Adolfo Baloncieri (; 27 July 1897 – 23 July 1986) was an Italian

football manager ''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game be ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

who played as a

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 ...

. Critically regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Gianni Brera considered him one of the greatest Italian

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativity ...

s ever, alongside the likes of Giuseppe Meazza and Valentino Mazzola. In 2010, Carlo Felice Chiesa wrote: "If it were possible to rank all-time great " registas" of world football, Adolfo Baloncieri, an athlete from a period so remote from our own, would end up among the first, if not first."Chiesa, ''Il secolo azzurro''. pp. 165-166. Baloncieri began his club career with Alessandria, but most notably played for

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

, where they won league titles in

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and

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...

(the 1927 title was later revoked). Following his retirement, he also coached several clubs in Italy. At international level, he took part at three editions of the Summer Olympic games with Italy, captaining the Italy national team to a bronze medal at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

, and also won the 1927-30 Central European International Cup with Italy. With 25 goals, he is the sixth highest all-time scorer of the Italian national team, alongside

Filippo Inzaghi Filippo "Pippo" Inzaghi (; born 9 August 1973) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. He was nicknamed "Superpippo" or "Alta tensione" by fans and commentators during his playing career. He is ...

and

Alessandro Altobelli Alessandro Altobelli (; born 28 November 1955) 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, Altobelli was a prolific goals ...

, and he is also the highest scoring midfielder in the history of the Italian national side.

Early life

Baloncieri was born in Castelceriolo in the province of Alessandria, to a family originally from Caselle Torinese. During childhood he lived with his family in

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most po ...

, Argentina for 12 years where he entered the world of football at age nine. Eager to play sport, he did not complete his studies in

accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

. His older brother Mario was an amateur footballer in Alessandria and then a

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, while his cousin William Brezzi, who died at a young age, was his teammate at Alessandria and the national team. His brother Carlo drowned in

Finale Ligure Finale Ligure ( lij, O Finâ, locally ; la, Finarium) is a ''comune'' on the Gulf of Genoa in the Province of Savona in Liguria, Italy. It is considered part of the Italian Riviera. Geography Known for its white sand beaches and its views, Final ...

in August 1933, while his son also died at a young age. With his other daughter, Flora, a teacher, and a sister, he lived in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

in later years. He died in 1986, days before he turned 89, from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

Club career

After spending much of his childhood in Argentina, Baloncieri returned to Italy in 1913 and joined Alessandria; for which he debuted in 1914 at the age of 17 before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

suspended league fixtures. During the conflict he was at the

front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * '' The Front'', 1976 film Music *The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...

as a gunner. After football resumed he distinguished himself among the most famous footballers of the 1920s with

, when they won two national titles (one was revoked for the "Allemandi Case"). In 1930 he was knighted by the Crown of Italy on the recommendation of the

Italian Football Federation The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. I ...

Leandro Arpinati Leandro Arpinati (29 February 1892 – 22 April 1945) was an Italian politician. Biography Arpinati was born at Civitella di Romagna. Before World War I, he was originally an individualist-anarchist and, together with his friend Benito Mussolin ...

. Baloncieri retired in 1931; interested in the development of young athletes, he was responsible for the development of the Torino youth system. He later became a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

International career

At International level, Baloncieri was the captain of the Italy national team that won the bronze medal at the 1928 Olympic Games, and the winner of the 1930

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, alongside Giuseppe Meazza. He earned 47 caps for Italy between 1920 and 1930, and with 25 goals, he is Italy's sixth all-time highest goalscorer and the highest scoring midfielder in the history of the Italian national team. He also played in two other editions of the Olympics, in

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own m ...

and

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China h ...

, making him the player with the most all-time appearances and goals, eleven and eight respectively, at Olympic football tournaments for the Italian national side.

Style of play

Usually deployed as an

offensive Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

, Baloncieri was a quick, talented, elegant, and creative

, who had excellent technical skills, vision, passing ability, and a notable eye for goal from midfield.

Honours

Torino *

Divisione Nazionale Divisione Nazionale ''(National Division)'' was the name of the first level of the Italian Football Championship from 1926 to 1929. History The competition was the evolution of former Prima Divisione ''(First Division)'' which had two main proble ...

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 Copp ...

: 1927–28 ;

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 ...

Central European International Cup The European International Cup of Nations was an international football competition held by certain national teams from Central Europe & South Europe between 1927 and 1960.Leo Schidrowitz "Internationaler Cup", Vienna 1954 There were competitions f ...

: 1927-30 *

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

: Bronze

Individual *Torino F.C. Hall of Fame

Bibliography

References

External links

* * * *
Azzurri Stars
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baloncieri, Adolfo 1897 births 1986 deaths People from Alessandria Italian footballers Italy international footballers Torino F.C. players Olympic footballers of Italy Footballers at the 1920 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Italy Serie A players Serie B players U.S. Alessandria Calcio 1912 players Italian football managers A.S. Roma managers U.C. Sampdoria managers S.S.C. Napoli managers Palermo F.C. managers FC Chiasso managers Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Association football midfielders Italian military personnel of World War I Deaths from pneumonia in Liguria Sportspeople from the Province of Alessandria