José Altafini
José João Altafini (; born 24 July 1938), also known as
"Mazzola" in Brazil, is an
Italian-Brazilian former
footballer, who played as a
forward. Although, he began his career with
Palmeiras in Brazil, he soon moved to play football in Italy, and is mostly remembered for his highly successful stint with Italian club
AC Milan, with which he achieved a great domestic and international success; he later played for
Napoli and
Juventus, before ending his career in Switzerland with spells at
Chiasso and
Mendrisiostar. A highly prolific goalscorer, Altafini also held the record for the most goals scored in a single
European Cup campaign for over 50 years; he is also one of only eight players to have scored five goals in a single
European Cup match. He is the joint-fourth
highest scorer in Italian
Serie A history (along with
Giuseppe Meazza) with 216 goals, and also holds the record for being the
fifth-youngest player in Serie A history to score 100 goals, a feat which he managed at the age of 24 years and 239 days. Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, and as one of Serie A's and Milan's greatest-ever players, Altafini had an eye for goal and was quick, skilful and powerful.
At international level, he represented both
Brazil and
Italy; he was a member of the Brazilian side that won the
1958 FIFA World Cup, and later also represented Italy at the
1962 FIFA World Cup.
He was a football pundit on Italian TV for the
SKY Italia and a commentator on Italian radio for
RTL 102.5, as well as being the secondary commentator on the ''
Pro Evolution Soccer'' video games in Italy. Altafini coined the expression "golaço" (or the Italianised "golazzo") whenever a notable goal is scored and was known for his iconic exclamation "incredibile, amici!" ("incredible, friends!"). In his career, Altafini scored 630 goals.
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