Giovanni Ferrari (; 6 December 1907 – 2 December 1982) was an Italian footballer who played as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

inside Inside may refer to: * Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 f ...

forward on the left. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation, one of Italy's best ever players, and as one of the greatest players of all time, having won the

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 Cop ...

8 times, as well as two consecutive

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

titles (in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

and 1938) with 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 ...

. Along with

Giuseppe Meazza Giuseppe "Peppino" Meazza (; 23 August 1910 – 21 August 1979), also known as il Balilla, was an Italian football manager and player. Throughout his career, he played mainly for Inter Milan in the 1930s, scoring 242 goals in 365 games for the ...

and

Eraldo Monzeglio Eraldo Monzeglio (; 5 June 1906 – 3 November 1981) was an Italian association football coach and player, who played as a defender, in the position of full-back. Monzeglio had a highly successful career as a footballer, although he also later ...

, he is one of only three Italian players to have won two World Cups. A creative, advanced midfield playmaker, Ferrari was a strong, physically fit, hardworking, versatile, and well-rounded footballer, as well as being a generous team player. Due to his technical ability, vision, tactical intelligence, and passing ability, he excelled at building attacking plays and creating chances for teammates, at a time where assists weren´t recorded, but he was famous for setting up his teammates, although he was also capable of scoring himself due to his powerful and accurate shot. He was primarily deployed as an

/left–sided inside forward, known as the '' Mezzala'' role, in Italian football jargon. throughout his career.

Club career

Ferrari began his footballing career with local club Alessandria in the prima divisione nazionale in 1923, and he was also there when the newly established

started in the season 1929-30, aside from a brief loan to

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

during the 1925–26 season, where he scored an impressive 16 goals in 15 matches. He was given credit over the seven-year period (1923–1930) with Alessandria and

in total to be playing 137 matches and scoring 78 goals. The following year Ferrari changed over to Juventus and was handed the number 10 shirt. Over that five-year period (1930–1935), which was his 1st spell at Juventus, he played in 160 games and scored 66 goals, in addition to providing many assists. Although the official number of assists he provided was not recorded, it was said to be extremely high. The next move Ferrari would make would be to

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 form ...

, where he also played for a five-yer period (1935-1940), and subsequently to

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, 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 1 ...

for the 1940–41 season, before returning to Juventus in the 1941–42 season for his 2nd spell, this time as a player-manager in what turned out to be the final season of his playing career, winning his 10th major national trophy. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, when Italian club football started up again in the season 1945-46, he became a full-time manager for

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

. 1930-1935: Il Quinquennio d'Oro della Juventus Juventus had won 2 Italian Championships earlier in history, before it was named

, but under his guidance, the club won 5

Titles in a row, ''Il Quinquennio d'Oro'', by then a record of 1st 5 successive titles ever in Italy, which meant he in reality dragged Juventus into an era, as one of Italy’s biggest and most important clubs. 1935-1941: Making it a record 8 Serie A titles He then went on to win 2 more

titles & 1

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 ...

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 t ...

and 1

title with

; Making him the first player to win a then record of 8

Championships, Virginio Rosetta also won 8 national championships, but 3 of them came before the formation of a professional Serie A. Ferrari is also one of six footballers to have won the Serie A title with 3 clubs, a feat he managed with Juventus, Inter, and Bologna; the other 5 players to have managed the same feat are Filippo Cavalli, Aldo Serena, Pietro Fanna, Sergio Gori, and Attilio Lombardo. The record for most

titles wasn´t broken for 77 years, until the season 2017-18 where

Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...

won his 9th

title, subsequently making it 10

titles in the season 2019-20, all 10 titles won with Juventus. 1941-1942: 2nd spell at Juventus & 10th major national trophy He came back to Juventus where he won his 2nd

, which was his 10th major national trophy in what ended up in being his last season as a player. After this season the

was discontinued due to the

International career

Ferraris 1st taste of success with the Italian national team was as part of the silver winning 1931-32 Central European International Cup squad. He then went on to win two consecutive

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

(in

& 1938), as well as the 1933-35 Central European International Cup. All 4 tournaments alongside teammates

and

. The 3 (in terms of silverware) most successful players ever for Italy. In total he managed 44 appearances and 14 goals with the national side between 1930 and 1938. He later was the head coach of Italy from 1960 to 1961, and was part of the technical commission being co-manager with Paolo Mazza leading Italy in the 1962 FIFA World Cup., where Italy lost 1 match to the hosting nation Chile in the infamous

Battle of Santiago (1962 FIFA World Cup) The Battle of Santiago ( it, Battaglia di Santiago, es, Batalla de Santiago) was a football match during the 1962 FIFA World Cup, played between host Chile and Italy on 2 June 1962 in Santiago. It gained its nickname from the level of violence ...

, having 2 men sent off, while Chile had none sent off despite amongst other thing, a left-hook punch by Chilean outside-left

Leonel Sánchez Leonel Guillermo Sánchez Lineros (25 April 1936 – 2 April 2022) was a Chilean professional footballer who played as a striker on the left wing. He is recognized as one of the Best South American Footballers of the 20th Century and one of ...

to Italian right-back Mario David, & later

actually broke

Humberto Maschio Humberto Dionisio Maschio (; born 20 February 1933) is an Italian-Argentine former football player and manager who played as a forward or midfielder. At international level, he represented both the Argentina national team, winning the 1957 C ...

's nose with another left hook but the English referee English referee Ken Aston still did nothing. After this match Ken Aston was never allowed to referee a World Cup match again. Central European International Cup 1931-32 Ferrari was from the start of the 1931-32 Central European International Cup a regular starter in his playmaker/

role & also scored a goal in the away match against Czechoslovakia. The campaign ended with Italy being Runners-up after the Austrian ''

Wunderteam ''Wunderteam'' (; ''Wonder Team'') was the name given to the Austria national football team of the 1930s. Led by manager Hugo Meisl, the team had an unbeaten streak of 14 games between April 1931 and December 1932. The style of the team focused on q ...

'' lead by

Matthias Sindelar Matthias Sindelar (, cz, Matěj Šindelář; 10 February 1903 – 23 January 1939) was an Austrian professional footballer. Regarded as one of the greatest Austrian players of all time, Sindelar played for Austria Wien and the Austria national ...

, which meant Ferrari earned his 1st international medal (Silver) with Italy. FIFA World Cup 1934 Ferarri aside from his playmaker/

role scored 2 goals, both of them at the knock out stage, in his 1st World Cup. The 1st goal was against USA in the round of 16 and the 2nd goal equalizing against Spain in the 1/4 finals, earning Italy a replay (back then there was no penalty shoot-out, so if a match was tied after extra time, there would be a rematch the day after), which they won and subsequently ending up winning the World Cup, beating the Austrian ''

'' in the semi-finals & Czechoslovakia lead by Oldrich Nejedly in the final but had it not been for Ferraris equalizer in the 1/4 finals, that would have been the end for Italy at the 1934 World cup. Central European International Cup 1933-35 Ferrari aside from his playmaker/

role scored 3 goals in this gold winning campaign; home against Czechoslovakia, home against Switzerland & home against Hungary, this time helping Italy beat the Austrian ''

'' for the gold. FIFA World Cup 1938 Ferrari was again a regular starter in his 2nd World Cup, where he from his playmaking/

role help guide Italy to its 2nd consecutive World Cup title, beating Hungary lead by

György Sárosi György Sárosi (; 5 August 1912 – 20 June 1993) was a Hungarian footballer. Sárosi was a complete footballer renowned for his versatility and technique among other things, and he played in several positions for Ferencváros and the Hungary ...

in the final. Making him one of only three Italians to win 2

Personal life

Ferrari was born in Alessandria on December 6 in 1907 & died in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

in 1982, aged 74.

Honours

Club

; Juventus *

1930–31 Year 193 ( CXCIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sosius and Ericius (or, less frequently, year 946 ''Ab urbe condit ...

, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35 *

: 1941-42 ;

: 1937–38, 1939–40 *

: 1938-39 ;

: 1940–41

International

;

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, 1938 * Central European International Cup: 1933–35 * Central European International Cup: Runner-up: 1931-32

Individual

* Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2011 (Posthumous)

References

External links

Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrari, Giovanni 1907 births 1934 FIFA World Cup players 1938 FIFA World Cup players 1962 FIFA World Cup managers 1982 deaths Bologna F.C. 1909 players Inter Milan managers Inter Milan players FIFA World Cup-winning players Italian football managers Italian footballers Italy international footballers Calcio Padova managers Italy national football team managers Juventus F.C. players U.S. Alessandria Calcio 1912 players People from Alessandria Serie A managers Serie A players Neuchâtel Xamax FCS managers Association football forwards Association football midfielders Expatriate football managers in Eswatini Italian expatriate football managers Footballers from Piedmont Sportspeople from the Province of Alessandria simple:Giovanni Ferrari