Valentino Mazzola

Valentino Mazzola
Mazzola with Torino
Personal information
Date of birth (1919-01-26)26 January 1919[1]
Place of birth Cassano d'Adda, Italy
Date of death 4 May 1949(1949-05-04) (aged 30)
Place of death Superga, Italy
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Forward
Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1934–193? Tresoldi
193? Fara d'Adda
193?–1936 Tresoldi
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1936–1938 Tresoldi
1938–1939 Alfa Romeo (18)
1939–1940 Venezia Reserves
1939–1942 Venezia 61 (12)
1942–1949 Torino 195 (118)
International career
1942–1949 Italy 12 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Valentino Mazzola (Italian pronunciation: [valenˈtiːno matˈtsɔːla]; 26 January 1919 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward.

Considered one of the great number 10s in the history of football[2][3] and, according to some, the best Italian footballer of all time,[3][4][5] Mazzola was the captain and symbol of the "Grande Torino", the team recognised as one of the strongest in the world during the second half of the 1940s,[6] with whom Mazzola won five Serie A championships. He was also captain of the Italy national team for two years.[7]

He became known during his spell at Venezia, where he played as a midfielder, a playing position he held throughout his career that allowed him to expand his fame beyond Italy. In his later seasons, he was considered one of the best players in Europe in his role.[8] He died at the age of 30 in the Superga air disaster.[7][9]

  1. ^ "Mazzola, Valentino" (in Italian). Enciclopedia Del Calcio. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference sappino347 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference eterno was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Foot. pp. 159, 160.[full citation needed]
  5. ^ Massimo Filipponi (2 January 2000). "Nessuno è stato superiore al Grande Torino" (PDF) (in Italian). L'Unità. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  6. ^ Sconcerti. p. 75.
  7. ^ a b "VALENTINO MAZZOLA" (in Italian). Storie di Calcio. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  8. ^ Paolo Spriano (5 May 1949). "La terribile sciagura di Superga" (PDF) (in Italian). L'Unità (ed. piemontese). p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  9. ^ "The heartbeat of Il Grande Torino: Valentino Mazzola". FIFA. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.