José Altafini

Who is this?

José João Altafini (Italian: [altaˈfiːni]; born 24 July 1938), also known as "Mazzola" in Brazil, is an Italian-Brazilian former footballer, who played as a forward. Although, he began his career with Palmeiras in Brazil, he soon moved to play football in Italy, and is mostly remembered for his highly successful stint with Italian club AC Milan, with which he achieved a great domestic and international success; he later played for Napoli and Juventus, before ending his career in Switzerland with spells at Chiasso and Mendrisiostar. A highly prolific goalscorer, Altafini also held the record for the most goals scored in a single European Cup campaign for over 50 years; he is also one of only eight players to have scored five goals in a single European Cup match. He is the joint-fourth highest scorer in Italian Serie A history (along with Giuseppe Meazza) with 216 goals, and also holds the record for being the fifth-youngest player in Serie A history to score 100 goals, a feat which he managed at the age of 24 years and 239 days. Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, and as one of Serie A's and Milan's greatest-ever players, Altafini had an eye for goal and was quick, skilful and powerful. At international level, he represented both Brazil and Italy; he was a member of the Brazilian side that won the 1958 FIFA World Cup, and later also represented Italy at the 1962 FIFA World Cup. He was a football pundit on Italian TV for the SKY Italia and a commentator on Italian radio for RTL 102.5, as well as being the secondary commentator on the Pro Evolution Soccer video games in Italy. Altafini coined the expression "golaço" (or the Italianised "golazzo") whenever a notable goal is scored and was known for his iconic exclamation "incredibile, amici!" ("incredible, friends!"). In his career, Altafini scored 630 goals.

Career

1. 1938
   Born
2. 1954
   Joined Esporte Clube XV de Novembro
3. 1956
   Joined Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras
4. 1957
   Joined Brazil men's national football team
5. 1958
   Joined AC Milan
6. 1961
   Joined Italy men's national association football team
7. 1965
   Joined SSC Napoli
8. 1972
   Joined Juventus FC
9. 1976
   Joined FC Chiasso
10. 1979
    Joined FC Mendrisio

Trivia

• •Place of birth: Piracicaba
• •Citizenship: Brazil, Italy
• •Known as: association football player, sports commentator, color commentator, dub actor
• •Sport: association football