 Marzolini with Argentina,c. 1966 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1940-10-04)4 October 1940 | ||
| Place of birth | Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
| Date of death | 17 July 2020(2020-07-17) (aged 79) | ||
| Place of death | Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Left-back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1959 | Ferro Carril Oeste | 53 | (0) |
| 1960–1972 | Boca Juniors | 387 | (10) |
| Total | 440 | (10) | |
| International career | |||
| 1960–1969 | Argentina | 28 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Silvio Marzolini (4 October 1940 – 17 July 2020)[1][2] was an Argentinefootballer who gained recognition during his tenure onBoca Juniors (1960–72). He is widely regarded as the best Argentineleft-back of all time,[3][4] playing that position for theArgentina national team in the1962 FIFA World Cup and the1966 FIFA World Cup, where he was elected as the best left back of that tournament.[5] Marzolini played a total of 28 games for Argentina.
Marzolini's first steps as footballer were inDeportivo Italiano, soon moving to the young divisions ofFerro Carril Oeste in 1955. After a discussion with the club managers asking to play in the senior team, Marzolini was suspended for two years. Nevertheless, he debuted in Primera División in May 1959, playing againstBoca Juniors, that would hire him the following year.
Marzolini debuted with Boca on 3 April 1960 againstEstudiantes de La Plata, defeating it by 2–1. Boca finished third at the end of the season, with Marzolini playing all of the games.
In 1961 Marzolini scored his first goal in the top division, but Boca did not have a great campaign, finishing fifth. Marzolini played a total of 29 games scoring 2 goals. The first achievement came in1962 when Boca won the title,[6] with notable players such as goalkeeperAntonio Roma, Brazilian strikerPaulo Valentim andNorberto Menéndez. Boca finished first with 42 points. Marzolini was also the most capped player of the season with 28 games played.
Marzolini was named asleft-back in the1966 FIFA World Cup team of the tournament whileArgentina was eliminated at the quarter final stage.
After retiring as a player, Marzolini became manager ofAll Boys where he stayed from 1975 to 1976. In 1981 Marzolini returned to Boca Juniors, with which he won the1981 Metropolitano with superstarDiego Maradona as the outstanding player of the team. Other notable players for Boca wereMiguel Brindisi, goalkeeperHugo Gatti and defenderOscar Ruggeri.
In a 2007 interview withFourFourTwo magazine, English greatBobby Charlton named him in his dream eleven, describing him as a player who "wasn’t that fast, but his positioning was so good he didn’t need to be", and that he had "such good control that it gave him time and space to play the ball away safely".[7]
Marzolini suffered astroke in 2019 and was later diagnosed withcancer. He died on 17 July 2020, at the age of 79.[8][9][1]
His grandsonFacundo Lescano, son of his daughter Maria Marta, is a footballer, currently playing in Italy forU.S. Salernitana 1919.
Boca Juniors
Argentina
Individual
Boca Juniors
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