José Altafini

José Altafini

Personal information
Full name	José João Altafini
Date of birth	August 24, 1938 (1938-08-24)
Place of birth	Piracicaba, Brazil
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1956–1958	Palmeiras	114	(85)
1958–1965	Milan	205	(120)
1965–1972	Napoli	180	(71)
1972–1976	Juventus	74	(25)
National team
1957–1958	Brazil	8	(4)
1961–1962	Italy	6	(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

José João Altafini, (also known as "Mazzola" in Brazil) (born August 24, 1938) is an Italian Brazilian former footballer. He is the joint-third highest scorer in Italian Serie A history (along with Giuseppe Meazza) with 216 goals. He currently holds the record for the highest no. of goals scored by any individual in a single Champions league/European Champion Clubs' Cup season with 14 goals.

He is currently a well-known football pundit on Italian TV SKY Italia and a speaker on Italian radio RTL 102.5. He's also the second speaker on Pro Evolution Soccer video games in Italy.

Club career

Altafini played for Palmeiras in Brazil, before he began his career in Italy with AC Milan in 1958. He made his debut on September 21, 1958, and, in his first season, played 32 games and scored 28 goals, winning the title along the way. His first league goal came on October 5 in a win against Bari. Milan won the title again in 1962, when Altafini was the league's joint top scorer with 22 goals in 33 games.

In 1963 European Cup Final, Altafini scored two goals against SL Benfica to secure Milan's first European triumph. The game ended 2–1.

In 1965, Altafini joined Napoli, where he stayed until 1972. In 1972, Napoli ironically lost 2–0 in the final of the Coppa Italia to Altafini's previous club, Milan.

After his time at Napoli, he joined Juventus and lost another cup final in 1973. He did, however, win two more league titles: in 1973 and 1975. By the time he left Juventus in 1976, Altafini had played 459 games in Serie A and had scored 216 goals, although he had scored most of these in the early part of his career. In fact, he only scored 53 goals in his last 8 seasons in Italy, whereas he had scored 134 in his first 8.

After leaving Italy he played for four years in Switzerland for FC Chiasso and Mendrisiostar before retiring at the age of 42.

After retiring from football, Altafini became a commentator where he coined the term 'Golazzo' which translates in English as 'Goaltastic'; although it is not actually a word in Italian. A sound bite of his use of the phrase while commentating was used at the start and finish of Channel 4's Football Italia, although it was commonly mistaken as 'Goal Lazio' by the British audience.

International career

Born in Brazil, Altafini played international football for both Brazil and Italy. In Brazil he is nicknamed 'Mazola' (in Brazil often spelled with only one 'z') for his resemblance to the Grande Torino legendary captain Valentino Mazzola. He played in the 1958 World Cup for winners Brazil, but didn't play in the later stages, having been replaced by Pelé. His Italy debut came against Israel on October 15, 1961, a game in which he also scored. He played in the 1962 World Cup for Italy.

Statistics

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Milan	1958–1959	32	28	4	4	–	–	2	2	38	34
	1959–1960	33	20	–	–	4	2	2	4	38	26
	1960–1961	34	22	2	4	–	–	2	0	38	26
	1961–1962	33	22	–	–	2	0	–	–	35	22
	1962–1963	31	11	2	1	9	14	4	5	46	31
	1963–1964	30	14	1	0	4	4	3	1	38	19
	1964–1965	12	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	3
Total		205	120	9	9	19	20	13	12	246	161
Napoli
	1965–1966	34	14	2	1	-	-	?	7	36+?	22
	1966–1967	27	16	1	1	5	2	–	–	33	19
	1967–1968	29	13	2	1	3	3	–	–	34	17
	1968–1969	21	5	4	2	3	1	?	0	28+?	8
	1969–1970	15	8	3	0	3	0	?	3	21+?	11
	1970–1971	25	7	11	4	–	–	–	–	36	11
	1971–1972	29	8	5	2	2	0	–	–	36	10
Total		180	71	28	11	16	6	?	10	224+?	98
Juventus
	1972–1973	23	9	6	0	6	3	–	–	35	12
	1973–1974	21	7	8	2	2	1	1	0	32	10
	1974–1975	20	8	6	0	9	5	–	–	35	13
	1975–1976	10	1	4	1	3	0	–	–	17	2
Total		74	25	24	3	20	9	1	0	119	37
Career totals		459	216	61	23	55	35	14+?	22	589+?	296

*European competitions include the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup & UEFA Cup

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Sergio Brighenti	Serie A Top Scorer (Shared with Aurelio Milani) 1961–62	Succeeded by Harald Nielsen Pedro Manfredini