Early life

Gullit was born Ruud Dil in Amsterdam to George Gullit, an Afro-Surinamese migrant, and Ria Dil from the Amsterdam Jordaan inner city district. The family lived in one split level room on the top floor of a small apartment building. Gullit’s father worked as an economics teacher at a local school, his mother as a cleaner at the Rijksmuseum.

Gullit developed his football skills in the confines of the Rozendwarsstraat, street football was instrumental in his formative years. Gullit’s first team were the Meerboys, where he joined as a junior in 1970. However, at the age of 10 Gullit moved from the Jordaan to Amsterdam Old West where he played street football alongside Frank Rijkaard. Gullit joined the DWS club after his move, and came to the attention of the Dutch youth team, where he played alongside such future greats as Erwin Koeman, Ronald Koeman and Wim Kieft.

It was during his time at DWS that Ruud first took to using his father’s surname, rather than his registered surname, as he thought it sounded more like a football player.^[2] He retained his mother’s surname, officially, and continues to sign all contracts as Ruud Dil.

Club career

HFC Haarlem

In 1978, he signed professionally for HFC Haarlem under coach and former West Bromwich Albion F.C. player Barry Hughes. Gullit made 91 league appearances for Haarlem, scoring 32 goals. Gullit made his debut for the club at just 16 years old, becoming at the time the youngest player in the history of the Eredivisie.^[3] In his first year at Haarlem they finished bottom of the Eredivisie, but bounced back the following season winning the Eerste Divisie. Gullit was named as the best player in the Eerste Divisie that season.^[4] in recognition of his outstanding efforts. In the 1981–2 season Gullit was in fine form as Haarlem finished 4th and qualified for Europe for the only time in their history. In that same season Gullit scored the goal he would later consider his finest, “Playing against Utrecht I went past four defenders and then the goalkeeper, and scored. It was an unforgettable goal for me.”^[5] Hughes was so impressed with the young Gullit that he described him as the “Dutch Duncan Edwards”.^[4]

Feyenoord

In 1982, he moved to Feyenoord, for a fee of £300,000, where he made 85 league appearances, scoring 31 goals. At Feyenoord Gullit found himself playing alongside Dutch legend Johan Cruijff, while the assistant manager was Wim van Hanegem, and they were to leave a lasting impression. Gullit’s first season saw Feyenoord miss out on major honours, but the following year they completed the league and cup double. Gullit was named Dutch Footballer of the Year in recognition of his contribution to Feyenoord’s success. At Feyenoord Gullit occupied an increasingly advanced role in midfield, having played predominantly as a sweeper at Haarlem.^[6] While at Feyenoord Gullit became the focus of a race row as manager Thijs Libregts was alleged to have referred to Gullit as “blackie” and criticised him for being lazy, though Libregts defended himself by claiming that it was merely a nickname.^[7]

PSV Eindhoven

In 1985, he moved to PSV for ƒ1.2 million (£400,000), and wound up scoring 46 goals in 68 league appearances for the team. Gullit was again named Footballer of the Year in 1986 as he helped PSV capture the Eredivisie crown, a feat they repeated the following year. It was at PSV that Gullit really began to establish himself as a world class footballer and his distinctive, dreadlocked appearance made certain that he would catch the eye of Europe’s biggest clubs. Gullit was also singled out for criticism by large numbers of Feyenoord supporters, who branded him a “wolf” and accused him of moving to Eindhoven for money.^[8]

A.C. Milan

Silvio Berlusconi signed Gullit for AC Milan in 1987, paying the then record fee of ƒ18 million (£6 million) as a replacement for Ray Wilkins. Among his teammates at that club were compatriots Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, along with Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi. When he arrived at Milan, Gullit initially struggled to settle as he spoke no Italian and was unused to living in a foreign country.^[9] However, Gullit’s first season at Milan saw the club win Scudetto for the first time in 9 years, under coach Arrigo Sacchi. He was initially used on the right of an attacking trio alongside Van Basten and Pietro Virdis, but after an injury to Van Basten it was changed to a front two. The following season Milan built on their domestic success by adding the European Cup to their list of honours. Their scintillating 5–0 demolition of Real Madrid in the semi-final second leg came at a cost, as Gullit suffered an injury and required surgery to be fit in time for the final. That performance was followed by a 4–0 victory over Steaua Bucharest in the 1989 final with Gullit scoring two crucial goals. The following year Milan retained the trophy as they defeated Benfica in the 1990 final.

Gullit’s exploits with first PSV and then Milan helped him win the European Footballer of the Year award in 1987 which he dedicated to Nelson Mandela.^[10] However, serious injuries sustained to the ligaments of his right knee limited Gullit’s playing time and he managed just 2 domestic games in the 1989–90 season.

In 1990–91 Milan’s pursuit of a third consecutive European Cup was cut short by Olympique de Marseille at the semi-final stage. Having drawn the first leg at the San Siro, Milan trailed to a Chris Waddle goal with little time remaining when the floodlights went out. After a short delay the lighting was restored, but Milan had returned to their dressing room and refused to return to complete the game. UEFA awarded Marseille a 3–0 victory and expelled Milan from all European competitions for the following season.

While Milan continued their domestic dominance by winning Serie A in both 1991–92 (a season in which they went undefeated) and 1992–93, Gullit’s position was an increasingly peripheral one. This was demonstrated by his omission from the UEFA Champions League Final 1993 final as under the UEFA rules clubs were only allowed to field 3 foreigners.

Chelsea F.C.

In July 1995, he signed for Chelsea on a free transfer. Initially played as sweeper by manager Glenn Hoddle with limited success, Gullit was moved to his more familiar role in midfield, where he scored six goals. The signing of Gullit, alongside the likes of Mark Hughes and Dan Petrescu, propelled Chelsea to the semi-final of the FA Cup but their league form was disappointing.

Gullit’s earliest difficulty in England was adapting to the abilities of some of his Chelsea teammates, “I would take a difficult ball, control it, make space and play a good ball in front of the right back, except that he didn’t want that pass. Eventually Glenn said to me, ‘Ruud, it would be better if you do these things in midfield’.”^[11] However, his adjustment was rapid and he ended the season by being named runner-up to Eric Cantona as Footballer of the Year.

Gullit has since often stated in interviews that it was in London he enjoyed his career the most and felt happiest.^[11] In moving to Chelsea, Gullit played an important part in the “foreign revolution” as numerous high profile international stars, such as the prolific German World Cup winner Jürgen Klinsmann, Italian superstar Gianfranco Zola who became a Chelsea legend, and Dutch magician Dennis Bergkamp, joined Premiership clubs and helped to increase its worldwide profile.

National team

In 1981, on his 19th birthday, Gullit made his international debut as a substitute for the Dutch national team against Switzerland, a game the Dutch lost 2–1.

Gullit’s early international career was marred by disappointment as the Dutch failed to qualify for the 1982 FIFA World Cup and Euro 84. The Dutch missed out in 1984 on goals scored as the Spanish trounced minnows Malta 12–1 in their final qualifying game, when they needed an 11 goal victory to qualify.

There was further disappointment in 1986 when the Dutch missed out on qualification for the World Cup at the hands of neighbours Belgium in a play-off. Having lost 1–0 in Belgium, the Dutch appeared to be set for qualification in Rotterdam as they led 2–0 until Georges Grun put the Belgians through on away goals.

However, Gullit was one of the key players for the Dutch team helping his country win the Euro 88 under coach Rinus Michels. Having lost their opening game of the tournament to the USSR the Dutch beat England and Republic of Ireland to reach the semi-finals. After defeating West Germany 2–1 in Hamburg the Dutch faced the Soviet Union in the final. Gullit opened the scoring with a well-placed header and Marco van Basten scored an incredible volley to cap a 2–0 win. Ruud Gullit was thus the first Dutch captain to hold aloft international silverware.

The Dutch travelled to Italia 90 as one of the favourites, but the team failed to perform as expected. Gullit’s knee injuries clearly hampered his play, and his only moment of brilliance was a superb dribble and shot against Ireland which helped the Netherlands qualify for the second round. There they met W Germany in one of the most exciting games of the tournament, though the game was marred by an altercation between Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Voller. The Germans gained revenge for their defeat at Euro 88, by beating the Netherlands 2–1 and going on to win the tournament.

1992 saw the Dutch again among the favourites for silverware in Sweden at Euro 92. Gullit appeared in imperious form against Scotland in their opening game of the tournament as he supplied Dennis Bergkamp with an easy goal. But after drawing with Russia and beating Germany, the Dutch suffered a shock exit on penalties to Denmark, who ended up winning the championship’s Henri Delaunay Trophy.

In 1993 Gullit and Holland manager Dick Advocaat began what was to be a long running dispute which ultimately ended Gullit’s international career. Advocaat’s decision to play Gullit on the right-side of midfield, in a game against England at Wembley, rather than his usual central position upset Gullit and this was exacerbated by his substitution for Marc Overmars.^[7] Gullit refused to play for the national team following this but later changed his mind and agreed to return, facing Scotland in May 1994. Shortly before the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Gullit walked out of pre-tournament training camp and would never play international football again.

Playing style

Gullit epitomised the ethos of Total Football as he was naturally adept in several positions. His foremost attribute was his athleticism, as he used his strength and speed to great effect, as well as being excellent in the air.^[12] Yet unusually for a man of his stature Gullit also possessed outstanding natural balance and poise that gave a graceful style to his game. Gullit thus combined technical ability with physical presence to become an iconic figure in world football.^[13]

Gullit’s brilliance prompted George Best to comment in 1990, “Ruud Gullit is a great player by any standards. He has all the skills. He’s not afraid to do things with the ball. And he looks as if he’s enjoying every second of it. By my reckoning that’s what makes him an even better player than Maradona. Both have the key quality you will find in all the best players: balance. You just can’t knock them off the ball. It was the same with Pelé, Beckenbauer and Cruijff.”^[14]

Managerial career

Chelsea FC

In the summer of 1996, when Glenn Hoddle left Chelsea to become manager of the England national team, Gullit was appointed as a player-manager. Gullit made a promising start to his managerial career when in the first season as a player-manager he guided Chelsea to an FA Cup triumph in 1997, the club’s first major trophy in 26 years. Gullit became the first non-British manager to win the FA Cup. The club also finished at a credible sixth place in the Premiership. The following season, with Chelsea in second place in the Premiership and proceeding to the quarterfinals in two cup competitions, he was sacked, allegedly for a disagreement with the club’s board over the compensation, though Gullit himself disputed this.^[15] He was replaced by Gianluca Vialli, a man he had helped to bring to the club.

Newcastle United

In 1998, he was named manager of Newcastle United F.C., and his managerial career again was on track, with an FA Cup final appearance in his first year. In the following season, fans began to turn against him after a poor run of results, and a well-publicised contretemps with star striker and local hero Alan Shearer and captain Robert Lee did not put him in a favourable light.^[16] Gullit even refused to assign Lee a squad number, giving Lee’s number 7 to new signing Kieron Dyer. In a match between Newcastle and local rivals Sunderland following the latter’s return to the Premiership, Gullit, to the surprise of many, left the usually starting strikers Alan Shearer and Duncan Ferguson on the bench. Newcastle lost 2–1, although it was 1–1 when Shearer came on. Gullit resigned three days later, after only five games into the 1999–2000 season.^[17]

Feyenoord Rotterdam

Before the start of the 2004/2005 season, he took charge of Feyenoord, quitting at the end of that season without winning any trophies to be replaced by Erwin Koeman. Feyenoord had finished a disappointing 4th in the Eredivisie, behind Ajax, PSV and AZ.

Los Angeles Galaxy

On November 8, 2007, Ruud Gullit became head coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy, signing a 3-year contract.^[18]

Gullit’s managerial style was criticized by former Galaxy player Abel Xavier, in which he claimed that Gullit had frictions with most of the team and that he did not have respect for most of the players.^[19]

On August 11, 2008, Gullit resigned as coach from the Los Angeles Galaxy citing personal reasons. This followed a seven-game winless streak.^[20]

Media career

In 1988 Ruud Gullit scored a No.3 hit with the anti-apartheid song South Africa in the Dutch Top 40 together with the reggae band Revelation Time. Previously he had a modest hit in 1984 with the song Not the dancing kind.

After his spell at Newcastle, Gullit spent several years working as a football commentator, having previously coined the term “sexy football”^[21] during his spell as a BBC pundit during Euro 96 which was at a time Gullit was still playing professionally for Chelsea. Gullit used the term to describe teams, such as Portugal at that tournament,^[22] who played attractive football with an emphasis on the defense-penetrating pass-and-move game.

By 2006, Gullit had a talk show on Dutch TV, where he has interviewed, amongst others, Nelson Mandela.^[10] When Gullit was named winner of the Ballon d’Or in 1987, he dedicated the award to the then imprisoned Nelson Mandela. At the time, Gullit was signed to AC Milan and the Italians raised their eyebrows, “Nelson who?”. Gullit tried to explain and they said, ‘Oh, a footballer with political beliefs’. Gullit has since in interviews told that he met Nelson Mandela after he was released and Mandela said, ‘Ruud, I have lots of friends now. When I was on the inside, you were one of the few’.^[11]

In 2007 Gullit recalled, “Four months ago I visited Robben Island and met three guys who were cell-mates of Nelson Mandela. They remembered my dedicating my award in 1987 to Mandela and they said they couldn’t believe what I had done, and were sure the football authorities would withdraw the award. That’s what apartheid did to them, it made them believe injustice was a normal part of life.” ^[11]

He also appeared as a pundit for ITV during the 2006 FIFA World Cup and works as an analyst for the UEFA Champions League games on Sky Sports and Al Jazeera Sports.

Gullit currently works as an analyst for ESPN during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Personal life

Gullit has been married three times and has six children:

• Yvonne de Vries – 1984 to 1991: two children, daughters Felicity and Charmayne.
• Cristina Pensa – 1994 to May 2000: two children, son Quincy and daughter Sheyenne.
• Estelle Cruijff – 3 June 2000–present: She is the niece of Johan Cruijff. They have two children, son Maxim and daughter Joëlle.

Sponsors

Gullit was sponsored in 1990 to wear a black and white football boot made by Italian sports brand Lotto. The boot he wore was the Lotto Stadio 90, a boot which was initially created for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Honours

Club

HFC Haarlem

• Eerste Divisie: 1981

Feyenoord

• Eredivisie: 1984
• KNVB Cup: 1984

PSV

• Eredivisie: 1986, 1987

A.C. Milan

• Serie A: 1988, 1992, 1993
• Supercoppa Italiana: 1988, 1992, 1994
• UEFA Champions League: 1989, 1990
• UEFA Super Cup: 1989, 1990
• Intercontinental Cup: 1989, 1990

U.C. Sampdoria

• Coppa Italia: 1994
• Lotto Cup: 1993

Chelsea

• FA Cup: 1997

International

Netherlands

• European Championship: 1988
• Nasazzi’s Baton: 1985, 1986

Individual Playing Honours

• 1981
  • Netherlands Player of the Year (2° level)
• 1984
  • Dutch Footballer of the Year
  • Netherlands Cup Top Scorer: (9 goals)
• 1986
  • Dutch Footballer of the Year
  • Dutch Golden Shoe Winner
  • Netherlands League Silver Top Scorer : (24 goals)
• 1987
  • World Soccer Player of the Year 39%
  • European Footballer of the Year France Football : and Silver Ball in 1988
  • Dutch Sportsman of the Year
  • FIFA World Player of the Year
• 1988
  • Onze d’ Silver
  • Silver World Soccer Player of the Year
  • Bronze Best World Player of the Year IFFHS
  • Silver Ball, Boot 1988 European Championship : (1 goal)
• 1989
  • World Soccer Magazine World Footballer of the Year 24%
  • Onze d’ Silver
  • Silver Best Player of the Year UEFA
  • Bronze Best World Player of the Year IFFHS
  • Dream Team European Championship : 1988, 1992
• 1993
  • Bronze World Soccer Magazine World Footballer of the Year
• 1996
  • Silver Ball English League Player of the Year
  • Best Player of the Year Chelsea
• 2004
  • Named in FIFA 100
  • 1979–1997 Total of goals in official matches: 617 matches 238 goals.

Statistics

Managerial stats

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	L	D	Win %
Chelsea		May 10, 1996	February 12, 1998	83	41	24	18	49.39
Newcastle United		August 27, 1998	August 28, 1999	52	18	20	14	34.61
Feyenoord		August 13, 2004	May 22, 2005	45	25	8	12	55.56
Los Angeles Galaxy		November 8, 2007	August 11, 2008	12	6	4	2	50.00

Further reading

• Glanville, Brian (1999). Footballers Don’t Cry.
• Gullit, Ruud (1998). My Autobiography.
• Harris, Harry (1996). Ruud Gullit: Portrait of a Genius.

Paolo Cesare Maldini

Club career

Maldini made his league debut in the 1984–85 season on 20 January 1985, replacing the injured Sergio Battistini in a match against Udinese at the age of 16. It was his only league appearance of the campaign, but he was in the starting eleven the following season.

The 1987–88 Scudetto marked Maldini’s first trophy, and the first of seven league titles, with the club. He was also part of Milan’s undefeated Serie A champions in the 1991–92 season. The back four that included him and fellow long-timers Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and Mauro Tassotti is widely considered one of the best in Italian football.

In addition to winning his third Champions League and reaching the 1994 World Cup final, Maldini became the first defender ever to win World Soccer magazine’s annual World Player of the Year Award. During his acceptance speech, Maldini called his milestone “a particular matter of pride because defenders generally receive so much less attention from fans and the media than goalscorers. We are more in the engine room rather than taking the glory.” He then singled out Milan captain Franco Baresi as a player who “really [deserved] to receive the sort of award I have received.”

Maldini played his 600th Serie A match on 13 May 2007 in a 1–1 draw at Catania. On 25 September 2005, Maldini broke Dino Zoff’s Serie A appearance record after playing his 571st league match against Treviso; seven days earlier, he had played his 800th game in all competitions for Milan. On 16 February 2008, Maldini reached 1,000 senior games with Milan and Italy when he entered as a substitute against Parma.

Maldini has participated in eight UEFA Champions League finals during the course of his career, which is bettered only by Francisco Gento, who also appeared in a Cup Winners’ Cup final, bringing his total European finals to nine. Maldini has lifted the trophy five times, the latest coming in Milan’s 2–1 victory over Liverpool in the 2007 Champions League final on 23 May 2007 in Athens. In an interview with ESPN that aired prior to the broadcast of the 2007 final, he labeled the 2005 Champions League final, a match that Milan lost on penalties to Liverpool after blowing a 3–0 half-time lead, the worst moment of his career, even though he had scored the fastest-ever goal in a European Clubs’ Cup final just 51 seconds into the match, in the process also becoming the oldest player ever to score in a final.

Maldini announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2007–08 season, saying that he would do so with “no regrets.” However, following Milan’s elimination from the Champions League by Arsenal in March, Maldini stated that he would possibly delay his retirement for at least a further year.^[10] He signed an extension on June 6 that kept him at Milan for the 2008–09 season.^[11] On 18 April 2009, Maldini announced that he will be finally retiring at the end of the 2008–09 season. On 17 May, in the Friuli Stadium, Maldini played his 900th official match for Milan in a league game against Udinese. Maldini’s last match in San Siro was on 24 May, in a game lost 3–2 against Roma. His last appearance for Milan, and his last game as an active player was on 31 May 2009, in the last match of the season, against Fiorentina, which Milan won 2–0.

Milan retired his number 3 shirt, but it will be bequeathed to one of his sons if one makes the club’s senior side.

International career

In 1986, Maldini was called up by his father Cesare to the Italian U-21 side, where he earned twelve caps and scored five goals in two years. He made his Azzurri debut at the age of nineteen on 31 March 1988, in a 1–1 friendly draw against Yugoslavia, and made one appearance for Italy at the 1988 Olympics. Maldini featured in all four of Italy’s games at Euro 1988, and participated in his first World Cup in 1990, where Italy lost to Argentina in the semifinals on penalties.

Maldini’s first international goal came in his 44th career match, in a 2–0 friendly win over Mexico on 20 January 1993. He captained Italy at the start of the 1994 World Cup, losing to Brazil in the final on penalties. He was named in the Team of the Tournament, 32 years after his father received the same honor at the 1962 World Cup. Euro 1996 would see Italy eliminated in the group stage, and the quarterfinals of the 1998 World Cup. Italy did reach the final of Euro 2000, but lost to France in extra time.

After Italy were eliminated in the 2002 World Cup round of sixteen, Maldini retired trophyless from international competition as Italy’s most capped player. He scored seven international goals, all coming in home games. He spent over half of his 16 years as an international as team captain, wearing the armband a record 74 times.

In February 2009, Italian head coach Marcello Lippi declared his support for a testimonial match for Maldini, stating that it would give him a chance to play for the Azzurri for a final time.^[14] Italian Football Federation offered him a place in the line-up in a friendly match against Northern Ireland. However, Maldini rejected the offer, saying that he wanted to part with football in an “official” match.

Retirement

Prior to his retirement, Maldini expressed that he would never be moving into a coaching career.^[16][17] He was offered a position that would have reunited him with his former manager, Carlo Ancelotti, by joining Chelsea as a coach having reportedly met with Ancelotti and with Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich, to discuss such a possibility. On 30 June 2009, Ancelotti announced that Maldini had turned down his offer to become part of Chelsea’s coaching staff.

Personal life

Maldini is married to Adriana, a model, and has two sons, Christian (born 1996) and Daniel (born 2001)^[20] who both have already been signed by AC Milan and currently play in the youth teams.^[21][22] In 2003, he lifted the European Cup/Champions League as club captain exactly 40 years after his father Cesare accomplished the same feat, the only the father-son pair to accomplish this. Christian is currently in the Milan youth squad and also plays as a defender like his grandfather and father.

Career statistics

As of 31 May 2009.

¹European competitions include the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, and UEFA Super Cup
²Other tournaments include the Supercoppa Italiana, Intercontinental Cup and FIFA Club World Cup
³Play-off for UEFA Cup admission

[edit] International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	20 January 1993	Florence, Italy	Mexico	2–0	Win	Friendly
2.	24 March 1993	Palermo, Italy	Malta	6–1	Win	FIFA World Cup 1994 Qualification
3.	11 November 1995	Bari, Italy	Ukraine	3–1	Win	UEFA Euro 1996 Qualification
4.	29 March 1997	Trieste, Italy	Moldova	3–0	Win	FIFA World Cup 1998 Qualification
5.	30 April 1997	Naples, Italy	Poland	3–0	Win	FIFA World Cup 1998 Qualification
6.	22 April 1998	Parma, Italy	Paraguay	3–1	Win	Friendly
7.	5 June 1999	Bologna, Italy	Wales	4–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2000 Qualification

Honours

Milan

• Serie A: 7

1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04

• Coppa Italia: 1

2002–03

• Supercoppa Italiana: 5

1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2004

• European Cup/Champions League: 5

1988–89, 1989–90, 1993–94, 2002–03, 2006–07

• UEFA Super Cup: 5

1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007

• Intercontinental Cup: 2

1989, 1990

• FIFA Club World Cup: 1

2007

Individual

• Under-21 European Footballer of the Year: 1

1989

• FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament: 1

1994

• UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 3

1988, 1996, 2000

• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2

1990, 1994

• UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match: 1

2003

• Serie A Defender of the Year: 1

2004

• FIFA 100: 1

• UEFA Team of the Year: 2

2003, 2005

• ESM Team of the Year: 4

1994–95, 1995–96, 1999–2000, 2002–03

• FIFPro World XI: 1

2005

• UEFA Champions League Best Defender: 1

2007

• Italy captain: 1

1994–2002

• UEFA Champions League Achievement Award: 1

2009

• AC Milan all-time highest number of appearances: 1

902

• UEFA Champions League Record of most appearances: 1

168

• Serie A highest number of appearances: 1

674

One of the finest ever players in the game, Ferenc Puskas never was able to fulfil his true potential in a World Cup, despite being silvermedalist in 1954. He began his career in 1943 in Kispest a suburb of Budapest, and at the age of 18 in 1945 he made his debut for Hungary against Austria in his country’s first post-war international match. Puskas played in the fabulous Hungary side that trashed England 6-3 at Wembley in 1953, the first team outside Britain to beat England at home.

Born in 1927, Puskas was an odd looking footballer. He was short, stocky, barrel-chested, overweight, couldn’t head and only used one foot. Known as “The Galloping Major”, a reference to the fact that he was an army officer playing for an army team, he had huge success in Hungarian football with Kispest Honved. He won four league championships with them before moving to Real Madrid. He would enjoy even more success in the Spanish capital. Partnering the great Alfredo di Stefano up front, they formed the most feared duo in international football. Puskas was topscorer four times in the Spanish league, helping his team to win six domestic trophies and three European Cups. In the 1960 European Cup final he hammered home four goals in Madrid’s 7-3 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.

Puskas and Hungary were unbeaten in four years of international football when they arrived in Switzerland to play in the World Cup in 1954. It looked like their record would remain after beating South Korea 9-0 and the strong Germans 8-3! Puskas missed the quarter- and semifinal through injury, but his teammates took care of the business beating Brazil 4-2 in the “Battle of Berne” where fighting seemed more interesting than football for the players. Defending champions Uruguay were beaten after extra-time and the stage was set for a final against West Germany. Puskas insisted on playing in the final despite not being fully fit. The Galloping Major took over the captaincy and after only eight minutes Hungary were two goals up, with Puskas getting one of the goals. However, The Germans characteristically came back and won 3-2. It was a shock result and Hungary’s four year unbeaten record came to an end. The team broke up a couple of years later during the revolution in Hungary. Puskas later played four times for Spain in his time in Real Madrid but failed to score. For Hungary he played 84 times and scored a world record 83 goals! No player, not even Pelé, has scored that many goals for a national team.

Career in Hungary

Early years

Puskás was born as Ferenc Purczeld in Budapest and brought up in Kispest, then a village near the city. Today, Kispest is a district in Budapest. He was ten years old when his father Ferenc Sr. changed the family surname to Puskás.^[11] He began his career as a junior with Kispest AC,^[2] where his father, who had previously played for the club, was a coach.

He initially used the pseudonym Miklós Kovács to help circumvent the minimum age rules^[12] before officially signing at the age of 12. Among his early teammates was his childhood friend and future international teammate József Bozsik. He made his first senior appearance for Kispest in November 1943 in a match against Nagyváradi AC.^[13]

Kispest was taken over by the Hungarian Ministry of Defence in 1949, becoming the Hungarian Army team and changing its name to Budapest Honvéd. As a result, football players were given military ranks. Puskás eventually became a major, which led to the nickname “The Galloping Major”.^[11] As the army club, Honvéd used conscription to acquire the best Hungarian players, leading to the recruitment of Zoltán Czibor and Sándor Kocsis.^[14] During his career at Budapest Honvéd, Puskás helped the club win five Hungarian League titles. He also finished as top goal scorer in the league in 1947–48, 1949–50, 1950 and 1953, scoring 50, 31, 25 and 27 goals, respectively. In 1948, he was the top goal scorer in Europe.

Mighty Magyars

Puskás made his debut for Hungary team on 20 August 1945 and scored in a 5–2 win over Austria.^[15] He went onto play 85 games and scored 84 times for Hungary. His international goal record included two hat tricks against Austria, one against Luxembourg and four goals in a 12–0 win over Albania.^[16] Together with Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis, József Bozsik, and Nándor Hidegkuti, he formed the nucleus of the legendary team that went unbeaten for a then world record 32 consecutive games.^[17] During this run, they became Olympic Champions in 1952, beating Yugoslavia 2–0 in the final in Helsinki. Puskás scored four times at the Olympic tournament,^[16] including the opening goal in the final. They also twice gave England a footballing lesson. In 1953, they stunned England with a 6–3 win and became the first non-UK team to defeat the English national team at Wembley Stadium.^[15] At their next meeting in 1954, the Magyars defeated England 7–1 in Budapest, which, to this day, remains England’s heaviest ever defeat in international football. Puskás scored two goals in each game against England. This footballing exhibition was in part due to the early style of football strikingly similar to the “total football” displayed by the Dutch teams of 20 years later. This in stark comparison to the rigid system employed by the English team. In 1953, they also became Central European Champions. Hungary won the championship after finishing top of the table with 11 points. Puskás finished the tournament as top scorer with 10 goals and scored twice as Hungary claimed the trophy with a 3–0 win over Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in 1953.

Puskás scored three goals in the two first-round matches Hungary played at the 1954 FIFA World Cup. They defeated South Korea 9–0 and then West Germany 8–3. In the latter game, he suffered an ankle injury after a tackle by Werner Liebrich and did not return until the final. Despite not playing, Puskás became embroiled in controversy during the infamous quarter-final encounter with Brazil, dubbed the Battle of Berne. After the game finished, Puskás, a spectator, allegedly struck Pinheiro, a Brazilian player, with a bottle. The bottle gave Pinheiro a three-inch cut. Other reports blame another spectator and not Puskás.^{[citation needed]}

Puskás played the entire 1954 World Cup final against West Germany, although he was not fully fit.^{[citation needed]} Despite this, he scored his fourth goal of the tournament to put Hungary ahead after six minutes, and with Czibor adding another goal two minutes later, it seemed destined that the pre-tournament favorites would take the title. However, the West Germans pulled back two goals before half time and the tide began to turn. The second half saw telling misses from the Hungarian team and then with six minutes left the West Germans scored the winner. Two minutes from the end of the match, Puskás scored an equalizer but, in a controversial call, the goal was disallowed due to an offside call. Hungary lost 3–2, its record unbeaten run ended.

Honvéd World Tour

Budapest Honvéd entered the European Cup in 1956 and were drawn against Atlético Bilbao in the first round. Honvéd lost the away leg 2–3, but before the home leg could be played, the Hungarian Revolution erupted in Budapest. The players decided against going back to Hungary and arranged for the return with Atlético to be played at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium.^[17] Puskás scored in the subsequent 3–3 draw but Honvéd were eliminated 6–5 on aggregate, and the Hungarian players were left in limbo. They summoned their families from Budapest, and despite opposition from FIFA and the Hungarian football authorities, they organised a fundraising tour of Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Brazil. After returning to Europe, the players parted ways. Some, including Bozsik, returned to Hungary while others, including Czibor, Kocsis and Puskás, found new clubs in Western Europe

Spanish career

Real Madrid

Puskás’s player licence

After refusing to return to Hungary, Puskás initially played a few unofficial games for RCD Espanyol^{[citation needed]}. At the same time, both AC Milan and Juventus attempted to sign him, but then he received a two-year ban from UEFA which prevented him from playing in Europe. He moved to Austria and then Italy.^[17] After his ban, Puskás tried to play in Italy but was not able to find a top-flight club willing to sign him, as Italian managers were concerned about his age and weight.^[14] He was considered by Manchester United to strengthen a squad ravaged by the Munich Air Disaster in 1958, but because of The FA rules regarding foreigners and Puskás’ not knowing the English language, stand-in manager Jimmy Murphy could not fulfil his wish of signing the Hungarian. However, a few months later, Puskás joined Real Madrid and at the age of 31 embarked on the second phase of his career.

During his first La Liga season, Puskás scored four hat-tricks, including one in his second game, against Sporting de Gijón on 21 September 1958. In the game against UD Las Palmas on 4 January 1959, Puskás and Alfredo di Stéfano scored hat-tricks in a 10–1 win.^[20] During the 1960–61 season, Puskás scored four times in a game against Elche CF and the following season, he scored five goals against the same team. Puskás scored two hat-tricks against FC Barcelona in 1963, one at the Bernabéu and one at the Camp Nou. During eight seasons with Real, Puskás played 180 La Liga games and scored 156 goals. He scored 20 or more goals in each of his first six seasons in the Spanish league, and won the Pichichi four times: in 1960, 1961, 1963, and 1964, scoring 26, 27, 26 and 20 goals, respectively. He helped Real win La Liga five times in a row between 1961 and 1965 and the Copa del Generalísimo in 1962. He scored both goals in the 2–1 victory over Sevilla FC in the Copa final.

Puskás also played a further 39 games for Real in the European Cup, scoring 35 goals. He helped Real reach the final of the 1959 European Cup, scoring in the first leg and in the decisive replay of the semi-final against Atlético Madrid, but missed the final due to injury. However, in the following season, he would make up for it. He began Real’s 1960 European Cup campaign with a hat-trick against Jeunesse Esch and in the semi-final against CF Barcelona, he once again guided Real into the final with three goals over two legs. In the final itself, regarded by some as one the greatest finals ever, Puskás and di Stéfano once again ran riot. Real beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7–3 with Puskás scoring four goals^[2] and di Stéfano scoring three. In subsequent European campaigns, he would score a further three hat-tricks including one in the 1962 final against Benfica, which Real lost 5–3. In 1965, he scored five goals over two games against Feyenoord as he helped a new generation of Real Madrid players win the 1966 European Cup.

Spanish national appearances

In 1962, Puskás took Spanish nationality,^[21] and subsequently played four times for Spain. Three of these games were at the 1962 World Cup. For once, his goalscoring form deserted him and he failed to score any goals for Spain.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Puskás became a coach and managed teams in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

The highlight of his coaching career came in 1971 when he guided Panathinaikos of Greece to the European Cup final, the only time a Greek club has reached a European final to date. After beating Everton in the quarter-finals on away goals, Panathinaikos then pulled off the shock of the competition with a dramatic comeback in their semi-final against Red Star Belgrade. 4–1 down after the away first-leg, they won the return home second-leg 3–0 to qualify for the final on away goals.

The final saw Puskás return to Wembley Stadium. Panathinaikos had some memorable chances to score, but eventually lost 2–0 to Johan Cruyff’s Ajax.^[22] During his five-year tenure at Panathinaikos, Puskás helped the team secure two Greek Championships and his success with the team made him a cult figure among Panathinaikos fans. With the notable exception of his spell at Panathinaikos, Puskás failed to transfer his success as a player to his coaching career.

Despite his wide travels, his only other success came with South Melbourne Hellas, with whom he won the National Soccer League title in 1991.

When Wolverhampton Wanderers opened their new stadium Molineux in 1993, Puskás visited the newly opened stadium as an honorary guest to watch the friendly match between Wolves and Budapest Honvéd, which was a match to christen the new opening of the stadium. This was because in the 1950s, Wolves played a game against Honvéd in a memorable friendly match, which Puskás played in. Wolves won the match 3–2.

Later life and death

Puskás was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2000.^[23] He was admitted to a Budapest hospital in September 2006^[24] and died on 17 November 2006^[23] of pneumonia. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Erzsébet,^[25] and their daughter, Anikó.^[26] In a state funeral, his coffin was moved from Puskás Ferenc Stadion to Heroes’ Square for a military salute. He was laid to rest under the dome of the St Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest on 9 December 2006.

A street named Újtemető utca near Stadium Bozsik in the Hungarian capital of Budapest (specifically the district of Kispest) was renamed after Puskás precisely one year after the footballer’s death.

Honours

Club

• Budapest Honvéd
  • Hungarian League: 1949–50, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955
• Real Madrid
  • La Liga: 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65
  • Copa del Generalísimo: 1962
  • European Cup: 1959, 1960, 1966
    • Runners-up: 1962, 1964
  • Intercontinental Cup: 1960

Country

• Hungary
  • Olympic Champions: 1952
  • Central European Champions: 1953
  • World Cup Runners-up: 1954
  • Balkan Cup: 1947

Individual

• Central European International Cup: Top Scorer (10 Goals): 1954
• Hungarian Top Goalscorer: 1947–48, 1949–50, 1950, 1953
• World Soccer Player and European Player of the Year: 1953
• Winner Player European of the century XX L’Equipe
• Winner Player Hungarian of the century XX
• Winner Player Hungarian Top Goalscorer of the century XX
• Silver Ball European Footballer of the Year France Football : 1960
• Named in FIFA 100
• European Cup Top Scorer (12 goals)(7 goals): 1960, 1964
• Pichichi Trophy: 1959–60, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64

Manager

• Panathinaikos
  • Super League Greece: 1970–71, 1971–72
  • European Cup
    • Runners-Up: 1971
• South Melbourne Hellas
  • National Soccer League: 1990–91
  • NSL Cup: 1989–90
  • Docherty Cup: 1989 and 1991

Career statistics

The following seasons were even more successful – he scored 33 times and Ajax won both the league and the KNVB, the Netherlands equivalent of the FA Cup. He won the title of Dutch footballer of the year in the ‘66, ‘67, and ‘69 seasons. The ‘69 season saw Cruijff’s Ajax win another league and cup double. This season also saw Ajax reach the finals of the European cup, but they were defeated 4-1 by AC Milan. At the beginning of the season, Cruijff suffered a serious groin injury that was to recur at various intervals throughout his career. During his absence, Gerrie Muhren wore his number nine shirt. When Cruijff returned, he wore the number 14 shirt, and decided to stick with it for the rest of his career.

In those days, players were usually allotted a shirt numbered 1 to 11 depending on their starting position. It was highly unusual for a regular starter to wear the number 14. He also began wearing the number 14 during his international appearances. This became something of a trademark – there is a documentary about him entitled ‘Number 14’, and it is frequently referenced in biographies. 1971 was also an extraordinarily successful year for Cruijff’s Ajax, who defeated Panathinaikos 2-0 at Wembley. This season saw Cruijff named European player of the year for the first time. To dispel speculation that he would move clubs, he signed a seven-year contract at the end of that season. However, after winning two more European Cups in 1972 and 1973, he signed to Barcelona for six million guilder.

Always willing to express his political beliefs publicly, he made himself popular among Catalans by declaring that he could never play for Real Madrid because of its association with the Fascist leader General Franco. He helped Barcelona to their first ‘La Liga’ championship in 14 years in 1973/74, and was named European footballer of the year for good measure. During his tenure at Barcelona, Cruijff scored his most famous goal, known popularly as the ‘Phantom’ goal, because of its seemingly supernatural quality. Somehow, Cruijff managed to jump in the air with his back to goal, and use his heel to score past a beleaguered Atletico Madrid goalkeeper.

Like so many of Europe’s best known players of the 1970’s, Cruijff was lured to the United States to play exhibition matches for the New York Cosmos and eventually signed a lucrative contract with the Los Angeles Aztecs. After a season with the Aztecs, he switched coasts, and signed for a season with the Washington Diplomats. By this time the campaign to elevate the status of soccer in the eyes of US sports fans had more or less run its course, and Cruijff returned to the Netherlands in 1981.

A 34 year old Cruijff signed to Ajax but the club decided not to extend his contract after the end of the second season. This angered the Amsterdam-born Cruijff, who moved to arch rivals Feyenoord in protest. He helped the club to its first league and cup double in over a decade. At the end of the 83/84 season, after making 33 appearances and scoring 11 times for Feyenoord, Cruijff retired after 20 years as one of the most prolific strikers in the world.

Cruijff also enjoyed a distinguished career as an international, playing a central role in the famous 1974 Dutch team that came second place in the FIFA World Cup Finals, where he was named player of the tournament. They lost the final 2-1 to their West German hosts, after Cruijff coordinated one of the most famous pieces of attacking football in history, which ended with the Netherlands scoring a penalty. Although Cruijff helped the Netherlands to qualify for the 1978 World Cup, he refused to participate in the actual tournament as it was being held in Argentina, which was in the grip of a right-wing military junta, which had seized power during a coup two years ago. Without him, the Netherlands lost in the final again.

Cruijff is the embodiment of ‘total football’, a style of play developed by Ajax coach Rinus Michaels. The style arose in opposition to the physical aspect of the game prevalent at the time, emphasising the importance of technical skill and awareness. Cruijff and his Ajax team-mates were able swap positions at the drop of a hat – he was particularly fond of taking defenders unawares by moving out from his central position to the wings. He commented; “Total football is to do with your way of thinking, character – everything is involved. The Dutch team at that time was made up mostly from Ajax players. We could change position easily, and that’s total football… the first defender was the centre forward, which was me. We had a change of mentality on the field where we thought we could achieve anything.”

Cruijff reprised his role as a football technician in managerial roles at Ajax and Barcelona. He led an all-star Barcelona team to victory against Sampdoria at the Wembley European Cup finals in 1992. He is Barcelona’s most successful manager to date; the club won 11 competitions under his stewardship. In 1999 he was named European footballer of the century, and is widely regarded as one of the top five players ever to of played the game.

Yohan Cruyff Trick

Individual Honours

• KNVB Lifetime Achievement Award: 2006
• Laureus World Sports Awards Lifetime Achievement Award: 2006
• Selected as the Golden Player of the Netherlands by KNVB: 2003
• Dutch Supercup named after him (Johan Cruijff-schaal): 1996
• Dutch Golden Shoe Winner: 1984
• Dutch Sportsman of the Year: 1974
• European Footballer of the Year: 1974, 1971

Player Statistics

Giuseppe “Peppino” Meazza (23 August 1910 – 21 August 1979) also known as il “Balilla”, Peppin in the Milanese dialect, and sometimes just Pepp, was an Italian footballer playing mainly for Inter in the 1930s, scoring 243 goals in 361 games for the club. He is still considered by many to be one of the greatest – if not the greatest – Italian players of all-time, as well as the greatest Italian forward of all time. 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 forward. 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 [1].

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 [2] The “Gazzetta dello Sport”, the day after his official debut in the Italian championship on the 12th of September, 1927, praised his game “intelligent, fresh, quick”[3], 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. 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 [4]. “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[5].

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.”

During the 1958 world cup, while watching the final between Sweden and Brazil, after one of the commentators said that nobody had ever seen a player like Pele before, Franco Rossi began screaming that it was not true, that Meazza was better [6].

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.

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 Internazionale. 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 against Venezia beat 10-2. April 27 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 May 25 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.

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 November 28 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 February 9, 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, October 18th 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 Italy 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 February 9, 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 March 2, 1930 against Germany in Frankfurt, where Meazza scored a goal in a 2-0 win. A few months later, May 11, 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 January 25 1931, Meazza scored another three goals in a 5-0 win against France.

During the Dr. Gero Cup game against Austria on February 22, Meazza helped Italy to victory after overcoming an early deficit when Horvath had scored in the 4th minute. 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, 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 March 25 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. Meazza scored 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 Austria. 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 game 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 back 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. 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.

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 December 9, 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 to another victory, again playing in every match. After what turned out to be their toughest game of the tournament in the opener against Norway (Italy won 2-1 in extra time) he 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 Italy’s 4-2 win over Hungary in the final, 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.

Career records

Serie A record

Meazza is still today the third top-scorer ever in the Italian Championship.

National team record

(Italy’s score shown first)

Playing Honours

A.S. Ambrosiana / A.S. Ambrosiana-Inter (F.C. Internazionale Milano)

• Serie A (3)
  • Winner: 1929-30, 1937-38, 1939-40
  • Runner-Up: 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35
• Coppa Italia (1)
  • Winner: 1939
• Mitropa Cup
  • Runner-Up: 1933

A.C. Milan

• Coppa Italia
  • Runner-Up: 1942

Italy

• FIFA World Cup (2)
  • Winner: 1934, 1938

• Dr. Gero Cup (2)
  • Winner: 1927/1930, 1933/1935

Trivia

• Meazza was one the first Italians to coach abroad, coaching Besiktas J.K. of Turkey 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 the Italian national team’s second highest scorer. His record stood until Gigi Riva tied and eventually broke it on June 9th 1973, also in a game against Brazil.