 Borel II with Juventus in the 1930s | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Felice Placido Borel II | ||
| Date of birth | 5 April 1914 | ||
| Place of birth | Nice, France | ||
| Date of death | 21 February 1993 (aged 78) | ||
| Place of death | Turin, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1932–1941 | Juventus | 205 | (119) |
| 1941–1942 | Torino | 25 | (7) |
| 1942–1946 | Juventus | 75 | (24) |
| 1946–1947 | US Alessandria | 1 | (0) |
| 1948–1949 | Napoli | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 307 | (150) | |
| International career | |||
| 1933–1934 | Italy | 3 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1942–1946 | Juventus | ||
| 1946–1947 | Alessandria | ||
| 1948–1949 | Napoli | ||
| 1954 | Cenisia (technical director) | ||
| 1954–1956 | Fossanese | ||
| 1958–1959 | Catania (technical director) | ||
| 1966–1967 | Ternana | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Felice Placido Borel (Italian pronunciation:[feˈliːtʃeboˈrɛl]; 5 April 1914 – 21 February 1993) was an Italianfootball player who played as astriker. He was a member of theItaly national football team that won the1934 FIFA World Cup.
Borel was born inNice, France. During his career, he played forJuventus andcross-city rivalsTorino inSerie A and, inSerie B, forAlessandria, and finally forS.S.C. Napoli, where he finished his career.[1][2][3]
He scored 158 goals for Juventus, winning threeSerie A titles (1933,1934, and1935) and aCoppa Italia (1938) during his time with the club, as well as theSerie A top-scorer award on two occasions (1933 and 1934); he is currentlyJuventus's sixth highest goal scorer. During his second spell with the club in the 1940s, he held the position ofplayer-manager.[1][2][3]
He still holds the record for most goals, in winning theCapocannoniere/Top scorer title, inSerie A while playing forJuventus with 31 goals. AlthoughFerenc Hirzer still holds the record for most goals in winning theCapocannoniere/Top scorer title, in the Best Italian League while playing forJuventus with 35 goals (in only 24 matches) but then it was calledPrima Divisione.
Borel made three appearances for theItaly national team between 1933 and 1934, scoring his only international goal on his debut againstHungary on 22 November, in Budapest, during the gold winning1933-35 Central European International Cup campaign. He was part of the1934 FIFA World Cup winning national team, appearing once throughout the tournament, during the quarter-final victory overSpain on 1 June.[2][4]
Nicknamedfarfallino ("little butterfly," in Italian), Borel usually played as acentre-forward, and is regarded as one of Italy's and Juventus's greatestforwards of all time. He was known for his speed, movement, shooting, goalscoring,dribbling, team-play, and technical ability. In his later career he usually played as aninside forward ormezzala, or even as anoffensive–mindedcentral midfielder. Despite his ability, however, he was also injury prone.[2][3][5]
During the 1958–59 season, he was technical director ofCatania.[1]
Felice's older brotherAldo Borel played football professionally, spending 10 seasons in theSerie A, and their fatherErnesto Borel played forOGC Nice,AS Cannes andJuventus in the 1900s and 1910s, and later also served as a manager. To distinguish the brothers, Aldo was known asBorel I and Felice - asBorel II.[3]
