Eraldo Monzeglio (; 5 June 1906 – 3 November 1981) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

coach and player, who played as a defender, in the position of full-back. Monzeglio had a highly successful career as a footballer, although he also later attracted controversy due to his close relationship with the Italian fascist dictator

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

. At club level, he played for Casale,

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, and Roma, winning the

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 ...

title and two editions of the

Mitropa Cup The Mitropa Cup, officially called Coupe de l'Europe Centrale, Mitteleuropäischer Pokal or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European association football, football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the suc ...

with Bologna. At international level, he also had success representing the

Italy national football team The Italy national football team () has represented Italy in men's international Association football, football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for fo ...

, and was a member of the Italian teams that won consecutive

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

titles in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

and

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

, being named to the tournament's All-star Team in 1934; he also won two editions of the Central European International Cup with Italy. Along with Giuseppe Meazza and

Giovanni Ferrari Giovanni Ferrari (; 6 December 1907 – 2 December 1982) was an Italian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder/inside forward on the left. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation, having won Serie A 8 times, as wel ...

, he is one of only three Italian players to have won two World Cups. Following his retirement as a player, he worked as a coach for Italian clubs

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

, Pro Sesto,

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 ...

, Sampdoria, and

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

, as well as Swiss club

Chiasso Chiasso (; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Mendrisio (district), Mendrisio in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. As Extreme points of Switzerland, the southernmost of Switzerland's ...

. He was posthumously inducted into the

Italian Football Hall of Fame The Italian Football Hall of Fame () is the hall of fame for association football players that have had a significant impact on Italian football. It is housed at the '' Museo del Calcio'' in Coverciano, Italy. History and regulations The Hall o ...

in 2013.

Club career

Monzeglio was born in Vignale Monferrato, in the

province of Alessandria The province of Alessandria (; ; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: ''provinsa ëd Lissändria'') is an Italian Provinces of Italy, province, with a population of some 425,000, which forms the southeastern part of the region of Piedmont. The prov ...

(

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

). In his nineteen-year career as a football defender, which lasted from 1924 to 1943, he played for Casale,

, and Roma. With Bologna, he was victorious in the 1928–29 championship, also winning two

s in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

and

International career

At international level, Monzeglio played for the Italy national team on 35 occasions, which the team also won two

finals, in

and

, being named to the Team of the Tournament in 1934; he also won two Central European International Cups with Italy.

Coaching career

Despite his success and fame as a footballer, following the conclusion of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, however, Monzeglio had initially attracted controversy, due to his political views and close friendship with the Italian fascist dictator

, as well as his role as Mussolini's personal coach. Monzeglio later became a coach, managing the Italian teams of A.S. Roma,

, Pro Sesto,

, Sampdoria,

, and

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 ...

, as well as

, in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, between 1941 and 1973. Monzeglio died in Turin, on 3 November 1981, at the age of 75. In 2013, he was posthumously inducted into the

Honours

Player

Club

;Bologna *

: 1928–29 *

International

;

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 ...

* Central European International Cup: 1927–30, 1933–35; Runner-up: 1931–32

Manager

;Napoli *

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 ...

: 1949–50

Individual

* FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament:

*Seminatore d'oro: 1959–60 *

: 2013 (Posthumous)

References

External links

Eraldo Monzeglio
at Enciclopediadelcalcio.it {{DEFAULTSORT:Monzeglio, Eraldo 1906 births 1981 deaths People from Vignale Monferrato Italian men's footballers Italy men's international footballers Italian football managers Bologna FC 1909 players Casale FBC players AS Roma players Serie A players AS Roma managers Pro Sesto 1913 managers SSC Napoli managers UC Sampdoria managers Juventus FC managers Calcio Lecco 1912 managers Serie A managers 1934 FIFA World Cup players 1938 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players FC Chiasso managers Expatriate football managers in Switzerland Men's association football defenders AC Monza managers Footballers from the Province of Alessandria 20th-century Italian sportsmen