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José Altafini

Altafini in 1974

Personal information

Full name

José João Altafini

Date of birth

24 July 1938 (age 87)

Place of birth

Piracicaba, Brazil

Height

1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)

Position(s)

Striker

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps

(Gls)

1956–1958

Palmeiras

114

(89)

1958–1965

AC Milan

205

(120)

1965–1972

Napoli

180

(71)

1972–1976

Juventus

(25)

1976

Toronto Italia

1976–1979

Chiasso

(18)

1979–1980

Mendrisiostar

(11)

Total

653

(334)

International career

1957–1958

Brazil

(4)

1961–1962

Italy

(5)

Medal record

Men's Football

Representing Brazil
FIFA World Cup
Winner	1958 Sweden

*Club domestic league appearances and goals

José João Altafini (born 24 July 1938) is a famous former footballer. He was known as "Mazzola" in Brazil. He played as a forward, which means he was an attacker who scored goals.

Altafini started his career with Palmeiras in Brazil. Soon after, he moved to Italy. He is best known for his very successful time with the Italian club AC Milan. With Milan, he won many important titles both in Italy and in Europe.

Later, he played for Napoli and Juventus. He finished his playing career in Switzerland with Chiasso and Mendrisiostar. Altafini was a fantastic goal scorer. He held a record for scoring the most goals in a European club competition for over 50 years. He is also one of only eight players to score five goals in a single European Cup match.

He is one of the top goal scorers ever in Italy's main league, Serie A, with 216 goals. He is also one of the youngest players to score 100 goals in Serie A. Many people think Altafini was one of the best attackers of his time. He was quick, skillful, powerful, and always knew how to find the back of the net.

Internationally, he played for both Brazil and Italy. He was part of the Brazilian team that won the 1958 FIFA World Cup. Later, he played for Italy in the 1962 FIFA World Cup.

After retiring from playing, Altafini became a football expert on Italian TV. He also worked as a commentator on Italian radio. He was even a commentator for the Pro Evolution Soccer video games in Italy. Altafini is famous for saying "golazzo" when a great goal was scored. He also often exclaimed "incredibile, amici!" which means "incredible, friends!" He scored 630 goals in his career.

Early Life and Nickname

José Altafini was born on 24 July 1938, in Piracicaba, Brazil. This city had a large community of people from Italy. His family came from Italy and worked hard. His father worked in a sugar factory, and his mother was a housemaid. Because his mother was from Italy, José could also become an Italian citizen.

When he was 16, José started playing football for a youth team in his city. This team was called XV de Novembro. It was here that he got his nickname "Mazzola." He looked a bit like a famous Italian player named Valentino Mazzola. At 17, he joined the youth team of Palmeiras. He first played in the middle or on the side, then moved to play closer to the goal as an attacker.

Club Career Highlights

Playing for Palmeiras

Altafini played his first game for Palmeiras in Brazil on 29 January 1956. He scored two goals in his first game. This made him the youngest goal scorer for the club, a record he still holds today. He played for Palmeiras for two seasons, scoring 89 goals in 114 games. He scored goals very often, which is one of the best rates for a Palmeiras player.

On 9 June 1957, he scored all five goals in Palmeiras's 5–0 win against Noroeste. This is a club record for the most goals by one player in a Palmeiras match. On 6 March 1958, Altafini scored two goals in a famous game against Santos. This Santos team included legendary players like Pelé. Even though Altafini scored, Santos won the game 7–6.

Joining AC Milan

Altafini playing for AC Milan

After the 1958 World Cup, Altafini moved to Italy to play for AC Milan. Milan's scouts had seen how talented he was at scoring goals during friendly matches. Milan bought him for a lot of money before the World Cup. Altafini played his first game for Milan on 21 September 1958, when he was 20.

In his first season, he played 32 games and scored 28 goals, helping Milan win the 1958–59 Serie A title. He scored 32 goals in 36 games across all competitions that season. His first league goal was on 5 October against Bari. He was the top scorer in the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) in 1960–61. On 27 March 1960, he scored four goals in the Milan derby against Inter, which Milan won 5–3.

Altafini continued to score over 20 goals each season. On 12 November 1961, he scored four goals against Juventus. Milan went on to win the Serie A title again in the 1961–62 season. Altafini was the league's top scorer that season with 22 goals.

Altafini (top row, center) with AC Milan in the 1961–62 season

In the 1963 European Cup Final, Altafini scored two goals against Benfica. This helped Milan win their first European title. He was the top scorer in that competition with a record 14 goals. This record stood for over 50 years until Cristiano Ronaldo broke it in 2014. In one game against Union Luxembourg, he scored five goals, a record he shares with other famous players like Lionel Messi.

Altafini's great performances led to him being nominated for the Ballon d'Or award in 1963 and 1964. During his seven years with Milan, Altafini won two Serie A titles and one European Cup. He also won top goal-scoring awards in Serie A, the Coppa Italia, and the European Cup.

Moving to Napoli

Altafini with Napoli in 1965

In 1965, Altafini joined Napoli. He played there for seven years, until 1972. He formed a strong attacking team with Omar Sívori. On 31 December 1967, Altafini scored an amazing bicycle kick goal against Torino. This goal made him very popular with Napoli fans.

He helped Napoli compete for the league title often. He led them to their best Serie A finish at that time, coming in second place in the 1967–68 Serie A season. He also helped them finish third in 1966 and 1971. In the 1971–72 season, Altafini helped Napoli reach the Coppa Italia final. However, they lost 2–0 to his old club, Milan. During his time at Napoli, he won a smaller trophy called the Coppa delle Alpi in 1966–67.

Playing for Juventus

After Napoli, Altafini joined Juventus in 1972. He joined with his former Napoli teammate, the famous goalkeeper Dino Zoff. Even though he was getting older, Altafini helped Juventus win two more Serie A titles. These were in the 1972–73 and 1974–75 seasons. He often came on as a substitute but made a big impact.

In the 1972–73 season, Juventus was behind Milan in the league. In their final match against Roma, Juventus was losing at halftime. Altafini scored a very important goal to tie the game. Juventus then won, and Milan lost their game, so Juventus won the Serie A title. Another famous moment was his goal against his former club, Napoli, in the 1974–75 season. Altafini came off the bench and scored the winning goal in the 88th minute. This helped Juventus win 2–1 and increase their lead over Napoli, leading to another title win. After this game, Napoli fans put up a banner that said "José core 'ngrato," meaning "José ungrateful heart."

Altafini with Juventus in the 1972–73 season

He also helped Juventus reach the Coppa Italia and European Cup finals in 1973. Juventus lost both finals, missing out on winning three major trophies. They lost the Coppa Italia to Milan again, and the European Cup final to Ajax. In his final season with Juventus, Altafini played only 10 games. He decided to leave Serie A after 18 seasons in Italy.

By the time he left Juventus in 1976, Altafini had played 459 games in Serie A and scored 216 goals. Most of these goals were scored earlier in his career. He is currently the fourth highest goal scorer of all time in Serie A. He also has the second highest number of appearances in Serie A for a player not born in Italy.

Later Career and Retirement

After leaving Italy in 1976, Altafini played briefly in Canada for Toronto Italia. He then played for four years in Switzerland for Chiasso. He helped them get promoted to the top Swiss league by scoring 14 goals in his first season. He later played for Mendrisiostar, another Swiss team. He retired from football at the age of 42 in 1980, after a 25-year professional career.

International Career

Playing for Brazil

Altafini played his first international game for Brazil when he was 18. This was on 16 June 1957, and he scored a goal against Portugal in a 3–0 win. In July, he helped Brazil win the Copa Roca against Argentina, scoring a goal alongside Pelé.

Altafini (left) in 2008

Altafini, known as Mazzola, was part of the Brazil team that won the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden. At 19, he was the second youngest player on the team after Pelé. He started the tournament well, scoring two goals in the first game against Austria. He got injured in the second game against England and missed the next match. He returned for the quarter-final against Wales, playing well and helping Pelé score the only goal. He also scored a brilliant overhead kick that was not allowed by the referee. He was replaced by Vavá for the semi-final and the final. Brazil won the World Cup by beating Sweden 5–2 in the final. In total, he played 8 games for Brazil and scored 4 goals.

Playing for Italy

For the 1962 FIFA World Cup, Altafini played for Italy. He explained that Brazil did not usually pick players who played overseas back then. He was only 23 or 24 and really wanted to play in a World Cup. He felt Brazil had "left him" by not picking him.

Altafini played his first game for Italy on 15 October 1961. He scored in a 4–2 win against Israel, helping Italy qualify for the 1962 World Cup. Before the World Cup, he scored two goals in friendly wins against France and Belgium. Altafini played in Italy's first two group matches in the 1962 World Cup, against West Germany and Chile. Italy was knocked out in the first round. Even though he was only 24, he was not called up for Italy again after their disappointing World Cup. He played six games for Italy and scored five goals. This brought his total international goals to nine in 14 games.

Style of Play

Altafini is considered one of the best attackers of his time. He was a complete striker with great skills, fast feet, and a knack for scoring goals. He was quick, agile, and physically strong. Besides his speed and strength, he had excellent control, technique, and dribbling ability.

He was also a very creative player. He started his career as an attacking midfielder or winger before moving to a more forward role. He became known for scoring many goals throughout his career. This was because of his powerful and accurate shots, his ability to make good attacking runs, and his smart play inside the penalty area.

Media Appearances

Football Expert

After he stopped playing football, Altafini became a well-known football commentator in Italy. He famously came up with the word golazzo. This word comes from the Portuguese word golaço, which means 'great goal'. Even though it's not a real Italian word, it became very popular. A short sound clip of him saying "golazzo" was used at the start and end of the TV show Football Italia.

Books

Altafini also helped write two books. One was called Incredibile amici! Il mio manuale del calcio, which he wrote with Pierluigi Pardo. The other was Futebol e alegria. Personaggi, fatti, aneddoti del mio calcio, written with Maurizio Barberis.

Career Statistics

In Italy

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Other		Total
Club	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
AC Milan	1958–59	32	28	4	4	–	–	2	2	38	34
	1959–60	33	20	–	–	4	2	2	4	39	26
	1960–61	34	22	2	4	–	–	2	0	38	26
	1961–62	33	22	–	–	2	0	–	–	35	22
	1962–63	31	11	2	1	9	14	4	5	46	31
	1963–64	30	14	1	0	4	4	3	1	38	19
	1964–65	12	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	3
	Total	205	120	9	9	19	20	13	12	246	161
Napoli	1965–66	34	14	2	1	-	-	5	7	41	22
	1966–67	27	16	1	1	5	1	–	–	33	18
	1967–68	29	13	2	1	3	3	–	–	34	17
	1968–69	21	5	4	2	3	1	–	–	28	8
	1969–70	15	8	3	0	3	0	5	3	26	11
	1970–71	25	7	11	4	–	–	–	–	36	11
	1971–72	29	8	5	2	2	0	–	–	36	10
	Total	180	71	28	11	16	5	10	10	234	97
Juventus	1972–73	23	9	6	0	6	3	–	–	35	12
	1973–74	21	7	8	2	2	1	1	0	32	10
	1974–75	20	8	6	0	9	5	–	–	35	13
	1975–76	10	1	4	1	3	0	–	–	17	2
	Total	74	25	24	3	20	9	1	0	119	37
Career total		459	216	61	23	55	34	24	22	599	295

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

International Appearances

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Brazil	1957	3	2
Brazil	1958	5	2
Total		8	4

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Italy	1961	2	1
Italy	1962	4	4
Total		6	5

Altafini's team's score listed first, score column indicates score after each Altafini goal.

International goals by José Altafini
No.	Team	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
Brazil	1	16 June 1957	Pacaembu Stadium, São Paulo, Brazil	Portugal	–	3–0	Friendly
	2	10 July 1957	Pacaembu Stadium, São Paulo, Brazil	Argentina	–	2–0	1957 Roca Cup
	3	8 June 1958	Rimnersvallen, Uddevalla, Sweden	Austria	1–0	3–0	1958 FIFA World Cup
	4	8 June 1958	Rimnersvallen, Uddevalla, Sweden	Austria	3–0	3–0	1958 FIFA World Cup
Italy	5	15 October 1961	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Israel	2–2	4–2	1962 FIFA World Cup qualification
	6	5 May 1962	Stadio Comunale, Florence, Italy	France	1–1	2–1	Friendly
	7	5 May 1962	Stadio Comunale, Florence, Italy	France	2–1	2–1	Friendly
	8	13 May 1962	Stade du Heysel, Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	2–1	3–1	Friendly
	9	13 May 1962	Stade du Heysel, Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	3–1	3–1	Friendly