Alessandro Altobelli

Alessandro Altobelli (Italian pronunciation: [alesˈsandro altoˈbɛlli]; born 28 November 1955 in Sonnino, Latina) is a former professional Italian footballer, who played as a forward, and who won the 1982 World Cup with Italy. Nicknamed Spillo ("Needle") for his slender build,[1] Altobelli was a prolific goalscorer, and he became one of the greatest and most effective Italian strikers of the late 1970s and 1980s.[2][3] Altobelli is currently the all-time top scorer in the Coppa Italia, with 56 goals in 93 appearances,[1] and the ninth-highest scoring Italian player in all competitions, with almost 300 career goals.[4]

Alessandro Altobelli

Personal information
Full name	Alessandro Altobelli
Date of birth	(1955-11-28) 28 November 1955
Place of birth	Sonnino, Italy
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1973–1974	Latina	28	(7)
1974–1977	Brescia	76	(26)
1977–1988	Internazionale	317	(128)
1988–1989	Juventus	20	(4)
1989–1990	Brescia	32	(7)
Total		473	(172)
National team
1980–1988	Italy	61	(25)
Honours  Italy FIFA World Cup Spain 1982
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Following spells at Latina (Serie C) and Brescia (Serie B), he was signed by Serie A giants Internazionale in 1977, for whom he played 466 times, scoring 209 goals (128 in Serie A). He contributed heavily to his team's scudetto victory of 1980 (scoring 15 goals), and also helped Inter to win two Coppa Italia titles in 1978 and 1982, finishing as the tournament's top scorer in the 1982 edition, with 9 goals. Altobelli was also the top scorer in the 1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup, with 7 goals, leading Inter to the quarter-finals of the tournament. After his lengthy period with Inter, he played one season with Juventus during the 1987–88 season, before ending his career with Brescia in Serie B once again, during the 1989–90 season.[2][3][5]

International career

For Italy, Altobelli was capped 61 times between 1980 and 1988, scoring 25 goals, and he is currently Italy's sixth highest goalscorer.[1] His most notable international goal was Italy's third goal in the 1982 FIFA World Cup final, which Italy won 3–1 over West Germany.[1] After coming on in the seventh minute of play for the injured Francesco Graziani, he became the second ever substitute to score in a FIFA World Cup final (after Dick Nanninga in 1978 and with Rudi Völler and Mario Götze repeating this, in 1986 and in 2014, respectively). Altobelli also played at Euro 80, with Italy finishing in fourth place on home soil, as well as representing Italy at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, scoring 4 goals, which were, however, not enough to prevent the defending champions from crashing out of the tournament in the round of 16. He also represented Italy at Euro 88, where he played as the team's captain, leading the Italian squad to the semi-finals once again. He made 4 substitute appearances scoring just after coming on in a 2–0 win over Denmark in the group stages.[2][3][6][7][8]

Style of play

Altobelli was a highly prolific goalscorer, who was regarded as a complete striker, and one of the greatest Italian forwards of his generation.[2][3] A well rounded centre-forward, with an eye for goal, he excelled in the air due to his heading accuracy, power, elevation, agility and acrobatic ability; he was also a fast, strong, hard-working, and opportunistic player, with good technique, and he possessed an accurate shot with either foot, in spite of being naturally left-footed. Moreover, he was capable of protecting the ball with his back to goal, and holding it up for his teammates.[2][9][10][11][12][13][14]

After retirement

He is currently a sports analyst for beIN Sports. Also, he previously served as a pundit for AlJazeera.[15] After retiring, he had briefly entered politics,[16] and also worked as a sporting director for Padova, and as a scout for Inter.[17]

Honours

Club

Inter[2][3]

• Serie A: 1979–80
• Coppa Italia: 1977–78, 1981–82

International

Italy[2][3]

• FIFA World Cup: 1982

Individual

• European Cup Winners' Cup Top Goal Scorer: 1978–79[2][3]
• Coppa Italia Top Goal Scorer: 1981–82[2][3][18]
• FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Top Goal Scorer: 1995, 1996

References

1. "Mondiali di calcio 1982. Altobelli o il gol della sicurezza" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
2. "Il Pallone Racconta: Alessandro ALTOBELLI" (in Italian). Il Pallone Racconta. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
3. Stefano Bedeschi (28 November 2013). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Alessandro ALTOBELLI" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
4. "Di Natale punta i 300 gol in carriera: è a 293 dopo la quaterna in Coppa Italia". tribunasportiva.blogspot.it (in Italian). 26 August 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
5. Claudio Colombo. "BECCALOSSI Evaristo: scusate se insisto…" (in Italian). Storie di Calcio. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
6. "Alessandro ALTOBELLI". FIFA.com. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
7. "Nazionale in cifre: Altobelli, Alessandro". figc.it (in Italian). FIGC. Archived from the original on 17 November 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
8. "ITALY BEATS WEST GERMANY IN WORLD CUP FINAL". The New York Times. 12 July 1982. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
9. Stefano Bedeschi (19 April 2013). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Pietro VIERCHOWOD" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
10. GIORGIO DELL’ARTI (22 January 2015). "Biografia di Alessandro Altobelli" (in Italian). cinquantamila.it. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
11. MAURIZIO MOSCA (2 October 2009). "Altobelli: "Ecco perché l'Inter fatica"" (in Italian). Mediaset. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
12. MASSIMILIANO CASTELLANI (24 November 2015). "Il personaggio. Altobelli, lo Spillo nel pallone" (in Italian). avvenire.it. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
13. "I 59 ANNI DI "SPILLO"" (in Italian). Inter.it. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
14. Franco Badolato (6 January 1994). "Lo zar: di Van Basten ce n'è uno" (in Italian). La Stampa. p. 26. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
15. "Altobelli Believes Inter Can Overcome Manchester United". Goal.com. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
16. "Elezioni, "Spillo" Altobelli candidato con Paroli" (in Italian). Il Giornale di Brescia. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
17. "Altobelli - Inter" (in Italian). I Cuori Nerazzurri. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
18. Roberto Di Maggio; Davide Rota (4 June 2015). "Italy - Coppa Italia Top Scorers". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.

External links

• Official website (in Italian)

Sporting positions
Preceded by Graziano Bini	Internazionale captain 1985–1988	Succeeded by Giuseppe Baresi
Preceded by Antonio Cabrini	Italy captain 1987–1988	Succeeded by Giuseppe Bergomi