Giuseppe Meazza is a two-time world champion, a three-time champion of his native Italy, a legendary footballer, a famous striker, often compared to Pele, the Brazilian "king of football".
Three times the top scorer in Serie A, today the famous Italian is considered the second sniper in the history of the Italian national team with 33 goals, second only to Luigi Riva.
Biography of Giuseppe Meazza: family
Milanese Giuseppe was born on August 23, 1910. The boy's father took part in the First World War and, upon returning from the front, died from his wounds. The premature departure of a parent and the leadership inclinations inherent in the young man contributed to his early maturation and behavior, which was an order of magnitude ahead of the age of the young man. Before playing football, Giuseppe Meazza helped his mother in the bakery, where he baked bread.
The beginning of a football career
Football for a young manwas a passion from childhood, which was characteristic of all adolescents in post-war Italy. At the age of 13, the boy himself formed the Constanta club, taking on all the organizational tasks. After some time, Giuseppe Meazza moved to the Maestri Campionesi team, and then asked to join Milan, whose fan he had been since childhood. The beloved team did not appreciate Giuseppe's zeal and skills, criticizing him for his frail figure. Holding a grudge, Meazza moved to the International, in which he won regional championships for two seasons.
In 1927, Meazza - still a frail teenager with a height of 169 cm and a body weight of 40 kg - was enlisted in the adult reserve. At that time, the Hungarian Arpad Weiss was the coach of the main team. Selecting players for the upcoming tournament, for some personal reasons, he invited the "dystrophic" Meazza to the training camp, which turned out to be a huge surprise for everyone.
Balilla - in the main team
Giuseppe Meazza, whose football biography is a vivid example for novice athletes, made full use of the opportunity: in the game with Milanese, he managed to hit the opponent's goal twice. After the game, the delighted coach announced that "from now on, this Balilla will always play in the first team."
Why Balilla? In Italy, there is a legend that tells of a plain-looking young man who managed in 1746 to initiate a rebellion against the Austrian invaders who had seized a share of Italian lands. This young man's nickname was Balilla, which means "bullet" in Russian.
Professional success of Giuseppe
1927. Summer. Meazza again annoyed Milan, who lost to Inter 2-3, and the control goal was again scored by Giuseppe-Balilla. In the same season, in the game against Genoa (score 6:1), Meazza scored 2 goals against the opponent.
1929 was marked by some significant developments in the Italian club: the Internationale was renamed Ambrosiana and merged with Milanese. The National League acquired a modern look: Serie A was an integral championship, in which 18 clubs took part. In his first season, Meazza won Serie A with the club and was named top scorer.
The events that took place in the final round of the championship can generally be called unique. "Ambrosiana" played with "Genoa" on the guest field, the hosts began to lead with a score of 3:0. However, the unexpected happened: under the weight of the spectators at the stadium, the stand collapsed unexpectedly. The game was stopped, and after its resumption, Giuseppe Meazza, under some incredible inspiration, scored three times against the opponent. The match ended with the score 3:3, for the first time in the history of the Italian Serie A, the team won the Scudetto.
Personal qualities of an Italian footballer
The frail Giuseppe Meazza is a football player who stood out from the rest of the players with his personal qualities. Fully justifying his nickname ("bullet"), he is with lightning speed (for 12seconds) overcame the lawn hundred meters, could throw out tricks that no one could repeat. The ability of a football player to masterfully, better than others to possess the ball was admired.
Meazza is the best striker and scorer
In Inter, football player Meazza quickly became an attacking leader, and after a short time, the "brain" of the Italian team. Two goals scored by a high-speed football player within three minutes in a duel with Switzerland allowed to consider this way. In this match, Squadre Azzurre took the lead with a score of 4:2. It happened in February 1930.
In the following games, Meazza also had a decisive influence on the result. In the away match with the Germans, he scored a goal in the 75th minute, which predetermined the outcome of the match with a score of 2:0. Further in Budapest, with a score of 5:0, Italy defeated Hungary, Giuseppe Meazza scored three times in this match. This was the most important match between the teams of the Old World, the so-called Central European Cup - the progenitor of the modern European Championship. Largely thanks to the goals of Balilla, Italy triumphed in this tournament.
53 matches for Italy
In the winter of 1931, Meazza, when meeting with the French in the first half, hit the opponent's goal three times, becoming the star of this championship. Having gained experience, Giuseppe learned to lead his colleagues, rebuilding the team game during the fight. In his homeland, Giuseppe became extremely popular. The player pioneered the tradition of sports stars advertising various products. He himself advertised perfumes. ATAt this time, things were not going very smoothly for Inter: the team could not reproduce the victorious result of 1930 with winning the Scudetto. Three years in a row (from 1934 to 1936 inclusive) the club lost in the competition for leadership to the Turin "Juventus", taking the second place of honor. 1938 The Italian national team became the world champion again, and the Inter team regained gold after a long break.
Meazza was named the best sniper for the 4th time. In total, from 1930 to 1939, the footballer played 53 matches for the national team of his native country.
Black streak in the life of Giuseppe
Next Giuseppe Meazza, whose achievements are the pride of Italy, underwent surgery to remove his appendix and recovered for a very long time. He returned to the national team in the spring of 1939, and in the summer he became engaged to Rita Galloni. The couple had a daughter. Then another disaster struck the athlete - blockage of the artery, which led to global circulatory disorders. Another operation - and a year of rehabilitation. Without Giuseppe, the club won the Scudetto again in 1940.
With AC Milan
However, after recovering, Meazza entered the field as part of another team - Milan. Wearing a red and black uniform, Giuseppe Meazza made his debut for the club he had been raving about since childhood. It happened in January 1941. In the summer of 1942, he moved to Juventus in Turin. The 1943-1944 season was disrupted due to the war, the Giuseppe family moved to the small town of Varese. There the couple was bornsecond baby. Since the summer of 1947, Meazza took up coaching work, began to collaborate with the sports magazine Sport Illustrato. Further, Giuseppe received an offer to cooperate with the Italian national team, briefly replaced the dismissed mentors.
Giuseppe Meazza. San Siro Stadium
Since 1957, he has been training with the younger generation at the Inter football school. Giuseppe Meazza, the champion of Italy and the world, completed his life on August 21, 1979, only two days before his birthday. In 1982, Milan's San Siro arena was renamed in honor of the legendary football player, accommodating more than 8,000 spectators.
