Greatest World Cup players of all time no. 9 Guiseppe Meazza

Guiesppe Meazza

Born in the Porta Vittoria, Milan on 23rd August 1910, Guiseppe "Peppino" Meazza is simply the greatest Italian player of all time. Scoring 33 goals in 53 games and winning the World Cup twice.

Having lost his father in 1917 during the First World War, young Meazza grew up with his mother, helping her to sell fruit at the local market. However, even from this age, it was clear that football was his true calling though his mother used to hide his shoes in an effort to stop him playing all the time, thus Meazza used to spend much of his time playing barefoot. At 6 he began playing on the streets for the 'Maestri Campionesi' team, playing with a ball made of rags and not until he was 12 years did he finally achieve permission from his mother to actively pursue becoming a footballer, beginning to learn his trade at local club Gloria F.C., his mother unable to afford actual football boots, it was a local fan that bought him his first pair.

At 13, Meazza dreamed of playing for A.C. Milan, winning a trial with them but was rejected for being too skinny.After being noticed by a scout from Italian giants Internazionale of Milan (Inter Milan) juggling a ball rag in the street he was soon signed up. They continually fed him a diet of steaks so he would get bigger and stronger. In 1927, the then 26 year old striker Leopoldo Conti was surprised to hear he was dropped to make for the 17 year old Meazza, thinking he was far too young to be even associated with the first team after Inter coach Arpad Weisz selected him, 'Now we even take players from kindergarten!' he exclaimed sarcastically (inreference to The National Opera Balilla, the fascist youth organisation which collected all children aged between 8-14). Meazza scored two goals on his debut against Milanese Inione Soprtivo in a 6-2 win, leaving Conti speechless. The 'Gazzetta dello Sport' the following day (12th September 1927) highlighted his performance as 'intelligent, fresh and quick', praise like that didn't happen very often in those days.

He began his career as a striker but showed his skill to become an attacking midfielder, he was a great leader who had amazing shooting and dribbling skills, an eye for a pass and despite his relative small height, exceptional heading ability.

Meazza still holds the Italian record for most goals scored in a debut season in Serie A, scoring 31 goals in the 1929-30 season (the year before, Serie A didn't exist, the Italian championship was contested of teams leagues, north and south, with a playoff with the winners of both leagues to decide the all Italian title). In this final season of the old 2 league system, Meazza played 29 games and scored 38 goals, all at the age of 18 (what price now for a player that could achieve that?). He scored 5 goals in a single game twice in this season (against Pistoiese and Verona) and on 12th May 1929, scored 6 goals as Inter beat Venezia 10-2. On 27th April 1930, on the first time Inter ever played AS Roma in Milan, Inter won 6-0 and Meazza scored four of the goals, the first three he scored in the first three minutes of the game.

With Meazza firmly in the squad, Inter (re-christened Ambrosiana while under fascist law) won 3 national titles in 1930, 1937 and 1940 and helped the team win it's first ever Coppa Italia in 1939. It was Meazza's dazzling form that clinched the inaugural Serie A title, in the deciding game, he scored a second half hat-trick in the game against Genoa after Inter were trailing 0-3 at half time. He was top scorer of Serie A in 1930, 1936 and 1938.

During the 1932-33 season, Meazza made a bet with Giampiero Combi, the goalkeeper of Juventus and 1934 World Cup captain for Italy. Combi challenged Meazza as he claimed no-one could sidestep him to take the ball round him and score a tap in goal, Meazza accepted the challenge. Combi then also made another bet, a few weeks earlier, while training for the national team, Meazza scored a apparently all too memorable bicycle kick against the Juventus stopper, Combi made the claim he couldn't repeat the goal in an official match. The next game between Ambrosiana Inter and Juventus on 25th May 1933, Meazza managed to score two absolutly stupendous goals, the first was an identical overhead kick to the one he had scored against Combi in training a few weeks earlier. The second goal, Meazza dribbled past 4 defenders, before faking a shot at Combi who dived too early, Meazza dribbled past him and scored a tap in. Combi immediately stood up, took his gloves off and through them on the floor in disgust and went and shook Meazza's hand.

Meazza was the first Italian football player who became famous worldwide and was the first also to have personal sponsors. He loved the social nightlife this gave him and also was partial to champagne and the women that came with this. It should also be noted he was the only player on the national team that was allowed to smoke. Meazza was famous for not only humiliating the best defenders Italian football had to offer at the time, but also for sleeping in brothels the night before a match and sometimes he would refuse to get out of bed until his teammates were already done practicing (George Best anyone?). It's often said his love of the tango enabled him to score goals at a fox-trot tempo. He was a superb dribbler and despite his speed, never had a Brylcreemed hair out of place (David Beckham anyone?). His trademark goals would be where he'd collect the ball at the half-way line, dribble past several opponents with a series of twinkle-toed shuffles, turns and feints until arriving in front of the goal.....then dribbling past the keeper to slot easily into the net(Diego Maradona anyone?). In away games, the defenders would often hack him down and foul him (Leeds United anyone?) and in Italy the phrases 'Gol alla Meazza' and 'finte alla Meazza' have since become popular sayings for Italian football fans to describe a sensational goal that involves a long dribble.

Sometimes his love of champagne and women would cause trouble with the board of directors, 'luckily, i lived near the stadium and i often managed to get there in a rush. My teammates and the coach looked at me disapprovingly, it was only 5 minutes before the kick off, so i quickly changed and joined the team on the pitch. I could hear the Inter directors saying "We'll deal with him after the match, we'll find out what he's been up to", luckily i scored a hat-trick so afterwords no one said a word' he was quoted as saying in an interview after his retirement and reflecting on his career.

These incidents became a common occurrence, in the final game of the 1936-37 season, Inter needed to beat Juventus in Milan, with only an hour before the kick-off, Meazza still hadn't shown up. The directors getting nervous, they sent out a masseuse and one of the trainers out in a car to find him. They soon found him in bed, fast asleep and snoring. Without even washing his face, they dragged him out of bed and into the car, lying in the back, Meazza described the previous nights love filled exploits and said he felt like a lion! this lion Meazza entered the dressing room and with not a word said, was given his number 9 jersey. He took to the field and scored 2 goals and won the man of the match award. Inter won the game 2-1 and beat Juventus to the Serie A title by two points.

Injury forced him to miss most of the 1937-38 and after devoting his career so far to Inter, Meazza was transferred to AC Milan on 28th November 1940. In almost a century of intense rivalry, Meazza is the only player that has ever come close to bridging the differences between the two clubs. In the next derby between them, Meazza cried in the dressing room but then scored the equaliser for Milan in a 2-2 draw. He wore the red and black of AC Milan from 1940-1942, later playing for Juventus, AS. Varese 1910 and Atalanta Bergamo. After the war in 1946, he was recalled to Inter as a player coach, he played 17 more games for them and scoring the last 2 goals if his career to help a relegation threatened Inter side.

But it's his national record that makes him my 9th greatest player in the history of the World Cup, playing for Italy in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups, both of which Italy won. In 1938, he bacame the first captain to lift the World Cup when not the host (tournament was held in France)
and along with three other Italians players, remains one of four Europeans to win the World Cup back to back.

His debut with the Azzuri (nickname for the Italian side) was in Rome on February 6th 1930 against Switzerland. Still just 19, Meazza scored twice in that game to help Italy to a 4-2 win (after being 0-2 down in the first 19 minutes).

In the 1934 World Cup which was hosted by Italy, Meazza appeared in every game. Scoring the opening game against United States in the 89th minute in a 7-1 win. In the semi finals, Italy came up against the Wunderteam, the great Austrian side of the 30's who had already beaten the Italians in Turin only 4 months earlier. An few hours before kick off, a deluge of rain left the San Siro pitch looking like a bog but Meazza, knowing this ground better than anybody on the Italian team, made light of these conditions, inspiring a performance in his fourth game in a week, Meazza out played an Austrian forward in his own half, dribbled past him, then collided into the Austrian keeper Peter Platzer and the ball bounced and came loose, hit the post and bounced to Enrique Guaita to score the only goal of the game.

55,000 fans turned out to see the final against Czechoslavakia in Rome. Italy suffered badly after Meazza was injured badly in a tackle but in an era before substitutes, he soldiered on. In the 54th minute, he punched Rudolf Krcil in the liver in retaliation for the earlier hard foul though neither was disciplined by referee Ivan Eklind. After 90 minutes the teams were level at 1-1. It was Meazza that became the inspirer in the 96th minute, Eraldo Monzeglio passed a long ball to the hobbling Meazza who had been left alone on the right wing, with time and space, he sent a pass through the defence to Guaita that unlocked the Czech defense who then dribbled for the final cross to Schiavo who hit a snap shot to secure the win 5 minutes into extra time. Meazza was elected into the All Star team of the tournament and won the Golden Ball as well.

In the 1938 World Cup, Meazza this time captained Italy to another victory, again playing in each of the games. One of the tournaments memorable moments is the goal he scored against Brazil in the semi final, after a penalty was awarded for a foul on Silvio Piola, the Brazilian goalkeeper Walter, who was famous for attempting to hypnotise his opponents and for saving penalties back in Brazil, he arrogantly claimed he would save the shot. Up stepped Meazza who made no fuss in taking the shot. As he stepped up, his shorts fell down as the elasticated waist had earlier been pulled and ripped by a defender, Meazza then without a hint of stress, simply held his shorts up with one hand as the took the shot and scored past a confused Walter, who was still too busy laughing, the goal sending Italy to their second consecutive final (if anyone can find footage of this, please let me know as i have looked and really want to see this). It was his last goal for Italy. In the final the Italians beat the famous Hungary side 3-1, Meazza setting up two of the goals http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BUS45nTOZM&feature=related . In total he played 53 times for Italy, scoring 33 goals and losing only 6 matches. He is the second highest scorer for the Italian national side, only beaten by Gigi Riva in 1973.

Vittorio Pozzo, the coach who masterminded both Italian World Cup wins wrote of him "He was a born centre forward, understood the situation, distributed the ball careful and made the team offence operate. Having him on the team was like starting the game 1-0 up"

During Sweden 58, during the final between Sweden and Brazil, one commentator said Pele was like no player he'd ever seen before, fellow commentator Franco Rossi (who later went on to have huge success as a film screenwriter and director) began screaming that this wasn't true, that Meazza was better.

Most notably is the fact that in 1980, the year after his death, the world famous San Siro was officially named The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, shared by both Inter and AC Milan

World Cup honours:-

1934 World Cup winner

1934 World Cup Golden Ball winner (best player)

1938 World Cup winner (as captain)