Pietro Anastasi facts for kids
Anastasi with Juventus during the 1971–72 season.
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 7 April 1948 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Catania, Italy | |||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 17 January 2020 (aged 71) | |||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Varese, Italy | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.72 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Forward | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1964–66 | Massiminiana | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 1966–1968 | Varese | 66 | (17) | |||||||||||||
| 1968–1976 | Juventus | 205 | (78) | |||||||||||||
| 1976–1978 | Inter Milan | 46 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| 1978–1981 | Ascoli | 58 | (9) | |||||||||||||
| 1981–1982 | Lugano | 14 | (10) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 389 | (121) | ||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||
| 1967 | Italy under-21 | 6 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 1968 | Italy B Team | 4 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 1968–1975 | Italy | 25 | (8) | |||||||||||||
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Honours
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Pietro Anastasi (born April 7, 1948 – died January 17, 2020) was a famous Italian footballer. People often called him Petruzzu 'u turcu by fans, which means "Pete the Turk" in Sicilian. He mainly played as a forward, scoring many goals for his teams.
Pietro started his professional football journey in Italy with Varese in 1966. He helped them get promoted to Serie A, Italy's top league, in his first season. After a great start, he joined Juventus in 1968. There, he had a very successful eight years, winning three Serie A titles.
Later, he played for Internazionale (Inter Milan) for two seasons, winning the Coppa Italia in 1978. He then moved to Ascoli for three seasons. Pietro retired from football in 1982 after playing one season with the Swiss club Lugano.
For his country, Anastasi played 25 times for the Italian national team between 1968 and 1975, scoring eight goals. He made his first international appearance at UEFA Euro 1968 in Italy. He is well-known for scoring a goal in the final match against Yugoslavia, which helped Italy win their first ever European Championship. He also played in the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
After he stopped playing, Pietro Anastasi worked as a football expert on TV. He passed away on January 17, 2020, due to a serious illness called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Pietro Anastasi was born in Catania, a city in Sicily, Italy. During his football career from 1964 to 1982, he played for several teams. These included Massiminiana, Varese, Juventus, Internazionale, and Ascoli. In Italy's top league, Serie A, he played 338 matches and scored 105 goals. For Juventus, he played 205 games and scored 78 goals.
Even though he never won the award for the top goalscorer in Serie A, he was the third-highest scorer three times. This happened during the 1968–69, 1969–70, and 1973–74 seasons.
Early Career and Varese
Pietro started his professional journey with Massiminiana di Catania in Serie D. He showed great skill by scoring 18 goals in the 1965–66 season. Because of this, Varese bought him. Varese was in Serie B at the time. He helped them get promoted to Serie A, scoring six goals in 37 matches.
He made his Serie A debut on September 24, 1967, against Fiorentina. He was only nineteen years old. In his first Serie A season, he scored an impressive 11 goals. Three of these goals came in Varese's surprising 5–0 win over Juventus on February 4, 1968. This amazing performance helped him get called up to the Italian national team.
Time at Juventus
Because of his early success, Juventus bought him in 1968 for a very large amount of money for that time. With Juventus, he won three Serie A titles. He also helped the club reach the final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1971. He was the top scorer in that tournament with ten goals. However, Juventus lost to Leeds in the final.
In 1974, Anastasi became the team's captain. He holds the record for the most goals in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup for a Juventus player (12 goals). He also has the all-time record for goals in the Coppa Italia for Juventus (30 goals). He is tied with Roberto Baggio as the tenth-highest goal scorer for Juventus in Serie A, with 78 goals.
Pietro also reached the final of the 1972–73 European Cup with Juventus. They were defeated 1–0 by Ajax. In total, he scored 130 goals for Juventus in 303 games.
Later Career
In 1976, Anastasi started to play less for Juventus. He then moved to Inter Milan. With Inter, Anastasi won the 1977–78 Coppa Italia. He played as a substitute in the final against Napoli. However, his performances at Inter were not as strong as they were at Juventus.
Because of this, he was sold to Ascoli in 1978. He stayed there for three more Serie A seasons, scoring 9 goals. In December 1979, he scored his 100th goal in Serie A in a 3–2 win against his old club, Juventus. He spent his last year playing for FC Lugano in the Swiss League during the 1981–82 season before retiring.
International Career
Pietro Anastasi was part of the Italian national team that won the 1968 UEFA European Football Championship. This tournament was held in Italy. He made his first international appearance during the final match against Yugoslavia on June 8. The game ended in a 1–1 draw.
In the replay of the final two days later, he scored his first international goal. It was the second goal in Italy's 2–0 victory. He scored with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area. He was supposed to play in the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, but he couldn't because of an injury.
Anastasi also played in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He scored one goal in Italy's 3–1 win against Haiti in the first round. However, Italy did not make it past their group in that tournament. In total, he played 25 international matches for Italy between 1968 and 1975, scoring 8 goals.
Playing Style
Pietro Anastasi is considered one of the best Italian strikers of his time. He was known for being fast, strong, and hard-working. He was also a very reliable and agile forward with quick reactions. He was a great goalscorer who knew how to find the best positions to score. He was quick, powerful, and moved well without the ball.
Even though he was not very tall, he was strong. He usually played as a centre-forward. However, he played this role in a modern and unique way. He didn't just stay in the penalty box like a traditional number nine. He was also good at linking up with teammates and creating chances for others. Sometimes, he even played like an attacking midfielder.
He was also known for his dedication and fighting spirit. He worked hard to help his team, even tracking back to win the ball. This made him a "maneuvering centre-forward," meaning a forward who helps build up attacks. This role is similar to what is now called a "false 9" in modern football.
Anastasi was a talented player and a fast runner. He had great acceleration and could dribble well with both feet. He sometimes played on the right wing because of his skill and ability to cross the ball. He was also known for scoring amazing goals, including volleys and bicycle kicks. He was a great finisher with both feet, even though he was naturally right-footed.
Juventus fans called him "il Pelé bianco," which means "the white Pelé." He was very popular with the fans. As a Sicilian who found success at Juventus, he became a symbol for many southern Italian immigrants. These immigrants had moved to Turin to work in factories like Fiat. His other nicknames included "Petruzzo" and "Petru 'u turcu" ("Peter the Turk"). This was because of his darker skin when he was tanned.
After Retirement
After he stopped playing professional football, Pietro Anastasi briefly worked as a youth coach. Later, he became a football expert and commentator for Italian television channels like 7 Gold and SKY.
Personal Life
Pietro Anastasi was married to Anna, and they had two sons named Silvano and Gianluca. He met his wife when he was playing for Varese, at the beginning of his professional career. After he retired, he returned to Varese and lived there until he passed away.
Death
Pietro Anastasi passed away in Varese on January 17, 2020, at the age of 71. He had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a serious illness, in 2018. In the last three years of his life, doctors also found that he had an intestinal tumor, which was removed through surgery.
Honours
Juventus
- Serie A: 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75
- Intercontinental Cup: runner-up: 1973
- European Cup: runner-up: 1972–73
- Inter-Cities Fairs Cup runner-up: 1970-71
Inter
- Coppa Italia: 1977–78
Italy
Individual
- Coppa Italia Top Goalscorer: 1974–75
- Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Top Scorer: 1970–71
- Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2019
Images for kids
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Anastasi with Juventus during the 1971–72 season.
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Anastasi (no. 9) in 1975, as captain of Juventus, with Ternana captain Fernando Benatti.
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Anastasi (left) beats Marić and scores the definitive goal in Italy's 3–1 friendly victory against Yugolavia, in Turin, on 20 September 1972.
See also
In Spanish: Pietro Anastasi para niños
