Giampiero Boniperti

Giampiero Boniperti
Boniperti with Juventus between 1940s and 1950s
Born(1928-07-04)4 July 1928
Barengo, Italy
Died18 June 2021(2021-06-18) (aged 92)
Turin, Italy
NationalityItalian
Occupations
  • Footballer
  • Company director
  • Politician
Years active
1946–1961(as footballer)
1961–1990(as company director)
1994–1999(politician)
EmployerJuventus
Known for
  • FIFA 100
  • second highest goalscorer of Juventus
  • see content for full awards and recognition
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
TitleJuventus chairman
Term1971–1990
PredecessorVittore Catella
SuccessorVittorio Caissotti di Chiusano
RelativesFilippo Boniperti (grandson)
Member of the European Parliament
In office
1994–1999
Personal details
Political partyForza Italia
Other political
affiliations
Forza Europa(1994–1995)
Union for Europe(1995–1998)
European People's Party(1998–1999)
Association football career
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1944–1946 Juventus
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1946–1961 Juventus 443 (179)
International career
1947–1960 Italy 38 (8)
1950 Italy B[1] 1 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Giampiero Boniperti (Italian pronunciation: [dʒamˈpjɛːro boniˈpɛrti]; 4 July 1928 – 18 June 2021) was an Italian footballer who played his entire 15-season career at Juventus between 1946 and 1961, [2] winning five Serie A titles and two Coppa Italia titles. He also played for the Italy national team at international level and took part in the 1950 and 1954 FIFA World Cup finals, as well as the 1952 Summer Olympics with Italy. After retirement from professional football, Boniperti was a CEO and chairman of Juventus and, later, a deputy to the European Parliament.[3]

A forward, Boniperti is regarded by several pundits, including Mario Sconcerti, as one of Italy's and Juventus's greatest ever players, and is considered by some in the sport, such as Bruno Nicolè, to be Italy's greatest player of all time;[4][5][6][7] with 182 goals in all competitions, Boniperti was the highest goalscorer in Juventus history for more than 40 years, until his record was bested by Alessandro Del Piero on 10 January 2006.[8] Del Piero also broke his club record of 443 Serie A appearances on 14 February 2010, when he played his 444th Serie A game in a 3–2 win against Genoa;[9] with 443 Serie A appearances for Juventus, Boniperti is currently third in the club's rankings, behind only Del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon.[10] Boniperti also held the record for most minutes played in Serie A by a Juventus player (39,680), until his record was surpassed by Buffon on 19 March 2017, in the 66th minute of a 1–0 away win over Sampdoria.[11] Boniperti is the eleventh-highest goalscorer of all-time in Serie A. In March 2004, he was named by Pelé as one of the world's top 125 greatest living footballers.

  1. ^ Courtney, Barrie (22 May 2014). "England - International Results B-Team - Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Giampiero Boniperti Obituary". The Times. 24 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Giampiero Boniperti". Olympedia. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  4. ^ Gigi Garanzini. "BONIPERTI, Giampiero" (in Italian). Treccani: Enciclopedia dello Sport (2002). Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  5. ^ Stefano Bedeschi (4 July 2014). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Giampiero BONIPERTI" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  6. ^ "Riva il migliore per i lettori di CM. Sconcerti: 'Ma Rivera era al suo livello'" (in Italian). calciomercato.com. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Nicolè, il bel centrattacco che pesava troppo: "Il calcio? Dimenticato"" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Del Piero supera Boniperti" [Del Piero overtakes Boniperti]. juventus.com (in Italian). 10 January 2006. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  9. ^ "Del Piero, vittoria e record: "Punti pesantissimi"" (in Italian). Sky. 14 February 2010. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  10. ^ "Presenze Giocatori Campionato Serie A" [Player Appearances Serie A Championship]. myjuve.it (in Italian). My Juve.it. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  11. ^ "After 39,681 Serie A minutes, Buffon smashes yet another Juventus record". fourfourtwo.com. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.