Antonio Valentín Angelillo (; 5 September 1937 – 5 January 2018) was an
Italian Argentine
Italian Argentines (; , or ''tanos'' in Rioplatense Spanish) are Argentine-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Argentina during the Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
*Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Smal ...
who played the majority of his professional career in the Italian
Serie A
The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
; he was a member of both the
Argentine
Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
and the
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
national teams.
Club career

Born in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, Angelillo started playing professionally in
Arsenal de Llavallol in 1952. In 1955 he played with
Racing Club de Avellaneda
Racing Club () is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Avellaneda, Argentina. They compete in the Argentine Primera División, Primera División, the top tier of Argentine football league system, Argentine f ...
and moved to
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...
in 1956.
Angelillo was part of the
Argentina national team that won the
1957 South American Championship
The South American Championship 1957 was a football tournament held in Peru and won by Argentina with Brazil as runners-up. Bolivia, and Paraguay withdrew from the tournament.
Humberto Maschio from Argentina and Javier Ambrois from Uruguay bec ...
. That team, and its forward line in particular, was nicknamed ''The Angels with Dirty Faces'' (a reference to the then-celebrated ''
Angels with Dirty Faces
''Angels with Dirty Faces'' is a 1938 American crime drama film directed by Michael Curtiz for Warner Brothers. It stars James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, The Dead End Kids, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, and George Bancroft. The screenplay was wr ...
'' movie) due to both their irreverent style of play as well as to their less than rigorous attitude to training. The nickname followed Angelillo when he, along with fellow national team forwards
Omar Sívori
Enrique Omar Sívori (, ; 2 October 1935 – 17 February 2005) was an Argentine-Italian Association football, football player and manager who played as a Forward (association football), forward. At club level, he is known for his successful tim ...
and
Humberto Maschio
Humberto Dionisio Maschio (; 20 February 1933 – 20 August 2024) was an Argentine-Italian association football, football player and manager who played as a forward (association football), forward or midfielder.
At international level, he repre ...
, moved from Argentina to play football in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
after the tournament. There, the trio was also known as ''The Trio of Death'' due to their clinical ability in scoring goals.
In 1957 Angelillo was signed by the Italian club
Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...
by the club's president at the time,
Angelo Moratti
Angelo Moratti (5 November 1909 – 12 August 1981) was an Italian oil tycoon and the former owner of Inter Milan from 1955 to 1968.
Biography
In 1962, after a long history in the oil business, Moratti founded Saras S.p.A., an energy multinati ...
; he made his Serie A debut with the club on 8 September 1957, in a 0–0 home draw against
Torino
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) 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 city is main ...
, and scored 16 goals in his
first season. From 1957 to 1961, he played 127 games with the ''Nerazzurri'', scoring 77 times. In Serie A, he appeared in 113 matches and scored 68 goals for Internazionale, also serving as the club's
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
.
During the
1958–59 Serie A
The 1958–59 Serie A season was the 29th edition of Serie A, the top-level football competition in Italy. The championship was won by Milan.
Teams
Triestina and Bari had been promoted from Serie B.
Final classification
Juventus was the cupw ...
season, Angelillo scored 33 goals in 33 matches, finishing the season as the
tournament's top scorer. His goal total was the highest since
Gunnar Nordahl
Nils Gunnar Nordahl (; 19 October 1921 – 15 September 1995) was a Swedish professional footballer. A highly prolific, powerful, and physically strong striker, with an eye for goal, he is best known for his spell at AC Milan from 1949 to 1956, ...
had scored 34 in the
1950–51 Serie A
The 1950-51 Serie A was the forty-ninth edition of the Italian Football Championship. It was the eighteenth Italian Football Championship branded Serie A, since Serie A was launched in 1929. This was the twenty-fifth season from which the Italian ...
season, and is still the record for most goals in a single 18-team Italian division season;
no player scored as many goals in a single Serie A season until
Gonzalo Higuaín
Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín (; born 10 December 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''El Pipita'' or ''Pipa,'' he is considered to be one of the best strikers of his generation and was a prolific striker kn ...
finished the
2015–16 Serie A
The 2015–16 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 114th season of top-tier Italian football, the 84th in a round-robin tournament, and the 6th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...
season with 36 goals – until then, the only player since Angelillo to break the 30 goal barrier had been
Luca Toni
Luca Toni (; born 26 May 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer, Toni scored over 300 goals throughout his career, and is one of the top-five highest scoring Italians in all competition ...
, who scored 31 goals during the
2005–06 Serie A
The 2005–06 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 104th season of top-tier Italian football, the 74th in a round-robin tournament. The league commenced on 28 August 2005 and finished on 14 May 2006. While Juventus w ...
season. With 38 goals for Inter in all competitions throughout the 1950–51 season, Angelillo holds the club record for most goals in a single season, alongside
Giuseppe Meazza
Giuseppe Meazza (; 23 August 1910 – 21 August 1979) was an Italian football manager and player. Throughout his career, he played mainly for Inter Milan in the 1930s, scoring 284 goals in 408 games for the club, and winning three Serie A title ...
.
Although Angelillo was Internazionale's highest goalscorer while he was playing there, he did not win any titles with the ''Nerazzurri''. When the club appointed
Helenio Herrera
Helenio Herrera Gavilán (; 10 April 1910 – 9 November 1997) was an Argentina, Argentine and naturalised France, French association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. He is best remembered for his success ...
as the team's new manager, Angelillo's independent nature, rebellious character, and hedonistic lifestyle off the pitch led to several disagreements between the two; as a result, Angelillo was sold to
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
People, characters, figures, names
* Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas.
* Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun
* Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...
during the
1961–62 season, for 270 million lire, in spite of offers in Argentina from his former club, Boca Juniors.
From 1961 to 1965, Angelillo played 106 games with Roma in Serie A, scoring 27 times, winning the
1960–61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
The third Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was the first to be played over a single season, namely the 1960–61 season. Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as ...
, and the 1963–64
Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since.
Juventus is the competition's most successf ...
with the club. He then spent
one season at
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
, scoring one goal in 11 matches. The following year, he signed with
Lecco
Lecco (, , ; ) is a city of approximately 47,000 inhabitants in Lombardy, Northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). The Bergamasqu ...
, playing 12 matches and scoring one goal, with the team being relegated to
Serie B
The Serie B (), officially known as 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 b ...
at the end of the season. Wanting to return to first division football, he subsequently had a trial with
Napoli
Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...
, before agreeing to return to Milan as a reserve; he only made three appearances, scoring one goal, winning the
1967–68 Serie A
The 1967–68 Serie A season was won by Milan.
Teams
Sampdoria and Varese had been promoted from Serie B.
Six out of the sixteen clubs came from Lombardy, a record for a single region of Italy.
Final classification
Results
Top goalscorer ...
title with the club, although he did not appear in Milan's victorious
1967–68 European Cup Winners' Cup
The 1967–68 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup club football tournament was won by A.C. Milan following their final victory against Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV ...
campaign that season. In order to gain playing time he then moved to
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
in Serie B, where he made 22 appearances, scoring five goals. His next and last team was Angelana, which he joined in 1969 as a player-manager, before retiring from professional football in 1971.
International career
In official tournaments, Angelillo played 11 matches and scored 11 goals for the
Argentina national team. During the
1957 South American Championship
The South American Championship 1957 was a football tournament held in Peru and won by Argentina with Brazil as runners-up. Bolivia, and Paraguay withdrew from the tournament.
Humberto Maschio from Argentina and Javier Ambrois from Uruguay bec ...
, which
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
won,
Angelillo was tied for the second-most goals in the tournament, with eight in six matches, scoring in all matches but the last one against
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
After the tournament, he and two other Argentine players (
Omar Sívori
Enrique Omar Sívori (, ; 2 October 1935 – 17 February 2005) was an Argentine-Italian Association football, football player and manager who played as a Forward (association football), forward. At club level, he is known for his successful tim ...
and
Humberto Maschio
Humberto Dionisio Maschio (; 20 February 1933 – 20 August 2024) was an Argentine-Italian association football, football player and manager who played as a forward (association football), forward or midfielder.
At international level, he repre ...
) were bought by different Italian club teams, and, as a result, the trio were banned from playing for the Argentina national team by the Argentine Football Federation, and missed out on the
1958 World Cup
The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the 6th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first and only FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country.
Br ...
in Sweden; Argentina were eliminated in the first round of the competition.
After moving to Italy and acquiring Italian citizenship through his grandfather, Angelillo later appeared for the
Italy national team, making his debut in a 2–1 away defeat to
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
on 10 December 1960, although, in spite of the presence of several
foreign-born Italian players – including his compatriots and former teammates Sívori and Maschio –, he was left out of the Italian squad for the
World Cup in Chile two years later; in total he made two appearances for Italy between 1960 and 1962, scoring 1 goal, which came in his second and final appearance – a 6–0 home victory over
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, held in Turin, on 4 November 1961.
Style of play
A quick, talented, complete and prolific forward, with good movement and technique, Angelillo was mainly knowing for his goalscoring ability, although he was not a traditional
striker who limited himself to operating in the penalty area; indeed, he was also known for his defensive work-rate, as well as his ability to
orchestrate attacking plays and provide
assists for his teammates. Because of his many skills, he was capable of playing in several other positions, both in attack or in
midfield
In many sports, midfield is the part of a sports field that is near the line that is equally far from the end lines. That is, in American football it is the part of the field near the 50-yard line; in association football (soccer) and field hoc ...
, and throughout his career he was deployed as an
inside forward
In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...
or
second striker
In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...
, as a
centre-forward
In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...
, as a
winger, and even as a
central attacking midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
.
Coaching career
After retiring, Angelillo remained in Italy, where he became a coach, managing several lower division clubs. His most notable success came with
Arezzo
Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...
, which he led to win a
Coppa Italia Serie C
Coppa Italia Serie C (), formerly named Coppa Italia Lega Pro, is a straight knock-out based competition involving teams from Serie C in Italian football first held in 1972.
Format
There are a total of six rounds in the competition. It begins i ...
title, a
Serie C1
Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions.
History
Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...
title, and narrowly also missed out on a promotion to
Serie A
The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
on his first attempt after being promoted to Serie B. Following his managerial career, Angelillo later worked as a scout with his former club Inter in South America, and reportedly discovered
Javier Zanetti
Javier Adelmar Zanetti (, ; born 10 August 1973) is an Argentine former professional footballer. Regarded as one of the greatest right-backs of all time, Zanetti is well known for having dedicated almost his entire career at Inter Milan, having ...
, who would later go on to captain the club and become Inter's record appearance holder; he later continued to live in
Arezzo
Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...
.
His last club was
Provincial Osorno
Provincial Osorno is a football club based in Osorno, Los Lagos Region, Chile. The club is currently playing at the third tier of the Chilean football system, the Segunda División.
The club were founded on 5 June 1983 and then re-founded on 3 ...
in the
1994 Primera División of Chile
The Campeonato Nacional Copa Banco del Estado 1994, was the 62nd season of top-flight football in Chile. Universidad de Chile won their eight title following a 1–1 away tie at Cobresal on 18 December. Universidad Católica also qualified for th ...
.
Personal life
Angelillo was married to Bianca, and had two children. Prior to his marriage, while playing for Inter during the
1960–61 season, he had a much publicised affair with the dancer Attilia Tironi – whose stage name was Ilya Lopez – whom he had met in a nightclub. His father was a butcher.
Death
Angelillo died on 5 January 2018, in a hospital in Siena, at the age of 80.
Honours
Player
Roma
*
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, most commonly referred to as the Fairs Cup and sometimes as the European Fairs Cup or Fairs Cities' Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The Fairs Cup was the idea of FIFA vice-presid ...
:
1960–61
*
Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since.
Juventus is the competition's most successf ...
:
1963–64
Milan
*
Serie A
The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
:
1967–68
*
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
:
1967–68
Argentina
*
Copa América
The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...
:
1957
Events January
* January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany.
* January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
* January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...
Individual
*
Serie A Top-scorer:
1958–59 (33 goals)
Manager
Angelana
*
Prima Categoria
The Prima Categoria is the seventh level (since 2014–15) in the Italian football league system and is organized by the National Amateur League by the Regional Committees. Each individual league winner within the Prima Categoria level progress ...
: 1970–71
Arezzo
*
Coppa Italia Serie C
Coppa Italia Serie C (), formerly named Coppa Italia Lega Pro, is a straight knock-out based competition involving teams from Serie C in Italian football first held in 1972.
Format
There are a total of six rounds in the competition. It begins i ...
: 1980–81
*
Serie C1
Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions.
History
Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...
: 1981–82 (Girone B)
AS FAR
*
Moroccan League: 1988–89
References
External links
Inter Archive
*
FIGC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angelillo, Antonio
1937 births
2018 deaths
Footballers from Buenos Aires
Argentine emigrants to Italy
Argentine sportspeople of Italian descent
Argentine men's footballers
Argentine expatriate men's footballers
Argentina men's international footballers
Copa América–winning players
Dual internationalists (men's football)
Naturalised citizens of Italy
Italian men's footballers
Italy men's international footballers
Argentine Primera División players
Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers
Boca Juniors footballers
Serie A players
Serie B players
Inter Milan players
AS Roma players
AC Milan players
Calcio Lecco 1912 players
Genoa CFC players
Men's association football forwards
Argentine football managers
Argentine expatriate football managers
Italian football managers
Italian expatriate football managers
Montevarchi Calcio Aquila 1902 managers
S.S. Chieti Calcio managers
Rimini FC 1912 managers
Brescia Calcio managers
AS Reggina 1914 managers
Delfino Pescara 1936 managers
SS Arezzo managers
US Avellino 1912 managers
Palermo FC managers
Mantova 1911 managers
AS FAR managers
Morocco national football team managers
Provincial Osorno managers
Serie D managers
Serie C managers
Serie B managers
Botola managers
Chilean Primera División managers
Expatriate football managers in Morocco
Expatriate football managers in Chile
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Morocco
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Chile
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Morocco
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Chile
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy
20th-century Italian sportsmen
20th-century Argentine sportsmen