Juan Alberto Schiaffino

Juan Alberto Schiaffino

File:Schiaffino e Rivera.jpg Juan Alberto Schiaffino and Gianni Rivera (1960)
Personal information
Full name	Juan Alberto Schiaffino Villano
Date of birth	(1925-07-28)28 July 1925
Place of birth	Montevideo, Uruguay
Date of death
Height
Position(s)	Inside forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1943–1954	Peñarol	227	(88)
1954–1960	Milan	149	(47)
1960–1962	Roma	39	(3)
International career
1946–1954	Uruguay	21	(8)
1954–1958	Italy	4	(0)
Managerial career
1974–1975	Uruguay
1975–1976	Peñarol
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Schiaffino and the second or maternal family name is Villano.

Juan Alberto "Pepe" Schiaffino Villano (Italian pronunciation: [skjafˈfiːno]; born 28 July 1925 – 13 November 2002) was an Italian-Uruguayan football player. He played as an inside forward, in particular with CA Peñarol and AC Milan, or as an attacking midfielder, and won the 1950 FIFA World Cup with the Uruguayan national team. Schiaffino was renowned for his creative ability as a proficient playmaker and assist provider; he was best known for his excellent technical ability, passing range, and vision.

He was ranked as the best Uruguayan footballer of all time by an IFFHS poll.

Clubs

Following his eight successful years in Peñarol in his native Uruguayan league, Schiaffino was purchased by Italian Serie A club AC Milan, for an at the time world record fee of 52 million Lire, in September 1954. He played 171 games with AC Milan and scored 60 goals, and participated in the 1958 European Cup Final, which Milan lost to Real Madrid 2–3 (aet). He was among the crucial offensive players in a Milan team that was dominated by foreign stars such as Nils Liedholm and Gunnar Nordahl. Schiaffino won three national championships with Milan, the victories being in 1955, 1957 and 1959. Schiaffino scored a world leading 145 goals for Milan but left in 1960 to join Roma, where he played out his career during two moderately successful seasons, in which Roma finished fifth in the standings.

National teams

Schiaffino played for two national teams; first with the Uruguyan national team from 1946 to 1954, and later with the Italian national team from 1954 to 1958, courtesy of his paternal grand-father who was a Ligurian from the province of Genoa.

He had 21 caps with the Uruguyan national team (eight goals) and four caps with the Italian national team.

Schiaffino participated actively in Uruguay's victory in the 1950 World Cup, scoring one goal in the final and beating Brazil in its own stadium, in what was called the Maracanazo. He also played in the 1954 World Cup (fourth place).

Death

Schiaffino died on 13 November 2002. His remains are buried at the Cementerio del Buceo, Montevideo.

Honours

Club

Peñarol

• Primera División Uruguaya (Uruguayan championship): 1949, 1951, 1953, 1954

Milan

• Serie A: 1954-55, 1956-57, 1958-59
• Latin Cup: 1956

Roma

• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (now UEFA Cup): 1961

International

Uruguay

• FIFA World Cup: 1950

Individual

• A.C. Milan Hall of Fame

External links

• Juan Alberto Schiaffino on RSSSF
• SuperFutbol profile