, Pozzo saw that his players needed to unwind after having trained for so long in preparation of the tournament and allowed the players a night of indulgence. Meazza was reported to have spent the night with two beautiful French girls.
Another of his memorable moments in that tournament was the goal he scored against Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
in the semi-final. Italy were awarded a penalty after Silvio Piola
Silvio Piola
Silvio Piola was an Italian footballer from Robbio Lomellina, province of Pavia. He is known as a highly prominent figure in the history of Italian football due to several records he set. Piola won the 1938 FIFA World Cup with Italy, scoring two goals in the final.Piola is third in the all-time...
, the team's new center forward, was chopped down in the box by "the Divine Master", Domingos da Guia
Domingos da Guia
Domingos Antônio da Guia , nicknamed "the Divine Master" was a Brazilian footballer. He is regarded as one of the greatest players in Flamengo and Corinthians history, as well as the all time best Brazilian defender.He quickly rose to fame as one of Bangu's key players between 1929-1932...
. The Brazilian goalkeeper Walter, who was famous for hypnotizing his opponents and for saving penalties back in Brazil, arrogantly claimed he was certain he would save the shot. Meazza made no fuss, but as he stepped up to take the kick, his shorts fell down because the elastic around the waist had earlier been pulled and ripped by a defender. Meazza, without letting this stress him, pulled up his shorts with one hand and shot past the confused Walter, who was still busy laughing. His celebrating team-mates surrounded him until a new pair of shorts were produced. The goal sent Italy into their second consecutive World Cup final. It was his last goal for Italy.
In the final, the Italians faced Hungary, a surprise package, playing a similar brand of flowing football to that of the Wunderteam. With the Italians having defeated France, home fans were well and truly behind the Magyars and hoped they could spring a surprise, but Italy's dynamic inside-forward partnership of Meazza and Giovanni Ferrari, took hold of the game. Meazza set up goals for Silvio Piola and Gino Colaussi
Gino Colaussi
Luigi Colausig was an Italian footballer.Colaussi was born in Gradisca d'Isonzo, Friuli-Venezia Giulia....
before halftime. The first assist he gave came after a quick exchange with Colaussi, who put Italy up 1–0. The next assist came after he faked a shot, making his defender jump past him, and dribbled past another defender, before sending in a quick pass on the ground for Piola to slam home. Ten minutes before half, after another quick exchange between Ferrari and Meazza, the latter found the unmarked Colaussi with an illuminating pass, and winger netted his second of the game to make it 3–1 at the break. After the tournament, Piola, who scored five goals in France, paid his colleague the compliment of being responsible for his own good performance: "At the FIFA World Cup, I mainly lived off Meazza and Ferrari".
He played his last match for the national nine years after his debut, on the 20 July 1939 at the Olympiastadion in Helsinki when he captained Italy to a 3–2 win over Finland.
He played 53 times with Italy, losing just 6 matches and scoring 33 goals.
Club
| Season | Club | League | League | Cup Coppa Italia The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13... |
Europe UEFA The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer.... |
Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 1927–28 Italian Football Championship 1927-28 The winner was Torino F.C..-Classification:-Results table:* Please note that the home teams are read down the left hand side while the away teams are indicated along the top.-Classification:-Results table:... |
Internazionale F.C. Internazionale Milano Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always... |
Divisione Nazionale Divisione Nazionale Divisione Nazionale was the name of the first level of the Italian Football Championship from 1926 to 1929.The competition was the evolution of former Prima Divisione which had two main problems: it was divided between the northern and the southern part of the country, and was formally faithful... |
33 | 12 | ||||||||
| 33 | 12 | |||||||||||
| 1928–29 Italian Football Championship 1928-29 The winner was Bologna. This was the last Italian Championship before Serie A and Serie B were instated.-Classification:-Results table:* Please note that the home teams are read down the left hand side while the away teams are indicated along the top.... |
29 | 33 | ||||||||||
| 29 | 33 | |||||||||||
| 1929–30 Serie A 1929-30 The Serie A 1929–30 was the 30th football tournament in Italy. Internazionale won its third Scudetto as Ambrosiana.-Final classification:-Results:... |
Serie A Serie A Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new... |
33 | 31 | |||||||||
| 33 | 31 | |||||||||||
| 1930–31 Serie A 1930-31 Serie A 1930—31 was won by Juventus.-Final classification:-Results:... |
34 | 24 | ||||||||||
| 6 | 7 | 40 | 31 | |||||||||
| 1931–32 | 28 | 21 | ||||||||||
| 28 | 21 | |||||||||||
| 1932–33 Serie A 1932-33 -Final classification:-Results:... |
32 | 20 | ||||||||||
| 32 | 20 | |||||||||||
| 1933–34 Serie A 1933-34 -Final classification:-Results:... |
32 | 21 | ||||||||||
| 6 | 5 | 38 | 26 | |||||||||
| 1934–35 Serie A 1934-35 -Final classification:-Results:... |
30 | 19 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 32 | 22 | |||||||||
| 1935–36 Serie A 1935-36 -Final classification:-Results:... |
29 | 25 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2 | 2 | 33 | 28 | |||||||||
| 1936–37 Serie A 1936-37 -Final classification:-Results:... |
26 | 11 | 4 | 3 | ||||||||
| 6 | 10 | 36 | 24 | |||||||||
| 1937–38 Serie A 1937-38 -Final classification:-Results:... |
26 | 20 | 4 | 8 | ||||||||
| 30 | 28 | |||||||||||
| 1938–39 Serie A 1938-39 From this year, goal average became official ranking rule after total points.-Final classification:-Results:... |
16 | 4 | 6 | 0 | ||||||||
| 4 | 2 | 26 | 6 | |||||||||
| 1939–40 Serie A 1939-40 -Final classification:-Results:... |
||||||||||||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||
| 1940–41 Serie A 1940-41 -Final classification:-Results:... |
Milan A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others... |
Serie A Serie A Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new... |
14 | 6 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| 15 | 6 | |||||||||||
| 1941–42 Serie A 1941-42 -Final classification:-Results:... |
23 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||||||||
| 27 | 5 | |||||||||||
| 1942–43 Serie A 1942-43 -Classification:-Results:... |
Juventus Juventus F.C. Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont... |
Serie A Serie A Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new... |
27 | 10 | ||||||||
| 27 | 10 | |||||||||||
| 1944 | Varese A.S. Varese 1910 A.S. Varese 1910 is an Italian football club from Varese, founded 22 March 1910. It currently plays in Serie B, ranked one division below Serie A in the Italian football league.-History:... |
Alta Italia | 20 | 7 | ||||||||
| 20 | 7 | |||||||||||
| 1945–46 Serie A 1945-46 The 1945-46 Serie A championship is not usually included in the statistics, because some of the southern sides that took part to the competition were Serie B teams, while northern Serie B teams played at the second level with the Serie C teams... |
Atalanta Atalanta B.C. Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy.They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the orobici... |
Divisione Nazionale | 14 | 2 | ||||||||
| 14 | 2 | |||||||||||
| 1946–47 Serie A 1946-47 -Final classification:-Results:... |
Internazionale Milano F.C. Internazionale Milano Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always... |
Serie A Serie A Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new... |
17 | 2 | ||||||||
| 17 | 2 | |||||||||||
| Total for Inter | 365 | 243 | 16 | 12 | - | - | 27 | 29 | 408 | 284 | ||
| Career totals | 463 | 271 | 21 | 14 | - | - | 27 | 29 | 511 | 314 | ||
Meazza is still today the joint-third top-scorer ever in Serie A along with José Altafini
José Altafini
José João Altafini, is an Italian Brazilian former footballer. He is the joint-third highest scorer in Italian Serie A history with 216 goals. He currently holds the record for the highest no...
.
International
International matches
| Cap | Goals | Total goals | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 February 1930 | Rome | Switzerland Switzerland national football team The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland... |
4–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 March 1930 | Frankfurt Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010... |
Germany Germany national football team The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900.... |
2–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 3 | 6 April 1930 | Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population... |
Netherlands Netherlands national football team The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands... |
1–1 | Friendly | |
| 4 | 3 | 6 | 11 May 1930 | Budapest Budapest Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter... |
Hungary Hungary national football team The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation.... |
5–0 | Central European International Cup |
| 5 | 6 | 22 June 1930 | Bologna Bologna Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,... |
Spain Spain national football team The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque... |
2–3 | Friendly | |
| 6 | 3 | 9 | 25 January 1931 | Bologna Bologna Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,... |
France France national football team The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe... |
5–0 | Friendly |
| 7 | 1 | 10 | 22 February 1931 | Milan Milan Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,... |
Austria Austria national football team The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association .... |
2–1 | Central European International Cup |
| 8 | 10 | 29 March 1931 | Bern | Switzerland Switzerland national football team The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland... |
1–1 | Central European International Cup | |
| 9 | 10 | 19 April 1931 | Bilbao Bilbao Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain... |
Spain Spain national football team The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque... |
0–0 | Friendly | |
| 10 | 1 | 11 | 20 May 1931 | Rome | Scotland Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872... |
3–0 | Friendly |
| 11 | 11 | 15 November 1931 | Rome | Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia national football team The Czechoslovakia national football team was the national association football team of Czechoslovakia from 1922 to 1993. At the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the team was participating in UEFA qualifying Group 4 for the 1994 World Cup; it completed this campaign under the name... |
2–2 | Central European International Cup | |
| 12 | 1 | 12 | 20 March 1932 | Vienna Vienna Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre... |
Austria Austria national football team The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association .... |
1–2 | Central European International Cup |
| 13 | 12 | 8 May 1932 | Budapest Budapest Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter... |
Hungary Hungary national football team The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation.... |
1–1 | Central European International Cup | |
| 14 | 12 | 28 October 1932 | Prague Prague Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million... |
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia national football team The Czechoslovakia national football team was the national association football team of Czechoslovakia from 1922 to 1993. At the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the team was participating in UEFA qualifying Group 4 for the 1994 World Cup; it completed this campaign under the name... |
1–2 | Central European International Cup | |
| 15 | 1 | 13 | 27 November 1932 | Milan Milan Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,... |
Hungary Hungary national football team The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation.... |
4–2 | Friendly |
| 16 | 1 | 14 | 1 January 1933 | Bologna Bologna Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,... |
Germany Germany national football team The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900.... |
3–1 | Friendly |
| 17 | 2 | 16 | 12 February 1933 | Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... |
Belgium | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 18 | 1 | 17 | 2 April 1933 | Geneva Geneva Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland... |
Switzerland Switzerland national football team The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland... |
3–0 | Central European International Cup |
| 19 | 17 | 13 May 1933 | Rome | England England national football team The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first... |
1–1 | Friendly | |
| 20 | 1 | 18 | 3 December 1933 | Florence Florence Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area.... |
Switzerland Switzerland national football team The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland... |
5–2 | Central European International Cup |
| 21 | 18 | 11 February 1934 | Turin Turin Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat... |
Austria Austria national football team The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association .... |
2–4 | Central European International Cup | |
| 22 | 2 | 20 | 25 March 1934 | Milan Milan Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,... |
Greece Greece national football team The Greece national football team represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos... |
4–0 | World Cup Qualifier |
| 23 | 1 | 21 | 27 May 1934 | Rome | United States United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF... |
7–1 | World Cup |
| 24 | 21 | 31 May 1934 | Florence Florence Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area.... |
Spain Spain national football team The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque... |
1–1 | World Cup | |
| 25 | 1 | 22 | 1 June 1934 | Florence Florence Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area.... |
Spain Spain national football team The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque... |
1–0 | World Cup |
| 26 | 22 | 3 June 1934 | Milan Milan Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,... |
Austria Austria national football team The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association .... |
1–0 | World Cup | |
| 27 | 22 | 10 June 1934 | Rome | Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia national football team The Czechoslovakia national football team was the national association football team of Czechoslovakia from 1922 to 1993. At the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the team was participating in UEFA qualifying Group 4 for the 1994 World Cup; it completed this campaign under the name... |
2–1 | World Cup | |
| 28 | 2 | 24 | 14 November 1934 | London | England England national football team The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first... |
2–3 | Friendly |
| 29 | 1 | 25 | 9 December 1934 | Milan Milan Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,... |
Hungary Hungary national football team The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation.... |
4–2 | Friendly |
| 30 | 2 | 27 | 17 February 1935 | Rome | France France national football team The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe... |
2–1 | Friendly |
| 31 | 27 | 28 October 1935 | Prague Prague Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million... |
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia national football team The Czechoslovakia national football team was the national association football team of Czechoslovakia from 1922 to 1993. At the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the team was participating in UEFA qualifying Group 4 for the 1994 World Cup; it completed this campaign under the name... |
1–2 | Central European International Cup | |
| 32 | 27 | 24 November 1935 | Milan Milan Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,... |
Hungary Hungary national football team The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation.... |
2–2 | Central European International Cup | |
| 33 | 27 | 5 April 1936 | Zürich Zürich Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich... |
Switzerland Switzerland national football team The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland... |
2–1 | Friendly | |
| 34 | 27 | 17 May 1936 | Rome | Austria Austria national football team The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association .... |
2–2 | Friendly | |
| 35 | 1 | 28 | 31 May 1936 | Budapest Budapest Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter... |
Hungary Hungary national football team The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation.... |
2–1 | Friendly |
| 36 | 1 | 29 | 25 October 1936 | Milan Milan Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,... |
Switzerland Switzerland national football team The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland... |
4–2 | Central European International Cup |
| 37 | 29 | 25 April 1937 | Turin Turin Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat... |
Hungary Hungary national football team The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation.... |
2–0 | Central European International Cup | |
| 38 | 29 | 23 May 1937 | Prague Prague Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million... |
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia national football team The Czechoslovakia national football team was the national association football team of Czechoslovakia from 1922 to 1993. At the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the team was participating in UEFA qualifying Group 4 for the 1994 World Cup; it completed this campaign under the name... |
1–0 | Central European International Cup | |
| 39 | 1 | 30 | 27 May 1937 | Oslo Oslo Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King... |
Norway Norway national football team The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen... |
3–1 | Friendly |
| 40 | 30 | 31 October 1937 | Geneva Geneva Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland... |
Switzerland Switzerland national football team The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland... |
2–2 | Central European International Cup | |
| 41 | 30 | 5 February 1937 | Paris | France France national football team The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe... |
0–0 | Friendly | |
| 42 | 1 | 31 | 15 May 1938 | Milan Milan Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,... |
Belgium | 6–1 | Friendly |
| 43 | 1 | 32 | 22 May 1938 | Geneva Geneva Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland... |
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia national football team The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international... |
4–0 | Friendly |
| 44 | 32 | 5 June 1938 | Marseille Marseille Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of... |
Norway Norway national football team The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen... |
2–1 | World Cup | |
| 45 | 32 | 12 June 1938 | Paris | France France national football team The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe... |
3–1 | World Cup | |
| 46 | 1 | 33 | 16 June 1938 | Marseille Marseille Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of... |
Brazil Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the... |
2–1 | World Cup |
| 47 | 33 | 19 June 1938 | Paris | Hungary Hungary national football team The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation.... |
4–2 | World Cup | |
| 48 | 33 | 26 March 1939 | Florence Florence Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area.... |
Germany Germany national football team The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900.... |
3–2 | Friendly | |
| 49 | 33 | 13 May 1939 | Milan Milan Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,... |
England England national football team The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first... |
2–2 | Friendly | |
| 50 | 33 | 4 June 1939 | Belgrade Belgrade Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe... |
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia national football team The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international... |
2–1 | Friendly | |
| 51 | 33 | 8 June 1939 | Budapest Budapest Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter... |
Hungary Hungary national football team The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation.... |
3–1 | Friendly | |
| 52 | 33 | 11 June 1939 | Bucharest Bucharest Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River.... |
Romania Romania national football team The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that... |
1–0 | Friendly | |
| 53 | 33 | 20 July 1939 | Helsinki Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is... |
Finland Finland national football team The Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland.... |
3–2 | Friendly |
(Italy's score shown first)
A.S. Ambrosiana / A.S. Ambrosiana-Inter (F.C. Internazionale Milano)
- Serie ASerie ASerie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
(3)- Winner: 1929–30Serie A 1929-30The Serie A 1929–30 was the 30th football tournament in Italy. Internazionale won its third Scudetto as Ambrosiana.-Final classification:-Results:...
, 1937–38Serie A 1937-38-Final classification:-Results:...
, 1939–40Serie A 1939-40-Final classification:-Results:... - Runner-Up: 1932–33Serie A 1932-33-Final classification:-Results:...
, 1933–34Serie A 1933-34-Final classification:-Results:...
, 1934–35Serie A 1934-35-Final classification:-Results:...
- Winner: 1929–30
- Coppa ItaliaCoppa ItaliaThe Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
(1)- Winner: 1939
- Mitropa CupMitropa CupThe Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale was one of the first really international major European football cups for club sides...
- Runner-Up: 1933Mitropa Cup 1933The 1933 season of the Mitropa Cup football club tournament was won by FK Austria Wien who defeated AS Ambrosiana Inter 4-3 on aggregate in the final. It was the third time that a team from Vienna won the tournament, but the first of two wins for FK Austria Wien...
- Runner-Up: 1933
Italy
- FIFA World CupFIFA World CupThe FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
(2)- Winner: 19341934 FIFA World CupThe 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934....
, 19381938 FIFA World CupThe 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:...
- Winner: 1934
- Dr. Gero CupDr. Gerõ CupThe Central European International Cup was an international football competition held by certain national teams from Central Europe between 1927 and 1960. There were competitions for professional and amateur teams...
(2)- Winner: 1927/1930, 1933/1935
Trivia
- Meazza was one the first Italians to coach abroad, coaching Besiktas J.K.Besiktas J.K.Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü , or simply Beşiktaş , is a Turkish sports club. The club's football team is one of the major teams in Turkey. The professional sports club, founded in 1903, is based in the Beşiktaş district in Istanbul, Turkey...
of TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in 1947–1948.
- While serving as a youth coach for Inter, he met Sandro Mazzola. Understanding the boys pain at losing a father while so young and recognizing his skills, Meazza took young Sandro under his wing, and convinced him to sign for Inter.
- Meazza is a FIFA Hall of Champions Inductee and Italian Hall of Fame Entrant. He was selected by IFFHS/FIFA as the 2nd Best Italian player as one of the best 25 World Players of the 20th Century.
- With 33 goals, Meazza is still the Italian national teamItaly national football teamThe Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
's second highest scorer. His record stood until Gigi Riva tied and eventually broke it on 9 June 1973, also in a game against Brazil. On that day, Meazza was quoted to say, "That Riva is good, he scored a lot of goals against Cyprus and Turkey. Surely my goals were much more important."