Giuseppe Meazza (Italian pronunciation:[dʒuˈzɛppemeˈattsa]; 23 August 1910 – 21 August 1979) was an Italianfootball manager and player. Throughout his career, he played mainly forInter Milan in the 1930s, scoring 284 goals in 408 games for the club, and winning threeSerie A titles, as well as theCoppa Italia; he later also played for two seasons for local rivalsMilan, as well asTurin rivalsJuventus for one season, in addition to his spells withVarese andAtalanta. At the international level, he ledItaly to win two consecutiveWorld Cups: in1934 on home soil, and in1938 ascaptain, being named to theAll-star Team. He is widely regarded as one of the best players of the 20th century, and one of the greatest Italian strikers in the history of the sport.
Along withGiovanni Ferrari,Guido Masetti andEraldo Monzeglio, he is one of only four Italian players to have won two World Cups.[2][3] Following his retirement, he served as a coach for the Italy national team, and with several Italian clubs, including his former club sides Inter and Atalanta, as well asPro Patria, and Turkish clubBeşiktaş; he was Italy's head coach at the1952 Summer Olympics.
Meazza was born in Porta Vittoria, Milan. Having lost his father in 1917 during the fighting of World War I at the age of seven, Peppe grew up in Milan with his mother, Ersilia who came fromMediglia, helping her sell fruit at the market. He began playing football at six years old, and started out playing barefoot with a ball made of rags on the streets for a team named the "Maestri Campionesi". At the age of twelve, his mother gave him permission to pursue a footballing career, and he began playing for Gloria F.C.. It was during this time that a fan gave Meazza his first pair of football boots.[15]
At the age of 14, Meazza admiredMilan, but was rejected by the team for his small physique.[16] However, he was instead accepted by Milan's cross-city rivalsInter Milan.
Meazza's nickname, "ilBalilla" ("The Little Boy"),[17][18] was given to him in 1927 by his older teammateLeopoldo Conti, who thought "Peppìn", inMilanese dialect, who was only 17 when he joined the senior team, was too young to be associated to the senior team. He was surprised after Inter coachÁrpád Weisz decided to give Meazza his debut for Inter in his place, commenting: "Now we even let the Balilla kids play!" TheOpera Nazionale Balilla, the Fascist youth organisation which collected all children aged eight to 14 years, was established in 1926, hence why Conti felt it to be a suitable nickname for the young rookie. However, Meazza later scored two goals on his official debut, leaving Conti speechless.[15][19]
Meazza scored two goals on his professional debut, which came in a 6–2 win against Milanese Unione Sportiva in the Coppa Volta di Como, on 12 September 1927. The following day, the Italian sports newspaperLa Gazzetta dello Sport praised his game as "intelligent, fresh, quick".[19] Meazza still holds the record for the most goals scored in a debut season inSerie A, with 31 goals in his first season (1929–30). The next season, he scored five 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 playedRoma in Milan. Inter won 6–0 and Meazza scored four goals, scoring his first three within three minutes of the game.
With Meazza in the squad, Inter won three national championships in 1930, 1938 and 1940, and helped win the team's firstCoppa Italia in 1939. In the 1930 deciding game, he scored a second half hat-trick to tie the game against Genoa after Inter had been down 3–0. He wastop-scorer ofSerie A three times (1930, 1936, 1938), top-scorer in the pre-Serie A year of 1929 and top scorer of the Central European Cup three times: 1930 (seven goals), 1933 (five goals) and 1936 (ten goals); he finished with a runners-up medal in the competition in1933.[20]
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 won the 1938 World Cup in Paris. That same year, Inter won their fourth Scudetto, while the club's first Coppa Italia success came in 1939.
An injury put him out of action for most of 1938–39 and 1939–40, and after having devoted the best part of his career to Inter, Meazza transferred toAC Milan on 28 November 1940. Later in his career he also played forJuventus,Varese andAtalanta. His debut forJuventus, on 18 October 1942, took place in thederby against Torino. This was the last season in which he managed to record double figures in terms of goals scored, helpingJuventus to a third–place finish in the league. Following this season theSerie A andCoppa Italia were suspended due to theSecond World War.
In 1946 he was recalled to Inter as a player-coach. He played 17 games, scoring the last two goals of his career to help an Inter team that was in danger of relegation.
Meazza played forItaly national team in the1934 and1938World Cups, both of which Italy won. Apart from captaining the World Cup winning team in 1938, Meazza, along withGiovanni Ferrari andEraldo Monzeglio, also set a record for being one of the only three Italian players to win two World Cups.[2]
Meazza receives the 1938 World Cup fromAlbert Lebrun.
His debut with the Italy national team was in Rome on 9 February 1930 againstSwitzerland. Then 19-year-old, Meazza scored twice in 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, on 11 May 1930, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 game as Italy beat Hungary of Larcos, Hirzer andPál Titkos for the first time ever while playing in Budapest. Meazza helped Italy win theCentral European International Cup that year; the cup was a three-year international tournament between the strongest national teams of central and eastern Europe.[6]
On 25 January 1931, Meazza scored another three goals in a 5–0 friendly win againstFrance.[6] He also scored two goals in the1931–32 Central European International Cup campaign, in which Italy finished in second place.
His first fifteen caps were at centre-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 coachVittorio Pozzo, to accommodate teammateAngelo 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.
In the1934 World Cup, which was hosted by Italy, Meazza appeared in every game for the Italians. 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 of their World Cup opener. In the game against Spain,Giovanni Ferrari scored a goal againstRicardo Zamora. The game ended 1–1 and had to be settled the next day. Meazza scored from a corner sent in byRaimundo Orsi in the 11th minute. It was the only goal of the game.
Thefinal against Czechoslovakia in Rome'sStadio Nazionale PNF. After 90 minutes, the two teams were at 1–1. Italy, though, was in far more trouble as the game went intoextra-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 5th minute of extra time, Schiavio hit a snap-shot past goalkeeperFrantisek Planicka for the winner. Meazza was elected into theAll-Star Team of the tournament and won theGolden Ball, the award presented to the best player at each FIFA World Cup finals.[21][22]
In the1938 World Cup hosted byFrance, Meazza captained Italy, again playing in every match. In the semi-final againstBrazil, with the score at 1–0 Italy were awarded a penalty afterSilvio Piola was fouled byDomingos da Guia. As Meazza stepped up to take the kick, with a chance to double his team's lead, his shorts fell down, as the elastic in them had ripped; he held them up with his left hand, but he still managed to score, beating the Brazilian goalkeeperWalter from the spot by placing the ball into the corner.[26][27] The goal enabled Italy to win the match 2–1 and sent them into their second consecutive World Cup final.[21][22]
In thefinal, the Italians faced Hungary. Meazza set up goals for Silvio Piola andGino 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 score. Ten minutes before halftime, after another quick exchange between Ferrari and Meazza, the latter found the unmarked Colaussi with a pass, and the 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".[22]
He played his last match for the national team nine years after his debut, on 20 July 1939 at the Olympiastadion in Helsinki, when he captained Italy to a 3–2 win overFinland.[6] In total, he played 53 times with Italy between 1930 and 1939, losing only six matches, and scoring 33 goals; he is currentlyItaly's second highest goalscorer, behindLuigi Riva.[6]
"I also sawPelé playing. He did not achieve Meazza's elegant style of playing. One day, at theArena, I witnessed him doing something astonishing: he stopped the ball with abicycle kick, elevating himself two meters from the ground. Then he landed with the ball glued at his foot, dribbled over an astonished defender, and then went on scoring a goal with one of his hallmark shots, sardonic and accurate to the millimeter."[28]
Although he was initially deployed asfull-back in his youth, Meazza began his professional career as an all outstriker orcentre forward, but he later played for more than half of his career as a creativeinside left forward, known as themezzala role in Italian football jargon, although he was also capable of playing on the right. He further demonstrated his skill and creative ability by also becoming an accomplishedattacking midfielder, and even played as acentral midfielder or as adeep-lying playmaker in his later career. He was known for his excellent shooting ability and intoxicatingdribbling skills, with an eye for the final pass. Despite his average height and slight yet stocky build, he was also an exceptional header of the ball and was known for his acrobatic abilities in the air. Beyond his qualities as a player, he was also a great leader on the pitch.[17][18][29][30]
Meazza was the first Italian football player who became famous worldwide and was the first player with personal sponsors. Unlike his more reserved friend, international teammate, and club rivalSilvio Piola, a player with whom Meazza was often compared, he was known for having a much more flamboyant character both on and off the pitch.[31] 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. Not known for having a particularly high work rate, sometimes he would not get out of bed until his teammates were already finished training. 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. Hisbending goals"a foglia morta", the "dead leaf technique", in particular fromfree-kicks, were also feared by goalkeepers. As anoffensive playmaker, he was a brilliant passer, two-footed, had remarkable field vision, and was noted for his balance and agility on the ball, as well as his control, turns and spins.[21][22][17][18][32][33][34]
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.[18] In away games, the defenders would often foul and hack him to avoid being humiliated.[35] "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. An accuratepenalty taker, Meazza once said, "There is nothing worse than having a penalty kick saved by a keeper who didn't understand the fake."[21][22][17]
Meazza is widely considered one of the best players of his generation, and among the greatest of all time, as well as being regarded by many in the sport as Italy's greatest ever player.[21][22][36]
Vittorio Pozzo, the mastermind coach behind both Italian World Cup victories, wrote of Meazza: "He was a bornforward. He saw the game, understood the situation, distributed the ball carefully and made the team offence operate. Having him on the team was like starting the game 1–0 up."[26][37]
Sports journalistGianni Brera, who considered Meazza to be the greatest footballer in the history of the game,[38] called him "Il Folber", and dubbed his style of play the "fasso-tuto-mi", because he considered him to be the complete central midfielder and a nimble acrobat. When describing Meazza, Brera said: "He was only Italian that stood out amongst the sensational Brazilians and Argentines".[37][39] Following Meazza's death in 1979, Brera also added: "The world was full of great football players, maybe some even tougher and more consistent than him, but to us it seemed that one could not go beyond his sudden inventions, his ingenious runs, his peremptory yet never condescending dribbling, his solo break-away runs towards the usual stray victim, the opposing goalkeeper."[40]
Peppino Prisco, who became vice-president of Inter Milan in 1963 and won every major trophy possible with the club, also considered Meazza to be the best player of all time, and said of him: "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."[41][37]
Bruno Acari IV, who played with Meazza at A.C. Milan and later coached, once said that "Peppino [Meazza] 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 toPelé."[37]
Meazza was one of the first Italians to coach abroad, coachingBeşiktaş J.K. ofTurkey in 1948–49.
While serving as a youth coach for Inter, he metSandro Mazzola. Understanding the boy's pain at losing a father while so young and recognising his skills, Meazza took young Sandro under his wing, and convinced him to sign for Inter. This is however controversial, as the honour of having brought Sandro and his brotherFerruccio Mazzola to Inter is also attributed to an Inter player of the time,Benito "Veleno" Lorenzi, who was a friend and fellow Italian international to the boys' father, Torino legendValentino Mazzola.
Meazza is a FIFA Hall of Champions Inductee andItalian Football Hall of Fame Entrant. He was selected byIFFHS/FIFA as the 2nd Best Italian player as one of the best 25 World Players of the 20th Century, and was also selected to Italy's Sports Walk of Fame in 2015.
Meazza is still today the joint-fourth top-scorer ever in Serie A along withJosé Altafini.
Many Italian football experts, includingAlberto Giocattoli, consider him to be the best player ever, and evenSilvio Piola was quoted saying: "He is, without a doubt, one of the greatest Italian footballers ever. He is a symbol to our great country and we should cherish him."
With 33 goals, Meazza remains of theItaly national team its second highest scorer. His record stood untilGigi Riva tied and eventually broke it on 9 June 1973, also in a game against Brazil. On that day, Meazza was quoted as saying, "That Riva is good, he scored a lot of goals against Cyprus and Turkey. Surely my goals were much more important."[55]
^Paolo Facchinetti,La Grande Ambrosiana. L'Inter di Meazza contro Juve e Bologna: storia e numeri di uomini e fatti leggendari, GEO Edizioni, Empoli, 2001
^"Dicono di lui" (in Italian). giuseppemeazza.it. Retrieved1 August 2018.
^Whittaker, Mike (24 December 2012)."Giuseppe Meazza: A legend ahead of his time".ESPN.com. Retrieved1 August 2018.The late great Peppino Prisco considered him to be the best of all time: '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.'
^Roberto Di Maggio; Igor Kramarsic; Alberto Novello (11 June 2015)."Italy – Serie A Top Scorers".RSSSF.Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved2 December 2015.
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