Omar Sívori facts for kids
.jpg)
Sívori with Juventus in 1963
|
||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Enrique Omar Sívori | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 2 October 1935 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | San Nicolás, Argentina | |||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 17 February 2005 (aged 69) | |||||||||||||||
| Place of death | San Nicolás, Argentina | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.63 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Forward | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| –1957 | River Plate | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 1954–1957 | River Plate | 63 | (29) | |||||||||||||
| 1957–1965 | Juventus | 215 | (135) | |||||||||||||
| 1965–1969 | Napoli | 63 | (12) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 341 | (176) | ||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||
| 1956–1957 | Argentina | 19 | (9) | |||||||||||||
| 1961–1962 | Italy | 9 | (8) | |||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||
| 1969–1970 | Rosario Central | |||||||||||||||
| 1972 | Estudiantes de La Plata | |||||||||||||||
| 1972–1973 | Argentina | |||||||||||||||
| 1979 | Racing Club de Avellaneda | |||||||||||||||
| 1983 | Toronto Italia | |||||||||||||||
|
Honours
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
Enrique Omar Sívori (born October 2, 1935 – died February 17, 2005) was an amazing football player and manager. He was from Argentina but also played for Italy. People remember him most for his successful time with the Italian club Juventus. There, he won three Serie A titles and other important trophies.
Before joining Juventus, he played for River Plate in Argentina. Later in his career, he also played for Napoli in Italy. Omar Sívori was a fantastic forward, known for scoring lots of goals.
He first played for the Argentina national football team. With them, he won the 1957 South American Championship. Later, because of his Italian family background, he played for the Italy national football team. He even took part in the 1962 FIFA World Cup. After he stopped playing, he became a coach for several teams in Argentina.
Many people think Sívori was one of the best players of his time. He was famous for his incredible skill, speed, and ability to score goals. He won the South American Championship Best Player award in 1957. In 1961, he won the famous European Footballer of the Year award. Sívori scored a total of 432 goals in his career, including friendly matches.
Contents
Club Career: Playing for Top Teams
River Plate: Early Success in Argentina
Omar Sívori was born in San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Argentina. His family had roots in Italy. From a young age, he loved football. As a teenager, he joined River Plate, a big club in Buenos Aires.
He joined a strong team with famous players like Ángel Labruna. Fans gave him the nickname El Cabezón, meaning "bighead". This was because of his hair and his confident way of playing.
River Plate won the Argentine Primera División in 1955. They beat their rivals Boca Juniors to win the title. The next year, River Plate won the league again. Sívori scored a goal in the final game. He played his last game for River Plate in May 1957.
In 1957, when Sívori was 21, he moved to Italy. He signed with the famous club Juventus. Juventus paid a lot of money for him, which was a world record at the time. This money helped River Plate finish building their stadium, El Monumental.
Juventus: Becoming a European Star
When Sívori moved to Italy, two other Argentine players also joined Italian teams. They were Antonio Valentín Angelillo and Humberto Maschio. All three had won the 1957 South American Championship with Argentina. Their attacking style earned them the nickname The Angels with Dirty Faces. In Italy, they were called The Trio of Death because they were so good at scoring goals.
Before Sívori and Welsh player John Charles arrived, Juventus was not doing well. But with these two, and experienced player Giampiero Boniperti, Juventus became a very strong team. They won the Serie A title in their first season together (1957–58).
Their success continued, and Sívori won two more league titles (1959–60 and 1960–61). He also won two Coppa Italia cups (1958–59 and 1959–60). In 1961, Omar Sívori won the amazing European Footballer of the Year award.
After Boniperti retired and John Charles left, Sívori stayed with Juventus. He famously scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Real Madrid. This made Juventus the first Italian team to win at Real Madrid's stadium. Sívori became the team's captain in 1963. He left Juventus after the 1964–65 season due to disagreements with the new coach.
Sívori scored 167 goals for Juventus in 253 games. This makes him one of the club's top goal scorers ever. He also holds a record for scoring six goals in one Serie A match. This happened in a 9–1 victory against Inter Milan in 1961.
Napoli: A New Challenge
In 1965, Sívori joined Napoli. He helped them finish third in his first season. They also won the Coppa delle Alpi cup. Napoli had a very strong team in the 1967–68 season. They had players like Dino Zoff and José Altafini. They were expected to win the league title.
Napoli came in second place, just behind A.C. Milan. Sívori missed much of that season due to a knee injury. He also had some disagreements with the manager. His last game for Napoli was against his old club, Juventus. He was sent off the field and suspended for several matches. After this, Sívori decided to go back to Argentina.
International Career: Playing for Two Nations
Argentina: South American Champions
Omar Sívori played 18 times for the Argentina national football team, scoring nine goals. The Argentine team had a powerful attack with Sívori and other great players. They were called the "caras sucias" (dirty faces). This nickname came from a movie and described their fun, playful, and mischievous way of playing.
Sívori helped Argentina win the gold medal at the 1957 South American Championship in Peru. Argentina played very well in that tournament. They had big wins, including an 8–2 victory against Colombia and a 3–0 win against their rivals Brazil.
Italy: World Cup Experience
After Sívori moved to Italy in 1957, the Argentine football association stopped him and his teammates from playing for Argentina. This meant they missed the 1958 FIFA World Cup. However, because Sívori had Italian family, he became an Italian citizen.
In April 1961, he played his first game for the Italy national football team. Sívori played for Italy in the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile. Italy did not do well in that tournament and left in the first round. He played nine games for Italy and scored eight goals.
Playing Style: The "Maradona of the Sixties"
Encyclopædia Britannica described Sívori's playing style as "bold and brilliant." He was a very talented footballer. Many consider him one of Italy's and Juventus's best players ever. He was also one of the greatest players of his generation.
Sívori was a quick, small, and very creative forward. He was known for his speed with the ball. He used amazing dribbling skills and clever moves to get past defenders. These moves included turns, flicks, and his famous "nutmeg" (kicking the ball between an opponent's legs).
He mostly used his left foot and was excellent at scoring goals. He had a powerful and accurate shot. Even though he was short, he could score with his head too. Sívori was also known for his toughness and bravery on the field. Sometimes, he was very competitive and would argue with officials or try to trick other players with his skills.
Even though he scored many goals, Sívori was also great at helping his teammates score. He had good vision and could make accurate passes. He worked well with John Charles and Giampiero Boniperti at Juventus. He could play as a main striker or a deeper forward on the left side. Because of his creative style, skill, and strong personality, Sívori is often compared to another famous Argentine player, Diego Maradona. Some people called him "the Maradona of the Sixties."
Managerial Career: From Player to Coach
Sívori stopped playing football in 1969. He loved the game so much that he decided to become a coach. He coached several teams in Argentina, including River Plate, Rosario Central, Estudiantes de La Plata, and Racing Club.
From 1972 to 1974, Sívori was the coach of the Argentina national football team. He helped the team qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He was the first coach to call up Ubaldo Fillol, who became one of Argentina's best goalkeepers. After coaching, Sívori became a scout in South America for Juventus. In 1983, he coached Toronto Italia in Canada.
After Retirement: Honored and Remembered
In March 2004, the legendary player Pelé named Sívori as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers. This was part of the FIFA 100 list. The next year, in February 2005, Omar Sívori passed away in his hometown of San Nicolás de los Arroyos at age 69.
Honours
River Plate
- Primera División: 1955, 1956, 1957
Juventus
- Serie A: 1957–58, 1959–60, 1960–61
- Coppa Italia: 1958–59, 1959–60, 1964–65
- Inter-Cities Fairs Cup runner-up: 1964-65
- Coppa delle Alpi: 1963
Napoli
- Coppa delle Alpi: 1966
Argentina
- South American Championship: 1957
- Copa Raúl Colombo (friendly): 1956
Individual
- South American Championship player of the tournament: 1957
- Serie A Golden Boot: 1959–60
- Ballon d'Or: 1961
- FIFA 100: 2004
Images for kids
-
Sívori receives the 1961 Ballon d'Or
See also
In Spanish: Omar Sívori para niños
- Oriundo
