Attila Sallustro

Attila Sallustro

A.C. Napoli line-up, 1929 (Far left is Sallustro)
Personal information
Full name	Attila Sallustro
Date of birth	(1908-12-15)15 December 1908
Place of birth	Asunción, Paraguay
Date of death	28 May 1983(1983-05-28) (aged 74)
Place of death	Rome, Italy
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1920–1922	Internazionale Napoli
1922–1925	FBC Internaples
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1925–1926	FBC Internaples	13	(10)
1926–1937	Napoli	258	(107)
1937–1939	Salernitana	14	(1)
International career
1929–1932	Italy	2	(1)
Managerial career
1939	Salernitana
1961	Napoli
Medal record Italy Central European International Cup 1931–32 Central European International Cup
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Attila Sallustro (Italian pronunciation: [ˈattila salˈlustro]; 15 December 1908 – 28 May 1983) was a professional Italian–Paraguayan footballer who played as a striker. He is considered an important player in S.S.C. Napoli's history, and became extremely popular with the fans during his time with the club.

Early life

Sallustro was born in Asunción, Paraguay to Italian parents (Gaetano and Evelina), but moved to Naples in Italy, with his parents and siblings as a youngster in 1920. He came from a wealthy background and his father, wanted him to play football in Italy. He joined a football academy at the age of 12, where he drew attention of a scout who brought him to Internaples (the name of the club "Napoli" at the time).

Club career

Napoli and Salernitana

Sallustro joined Napoli when they were first known as Internaples and stayed on with the club for the majority of his career. At Napoli he was nicknamed "Il Veltro" and "Il Divino". Due to his background, Sallustro chose not to take any financial pay from the club, as his father believed that it was unacceptable to earn a living in such a manner. However, he was rewarded with gifts, including a luxury motor car, a black Fiat Balilla 521. In his first season, he scored 10 goals in 13 appearances, at only 18 years of age.

At Napoli he played for 12 years, forming a strong attack alongside Antonio Vojak and Marcello Mihalich. In total, he scored 108 goals for the club in 269 appearances across all competitions, making him Napoli's fifth-highest goalscorer of all time. He served as the club's captain between 1933 and 1937. His career was halted at one point due to World War II. He had a brother two years his junior, named Oreste Sallustro (referred to sometimes as Sallustro II). The two played together at Napoli though Oreste appeared less frequently.

After retiring from football in 1939, following a two-year spell with Salernitana, he stayed in Naples until his death in 1983, serving as the director of the city's San Paolo Stadium between 1960 and 1981, Napoli's home ground, and as the club's manager in 1961.

International career

Sallustro was called up in the Italy national football team twice in 1929 and scored for them once. One of the games in which he played was a 6–1 defeat of Portugal. Sallustro along with Marcello Mihalic was the first Napoli player to be called up in the Italy national team. He made one start in the silver medal 1931–32 Central European International Cup campaign, in Italy's 3–0 win against Switzerland.

Despite his goal-scoring pedigree at club level, he was kept out of the side during much of his playing days due largely to the inclusion of Giuseppe Meazza in the centre-forward role by manager Vittorio Pozzo. This was famously much to the dismay of some Neapolitans who thought his exclusion from the squad was unjust.

Honours

Italy

• Central European International Cup: Runner-up: 1931–32