Alessandro Altobelli facts for kids
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 28 November 1955 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sonnino, Italy | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Forward | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 1973–1974 | Latina | 28 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| 1974–1977 | Brescia | 76 | (26) | |||||||||||||
| 1977–1988 | Inter Milan | 317 | (128) | |||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Juventus | 20 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | Brescia | 32 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 473 | (172) | ||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||
| 1980–1988 | Italy | 61 | (25) | |||||||||||||
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Honours
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Alessandro Altobelli, born on November 28, 1955, is a famous former Italian football player. He was a forward, which means he played at the front of the team to score goals. He is best known for helping Italy win the 1982 FIFA World Cup. People called him Spillo, which means "Needle," because he was quite slender. Altobelli was an amazing goal scorer and one of Italy's top strikers in the late 1970s and 1980s. He still holds the record for the most goals in the Coppa Italia, with 56 goals. He also scored almost 300 goals in his entire career, making him one of Italy's highest-scoring players ever.
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Playing for Football Clubs
Altobelli was born in Sonnino, Italy. He started his career playing for smaller teams like Latina and Brescia.
Time with Inter Milan
In 1977, a big club called Inter Milan signed him. He played for Inter Milan for a long time, appearing in 466 games and scoring 209 goals. He helped Inter Milan win the Serie A league title in 1980. He also helped them win the Coppa Italia (Italy's main cup competition) twice, in 1978 and 1982. In 1982, he was the top scorer in the Coppa Italia, scoring nine goals. He was also the top scorer in the 1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup, scoring seven goals.
Later Club Career
After his many years with Inter Milan, he played one season for Juventus in 1988–89. He then finished his playing career back at Brescia in 1989–90.
Playing for Italy
Altobelli played for the Italian national team 61 times between 1980 and 1988. He scored 25 goals for his country, making him one of Italy's top goal scorers.
1982 FIFA World Cup
His most famous moment for Italy was in the 1982 FIFA World Cup final. Italy was playing against West Germany. Altobelli came into the game early as a substitute because another player was injured. He scored Italy's third goal, helping them win the World Cup 3–1. He was only the second substitute ever to score in a World Cup final!
Other International Tournaments
Altobelli also played for Italy in the Euro 1980 tournament, where Italy finished fourth. He also played in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, scoring four goals. However, Italy was knocked out of that tournament early. He also captained the Italian team at Euro 1988, where they reached the semi-finals. He scored a goal in a 2–0 win against Denmark in that tournament.
How He Played
Alessandro Altobelli was known as a fantastic and complete striker. He was great at scoring goals. He was especially good at heading the ball because he could jump high and was very accurate. He was also fast, worked hard, and was good at finding chances to score. He had excellent technique and could shoot accurately with both feet, even though he was naturally left-footed. Despite being slender, he had good balance and surprising strength. He could also hold the ball well, protecting it from defenders and setting up plays for his teammates.
After His Football Career
After he stopped playing professional football, Altobelli continued to play for the Italy national beach soccer team. He was even the top scorer in the Beach Soccer World Championships in 1995 and 1996.
In the 1990s, he got involved in politics. He also worked as a sporting director for a club called Padova and as a scout for Inter Milan, looking for new talented players. In the 2000s, he became a football expert and commentator for TV channels like Al Jazeera and RAI TV.
Honours and Awards
Altobelli won many important titles and awards during his career:
Inter Milan
- Serie A: 1979–80
- Coppa Italia: 1977–78, 1981–82
Italy
- FIFA World Cup: 1982
Individual Awards
- European Cup Winners' Cup top goalscorer: 1978–79
- Coppa Italia top goal scorer: 1981–82
- FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup top goalscorer: 1995, 1996
- Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2022
See also
In Spanish: Alessandro Altobelli para niños
