Aurelio Milani (; 14 May 1934 – 25 November 2014) was an Italian
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
. Milani played for several different Italian clubs in
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
and
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
, winning the top scorer award in both divisions. In total, he collected 157 appearances in Serie A, scoring 62 goals, and 100 appearances in Serie B, scoring 54 goals. Milani is mostly remembered for his two seasons spent with
Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...
's
Grande Inter
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
side under manager
Helenio Herrera
Helenio Herrera Gavilán (; 10 April 1910 – 9 November 1997) was an Argentine, naturalized French, football player and manager. He is best remembered for his success with the Inter Milan team known as ''Grande Inter'' in the 1960s.
During ...
. He was part of their
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
victory in
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
, and with Inter, he also won the
1964–65 Serie A
The 1964–65 Serie A season was won by Internazionale.
Teams
Varese, Cagliari and Foggia had been promoted from Serie B.
Final classification
Results
Top goalscorers
References and sources
*''Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Stor ...
title, and the
1964 Intercontinental Cup
The 1964 Intercontinental Cup was an association football tie in September 1964 between Independiente and Inter Milan.
The first leg was held on 9 September 1964 in Avellaneda, and won 1–0 by Independiente. Two weeks later, Inter won the retur ...
.
He also represented the
Italian national side on one occasion.
A powerful player, Milani was a fast, strong, hard-working, and traditional
centre-forward
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
. He excelled in the air due to his heading accuracy, and he also possessed a powerful and accurate shot, which allowed him to be a prolific goalscorer throughout his career. He was also a generous team player, who was capable of playing with his back to goal, holding up the ball, and laying it off for teammates, providing them with assists.
Club career
Early years
Milani began his career playing for the Aurora Desio youth side at the beginning of the 1950s, before being scouted by Atalanta
Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology.
There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...
, who loaned him to Fanfulla
Luigi Visconti, better known by his stage name Fanfulla, (26 February 1913 – 5 January 1971) was an Italian actor and comedian.
Life and career
Born in Rome, Visconti debuted at very young age on stage alongside his mother, the actress Merc ...
during the 1953–54 Serie B season and the 1954–55 Serie C season. Simmenthal's Monza
Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...
purchased him, which allowed him to play in Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
again. With the club, he scored 37 times over two Serie B seasons, winning the Serie B top scorer award during the 1955–56 Serie B
The Serie B 1955–56 was the twenty-fourth tournament of this competition played in Italy since its creation.
Teams
Bari and Livorno had been promoted from Serie C, while Udinese and Catania had been relegated from Serie A.
Final classificatio ...
season. His impressive performances caught the eye of the Triestina
Unione Sportiva Triestina Calcio 1918, commonly referred to as Triestina, is an Italian football club based in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Originally founded in 1918, the club has been re-established several times in its history. As of the ...
management, and during the following season, Milani scored 17 goals in 30 Serie B appearances for the Friuli club.[
]
Serie A debut
The following season, Milani made his Serie A debut with Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa.
The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...
during the 1958–59 Serie A
The 1958–59 Serie A season was the 29th edition of Serie A, the top-level football competition in Italy. The championship was won by Milan.
Teams
Triestina and Bari had been promoted from Serie B.
Final classification
Juventus was the cupwi ...
season, on 21 September 1958 in a 1–0 defeat against Lazio
it, Laziale
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, in Rome. He formed a formidable attacking trio with Mora
Mora may refer to:
People
* Mora (surname)
Places Sweden
* Mora, Säter, Sweden
* Mora, Sweden, the seat of Mora Municipality
* Mora Municipality, Sweden
United States
* Mora, Louisiana, an unincorporated community
* Mora, Minnesota, a city
* M ...
and Cucchiaroni throughout his first season, scoring 13 goals. During the 1959–60 Serie A
The 1959–60 Serie A season was won by Juventus.
Teams
Atalanta and Palermo had been promoted from Serie B.
Events
A modern professional structure was introduced, together with a third relegation.
Final classification
Results
Top goalsco ...
season, however, he was injured to his leg in a match against Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
, which prevented him from playing for a lengthy period.[
]
Emergence in Serie A
Nereo Rocco
Nereo Rocco (; 20 May 1912 – 20 February 1979) was an Italian association football player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, he is famous for having been one of the most successful head coaches in Italy, winning s ...
took Milani to Padova
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
, and the Italian striker formed a notable attacking partnership with Crippa, scoring 18 goals. In the summer of 1961, the president of Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...
, Longinotti, acquired Milani to strengthen his front-line, which featured the likes of Gianfranco Petris
Gianfranco Petris (; 30 August 1936 – 1 July 2018) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward.
Club career
Petris played for several clubs, including Treviso, Triestina, Fiorentina, Lazio and Polisportiva Trani.
International care ...
and Hamrin, who helped the team to capture the 1960–61 European Cup Winners' Cup
The 1960–61 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup club football tournament was won by Italian club Fiorentina in two-legged final victory against Rangers of Scotland.
Organised by the Mitropa Cup committee, this tournament's edition was recog ...
and the Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
. In his first full season with the club, Milani initially went scoreless in Serie A for the first five matches, but on the sixth match-day of the 1961–62 Serie A
The 1961–62 Serie A season was won by Milan.
Teams
Venezia, Mantova and Palermo had been promoted from Serie B.
Final classification
Results
Top goalscorers
References and sources
*''Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-20 ...
season, on 24 September 1961, Milani scored two goals in a 5–2 home win over Udinese
Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a fo ...
. This match is also remembered as being the debut of the legendary Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian national team in the 1982 tournament, at the ...
, therefore the first two goals that he conceded in his career were scored by Milani. With 22 goals, Milani finished the Serie A campaign as the joint Serie A topscorer, alongside Scudetto winner José Altafini
José João Altafini (; born 24 July 1938), also known as "Mazzola" in Brazil (as when he started to play it was noted that he resembled the Italian legend Valentino Mazzola), is an Italian-Brazilian former footballer, who played as a forward. ...
, helping Fiorentina to a third-place finish in the league. Milani also helped Fiorentina to another European Cup Winners' Cup final that season.
Inter and later career
After a negative 1962–63 season, in which he managed to score only a single goal in 18 Serie A appearances for Fiorentina, Milani was purchased by Inter
Inter may refer to:
Association football clubs
* Inter Milan, an Italian club
* SC Internacional, a Brazilian club
* Inter Miami CF, an American club
* FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club
* FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club
* FK Inter Bratislava, a forme ...
, becoming a member of what would later be known as Helenio Herrera's "Grande Inter
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
" side. Milani had a successful season with the Milanese club, scoring 7 goals in 18 Serie A appearances, helping Inter to a second-place finish in Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
, narrowly missing out on the title after a losing a playoff match against the eventual 1964 Serie A champions, Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
, who were tied on points with Inter for first place after the season's conclusion. Milani also won the 1963–64 European Cup
The 1963–64 season of the European Cup club football tournament saw Internazionale win the title with a 3–1 victory over Real Madrid. It was the second consecutive season that an Italian team had won the competition.
Milan, the defending cham ...
with Inter that season, and he scored a goal in the 1964 European Cup final
The 1964 European Cup Final was a Association football, football match played at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Praterstadion in Vienna, Austria on 27 May 1964 to determine the winner of the 1963–64 European Cup. It was contested by Italian side Inte ...
against Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
. The following season, he followed up this triumph by winning the 1964 Intercontinental Cup
The 1964 Intercontinental Cup was an association football tie in September 1964 between Independiente and Inter Milan.
The first leg was held on 9 September 1964 in Avellaneda, and won 1–0 by Independiente. Two weeks later, Inter won the retur ...
with Inter against Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
winners Independiente. During the winter of 1964, however, Milani was seriously injured in a European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
match against Dynamo Bucarest, after getting kneed in the back. As a result of the collision, one of his vertebrae was displaced, thus ending his career prematurely. During his second season at Inter, he was still able to win a second European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
, and the Serie A title, despite only playing in 11 matches, also reaching the Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
final with Inter.[
Milani did attempt to temporarily return to football during the 1966–67 season, playing for ]Verbania
Verbania (, , ) is the most populous ''comune'' (municipality) and the capital city of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. It is situated on the shore of Lake Maggiore, about north-west of Milan and ab ...
in the lower Italian divisions, in Serie C, for a single season, scoring 1 goal in 8 appearances, before officially retiring.[
]
International career
Milani only earned a single cap for the Italy national football team
The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing bo ...
throughout his career. This occurred on 10 May 1964, in a 3–1 away defeat to Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
in an international friendly in Losanna.
Death
At the age of 80, Milani died in Milan on 25 November 2014.
Honours
Club
Inter
*Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
: 1964–65
*European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
: 1963–64, 1964–65
* Intercontinental Cup: 1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
Fiorentina
*European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
: 1960–61
Individual
*Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
Top Goalscorer: 1955–56
* Serie A Top Goalscorer: 1961–62
Notes
References
External links
Statistics
at FIGC.it
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milani, Aurelio
1934 births
2014 deaths
People from Desio
Association football forwards
Italian footballers
Italy international footballers
A.C. Monza players
Atalanta B.C. players
U.C. Sampdoria players
Calcio Padova players
U.S. Triestina Calcio 1918 players
Inter Milan players
ACF Fiorentina players
Serie A players
Serie B players
Serie C players
UEFA Champions League winning players
Footballers from Lombardy
Sportspeople from the Province of Monza e Brianza