Italian Legends: Silvio Piola

July 21st, 2011 | by: elaine | Comments Off

You would be hard pressed to find anyone around here who hasn’t heard of Roberto Baggio, Fabio Cannavaro or other relatively recent legends. But Italian football is rich with footballers who were ultra talented and also left their marks on the record books. One of the most incredible of these legends played from 1929-1954.

Silvio Piola was born September 29, 1913 in Robbio Lomellina, Italy. Who could have guessed then the destiny he would have with calcio? But it would manifest itself soon enough.

He started his professional career in Serie A at Pro Vercelli at age 17. (Pro Vercelli were actually a fairly strong club at this time, having won 7 Scudetti between 1908-1922.) He scored 13 goals in his debut year, and a total of 51 goals in 127 appearances at the club.

From there, he moved to Lazio, where he scored 148 goals in 227 appearances from 1934-1943. Just before World War II, he moved to Torino, where he scored an amazing 27 goals in 23 appearances. Can you imagine what might have been were it not for the war?

Following the war, he moved across town where he played 2 seasons with Juventus. Then he moved to Novara for the last seven years of his career, scoring 86 goals in 185 appearances.

Now you might be thinking, that is a lot of information, does it really mean anything? Which, of course, is an excellent question. And the answer shows up in glaring lights in the record books: Piola is the all-time leading Serie A goalscorer with 274 goals. And no one will be breaking that record any time soon, because he’s a whopping 49 goals in front of number two, Gunnar Nordahl. Incidentally, Piola is the 4th all-time in Serie A appearances, with 537 matches.

Another question you might be asking yourself: How many goals would he have scored had it not been for the nearly 2 years off during World War II at the height of his career? That is yet another excellent question, unfortunately no one knows the answer to that one. It’s simply amazing to consider.

But the war did not only affect his Serie A career. Piola was also a hero for the Azzurri. You may remember him from the 1938 World Cup, where he scored 5 goals in 4 games, including 2 goals and an assist in the Final. His performances earned him not only a spot on the FIFA All-Star Team, but also a Best Player of the Tournament award. Did I mention he won a World Cup?

Hungarian opponent Pal Titkos had this to say about Piola “He stood in the centre, between his two close team-mates. Silvio Piola had a fantastic physique and constantly overran his opponents. He was a man of great versatility and a centre forward without fear. He exploited any opportunity for shooting on goal.”

The French remember him from their quarterfinal match of 1938, as his 2 goals sealed their 3-1 loss. They called him “Borreau des Francais,” or “Executioner of the French.” But the record books will remember him as the 3rd highest goalscorer ever for the Azzurri. He had an incredible 30 goals in only 34 games for the National Team. And remember, there were 2 years of war in there that he couldn’t play for Italy. Can you imagine? Piola would play his last match for the Azzurri in 1952, where he captained the squad to a 1-1 draw with England.

At 1.78 m (5’9”) and 77 kgs. (179 lbs.), Piola had speed, good jumping skills, and powerful shots. He also had a good grasp of the game from an early age as well as very quick reflexes, which are always good to have as a goalscorer. But something he will always be known for were his incredibly acrobatic overhead and sideways kicks. Piola is widely credited as the inventor of the bicycle kick. Yes, that amazing trick that is either a highlight reel or a blooper reel when attempted came from the genius of this man.

After retirement, Piola stayed close to football. He went on to coaching, including a stint at Cagliari and junior coach of the Italian team. He was named an advisor to the  FIGC in 1976, and in 1987 he was awarded and honorary doctorate from the University of Rome for his lifetime merits. He died on October 4, 1996 at the age of 83.

Such is the expanse of this man’s greatness, he’s got not just one, but two stadiums named after him. Both his first and last clubs, Vercelli and Novara, boast  the title Stadio Silvio Piola. Certainly he was a player worth memorializing at least twice.

Legends like this don’t come along every day. His many accomplishments speak volumes as to what an extraordinary player he was. But I can’t help but think of how incredible it must have been to actually see him play. He is the definition of a legend.

Special thanks to Mike DeRob for the inspiration for this post

Elaine is randomly on Twitter • follow her occasional tweets @ItaliaWCB