José Altafini

José Altafini was one of the most promising players of the late 1950s before becoming one of the greatest players in the history of Serie A.

Trophies

422

Goals

817

Games

1954/56 XV de Piracicaba (BRE) 30 matches, 2 goals

1956/58 Palmeiras (BRE) 114 matches, 89 goals

1958/65 Milan AC (ITA) 245 matches, 161 goals

(Italian Championship: 205 matches, 120 goals)

(Italian Cup: 9 matches, 9 goals)

(European Champion Clubs' Cup: 17 matches, 20 goals)

(European Fairs Cup: 2 matches)

(Intercontinental Cup: 3 matches, 1 goal)

(Friendship Cup: 10 matches, 11 goals)

1965/72 SSC Napoli (ITA) 234 matches, 97 goals

(Italian Championship: 180 matches, 71 goals)

(Italian Cup: 28 matches, 11 goals)

(Inter-Cities Fairs Cup/UEFA Cup: 16 matches, 5 goals)

(Mitropa Cup: 1 match, 1 goal)

(Alpine Cup: 4 matches, 6 goals)

(Anglo-Italian Cup: 5 matches, 3 goals)

1972/76 Juventus Turin (ITA) 119 matches, 37 goals

(Italian Championship: 74 matches, 25 goals)

(Italian Cup: 24 matches, 3 goals)

(European Champion Clubs' Cup: 11 matches, 4 goals)

(UEFA Cup: 9 matches, 5 goals)

(Intercontinental Cup: 1 match)

1976/79 FC Chiasso (SUI) 33 matches, 16 goals

1979/80 Mendrisio Star (SUI) 28 matches, 11 goals

With the National Team :

Brazil: 8 caps, 4 goals

(Friendly matches: 3 caps, 1 goal)

(World Cup: 3 caps, 2 goals)

(Copa Roca: 2 caps, 1 goal)

unofficial: 3 caps, 4 goals

1st cap: June 16, 1957 against Portugal (3-0)

Italy: 6 caps, 5 goals

(Friendly matches: 2 caps, 4 goals)

(World Cup Qualifier: 2 caps, 1 goal)

(World Cup: 2 caps)

Last cap: June 2, 1962 against Chile (0-2)

José João Altafini

Born July 27, 1938 in Piracicaba (BRE)

Brazilian/Italian, striker, 1m76

Nicknames: "Mazzola", Coniglio

A prodigy in the shadow of Pelé

José Altafini was born in 1938 in Piracicaba, Brazil. His great potential was seen very early on and he joined the starting squad of the Piracicaba XV club at the age of 16. Quite muscular, he was a very strong player in one-on-ones. Very intelligent and fast, he had the ability to dribble with a twist or a well-felt dribble.

With his great speed, he tended to accelerate greatly with the ball at his feet and rush towards the opposing goal. In 1956, at the age of 17, he joined the Sao Paulo club, Palmeiras, one of the best clubs in the country. And in his new club, he would become a formidable finisher, between 1956 and 1958 he scored 89 goals in 114 games. His performances were celebrated around the country and he was quickly integrated into the Brazilian national team. He made his debut with the Selecao at 18 years old in a match against Portugal and a 3-0 victory.

Despite a bad season for Palmeiras, he was still as good and promising. He was therefore logically called up to play in the 1958 World Cup, a World Cup that was seen as very important for a country, Brazil, which was emerging from the failures of 1950 and 1954.

In this World Cup, he would play 3 matches and score 2 goals, despite his great performances, he would be in the shadow of a certain Pelé who dazzled the whole world with his precocity. However, Altafini was only 19 years old during this World Cup.

A complete career but a feeling of unfinished career

After the tournament, he was approached by the AC Milan team who saw in him their future star alongside Liedholm and Schiaffino. He was recruited for 150 million lire. This career choice ends his story with the Selecao, he stops on 4 goals in 8 games with Brazil.

In Milan, he will delight the fans because with the Rossoneri he has an exceptional first season, in 32 games, he scores 28 goals and wins the Italian championship. With an average of 20 goals per season, he makes a big name for himself in Italy. Nicknamed "Mazzola" for his resemblance to the captain of the "Grande Torino", he is one of the greatest players in the Italian championship of this time.

During the 1961-62 season, he wins the Italian championship again and wins the title of top scorer of the championship with 22 goals in 33 games. With dual Brazilian-Italian nationality, he is called up to play with the Italian national team. He then participates in the World Cup in Chile in 1962 but the course is disastrous with an elimination in the first round. His international career ended immediately at the end of the tournament, disappointed to have abandoned the Brazilian selection. "I was forced to take an Italian passport, I should have refused, I would have been called up to the Seleção. I could have been three times World Champion... like Pelé. I was very young then, I had my place there. After the World Cup (1962), the law changed, you could no longer change nationality, move from one national team to another." the striker confided in 1987 during an interview with RAI, which kept a regret, heavy as an unfulfilled dream.

A legend that has fallen into oblivion

Altafini continued to play for AC Milan with whom he won the 1962-63 Champions League. During this edition of the Champions League he broke a record, that of the greatest number of goals scored in a Champions League season with 14 goals, a record equaled by Lionel Messi in 2012 and then surpassed by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2014.

In 1965, José Altafini left AC Milan and joined Napoli, he was then 27 years old. With Altafini, the club rose to become one of the big clubs in the country. But in 1972, he joined Juventus. With Juventus he won 2 Italian championships. In 1973, he reached a Champions League final again, but this time his team lost to Johan Cruyff's Ajax Amsterdam 1-0. In 1976, he left Italy to join the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland, in Chiasso and then Mendrisio, before hanging up his boots in 1980 at the age of 42 after four average seasons. José Altafini was nevertheless a great player with great longevity and a sense of goal that he always retained.