Ivano Blason (; 24 May 1923 – 13 March 2002) 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 ...

. He was a defender, who is credited with being one of the first sweepers in world football. He represented

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 ...

at the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

Club career

After starting his career with Pro Gorizia in 1939, Blason made a name for himself with

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 ...

, making his debut in the Italian top–flight during the 1945–46 season. He was one of the main figures during the team's historic second–place finish in the league during the 1947–48 season, behind the famous '' Grande Torino'' side. He remained with the team until 1950, when he joined

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 ...

, winning two consecutive league titles between 1952 and 1954. After a season with

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie 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 season. It had been ...

, he joined

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 ...

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 ...

, where he remained for seven seasons, contributing to the team's third–place finish during the 1957–58 season.

International career

Blason took part at the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil with Italy, and made his only international appearance during the tournament, which came in a 2–0 win over

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

on 2 July.

Style of play

A defender, Blason was known his physical strength, man–marking ability, and for being a hard but fair player. He was capable of playing in several defensive roles, and often played as a full-back in the WM system or ''sistema'', which at the time was similar to the role of the modern centre-back; however, he was later also used as a sweeper, and is credited by Andrea Schianchi of '' La Gazzetta dello Sport'' with being the first official ''libero'' in Italian football when he was deployed in this role with Inter under manager

Alfredo Foni Alfredo Foni (; 20 January 1911 – 28 January 1985) was an Italian footballer in the 1930s and later on a coach, who played as a defender. He is one of only four players to have won both an Olympic gold medal and the FIFA World Cup with the I ...

, and subsequently at Padova under manager Nereo Rocco; in this position, he was often the deepest player on the team positioned behind the back-line, who would clear balls away from the penalty area. During his time at Inter under Foni, in addition to his roles as a full-back and sweeper, he was also used as a

centre-half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

-back, a role known as the ''centromediano metodista'' in Italy, which shared the responsibilities of a

defensive 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 boundari ...

and a

deep-lying playmaker A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, 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 #Cent ...

. Although he was primarily known to be a traditional sweeper, whose main role was to clear balls away, he was also known for his ability to start counter-attacks with long passes. In addition to his defensive skills, he was also known for his powerful shot, and often took free kicks and penalties.

Personal life

Ivano Blason was born in San Lorenzo di Mossa, near

Province of Gorizia The Province of Gorizia ( it, Provincia di Gorizia, fur, Provincie di Gurize; sl, Goriška pokrajina) was a province in the autonomous Friuli–Venezia Giulia region of Italy, which was disbanded on 30 September 2017. Overview Its capital was th ...

. His older brother Giacomo Blason played football professionally as well. To distinguish them, Giacomo was referred to as Blason I and Ivano as Blason II.

Honours

Inter *

: 1952–53, 1953–54 Pro Gorizia *

Serie C The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

: 1942–43

References

External links

La Gazzetta dello Sport

Inter Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blason, Ivano 1923 births 2002 deaths Italian footballers Association football defenders A.S. Pro Gorizia players U.S. Triestina Calcio 1918 players Inter Milan players Hellas Verona F.C. players Calcio Padova players Serie A players Serie B players Italy international footballers 1950 FIFA World Cup players