Giuseppe Meazza
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- For the stadium named after this man - which is more commonly known as San Siro - see Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Giuseppe Meazza (August 23 1910 – August 21 1979) 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 Italian players of all-time.
Meazza was the first Italian football player who became famous worldwide, and was the first player with personal sponsors. He was also famous for sleeping at a brothel the night before a match.
San Siro, the principal stadium in his native city of Milan, which is today shared by Inter and crosstown rivals AC Milan, is now officially called Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Career at Inter Milan
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 didn't 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 won 3 national championships with Inter in 1930, 1938 and 1940, and was runner-up in 1933, 1934 and 1935; the Italian Cup in 1939; and was top-scorer of Serie A 3 times (1930, 1936, 1938). He was also top-scorer in the pre-Serie A year of 1929. Later in his career he played also with A.C. Milan, Juventus and Atalanta Bergamo.
National team career
Meazza played for Italy in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups, both of which Italy won.Among his memorable moments is a goal he scored in the 1938 tournament against Brazil in the semi-final. Italy were awarded a controversial penalty and as Meazza stepped up to take it, his shorts fell down. Meazza, without letting this stress him, held his shorts up and shot past the confused Brazilian keeper Walter, sending Italy through to the final.
Meazza won 2 Dr. Gerö Cup, in the 1930 and 1935. That cup was a 3 year international tournement between the strongest national teams of central and eastern Europe.
He played 53 time with Italia and lost just only 6 matches.
Career records
Serie A record
| Season | Club | Appearances | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1927-28 | Inter | 33 | 11 |
| 1928-29 | Inter | 29 | 38 |
| 1929-30 | Inter | 33 | 31 |
| 1930-31 | Inter | 34 | 24 |
| 1931-32 | Inter | 28 | 21 |
| 1932-33 | Inter | 32 | 20 |
| 1933-34 | Inter | 32 | 21 |
| 1934-35 | Inter | 30 | 19 |
| 1935-36 | Inter | 29 | 24 |
| 1936-37 | Inter | 26 | 11 |
| 1937-38 | Inter | 26 | 20 |
| 1938-39 | Inter | 16 | 4 |
| 1939-40 | Inter | 0 | 0 |
| 1940-41 | Milan | 14 | 6 |
| 1941-42 | Milan | 23 | 3 |
| 1942-43 | Juventus | 27 | 10 |
| 1945-46 | Atalanta | 14 | 2 |
| 1946-47 | Inter | 17 | 2 |
| Total Serie A | 367 | 216 | |
Meazza is still today the third top-scorer ever in the Italian Championship.
National team record
With 33 goals, Meazza is still the the Italian national team's second highest scorer, behind only Luigi Riva. He died in 1979 aged 68.
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