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Giuseppe "Peppino" Meazza ((:dʒuˈzɛppe meˈattsa); 23 August 1910 – 21 August 1979), also known as il Balilla, was an Italian footballer playing mainly for Internazionale in the 1930s, scoring 242 goals in 365 games for the club. He led Italy to win two consecutive World Cups: in 1934 on home soil, and in 1938 as captain, winning the Golden Ball Award in 1934. He is widely considered one of the best players of his generation, and among the greatest of all time, as well as being the greatest Italian player of all time to some.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org/meazza.html )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/players/player=174761/ )〕 Due to his technical skill, prolific goalscoring, and creative ability, he was often given the nickname "il genio" (the genius) by the Italian press during his career.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://sport.sky.it/sport/calcio_italiano/2010/08/17/giuseppe_meazza_cento_anni.html )〕 He has been ranked fourth-best player in the history of the World Cup. With 33 goals, Meazza is also the second highest goalscorer for the Italian national team,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.figc.it/nazionali/Marcatori?squadra=1&mode= )〕 and with 216 goals in Serie A, he is the fourth all-time highest goal scorer in Serie A, alongside José Altafini.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/italtops-allt.html )〕 With 338 goals, he is the third-highest goalscoring Italian player in all competitions.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.tuttosport.com/calcio/serie_a/juventus/2010/03/15-60075/Del+Piero+a+quota+301+gol+in+carriera%3A+nel+mirino+c%27%C3%A8+Inzaghi )〕 ==Early life== He began his career as all out striker, but showed his skill and ability by also becoming an accomplished midfielder, playing for more than half of his career as inside forward. He was a great leader with excellent shooting and intoxicating dribbling skill, an eye for the pass and, despite his middle height, an exceptional heading ability.〔Giuseppe Prisco, ''Pazzo per l'Inter. Un sogno lungo 62 anni'', Baldini e Castoldi, Milano, 1993〕 His nickname, "il Balilla", was given to him in 1927 by his older teammate Leopoldo Conti, who thought "Pepp", who was only 17 when he joined the senior team, was too young to be associated to the senior team, and was surprised after Inter coach Árpád Weisz decided to give Meazza his debut for Inter in his place. "Now we even take players from kindergarten!" exclaimed Conti sarcastically. The National Opera Balilla, the Fascist youth organisation which collected all children aged 8 to 14 years, was established in 1926 and so Conti thought it a good way to describe the young rookie. Meazza scored two goals on his debut in a 6–2 win against Milanese Unione Sportiva in the Coppa Volta in Como, leaving old "Poldo" Conti speechless〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.calciosport.it/lettura/tiporicerca.asp?pid=1008&catid=248 )〕 The "Gazzetta dello Sport", the day after his official debut in the Italian championship on 12 September 1927, praised his game "intelligent, fresh, quick",〔 something that didn't happen very frequently during those days. Meazza was born in Porta Vittoria, Milan. Having lost his father in 1917 during the tragic fighting of World War I at the age of seven, young Peppe grew up in Milan with his mother, Ersilia who came from Mediglia, helping her sell fruit at the market. However, it was football that was his true calling. His mother hid his shoes so he would not waste his time, so young Peppin learned to play barefoot. He began playing at six years old on the streets on a team named the "Maestri Campionesi" who played with a ball made of rags. At twelve years old he finally got permission from his mother to pursue being a footballer, and began playing for Gloria F.C.. It was here that a fan bought him his first proper pair of football boots. Meazza was the first Italian football player who became famous worldwide, and was the first player with personal sponsors. Unlike his more reserved friend, international team-mate, and club-rival Silvio Piola, a player with whom Meazza was often compared, he was a much more flamboyant character both on and off the pitch.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1996/ottobre/05/morto_Piola_leggenda_del_gol_co_0_9610052272.shtml )〕 He loved his cabriolet, champagne and women and was the only player on the national team that was allowed to smoke. Meazza was famous for humiliating the best defenders of the era and for sleeping at a brothel the night before a match. With his plush touch on the ball, he would cause panic in the robust defenders from an era where two footed tackles from behind were often waved on. Sometimes he would not get out of bed until his teammates were already done practicing. He also loved the Tango and used this proficiency to make him unpredictable on the field and could score goals at fox-trot tempo. He was a superb dribbler who despite his speed, never had a single brylcreemed hair out of place, and although he was not tall, was remarkably good in the air. Meazza created many chances for his teammates and scored goals as well. His goals "a foglia morta", the "dead leaf technique", were also feared by goalkeepers. As an offensive playmaker, he was a brilliant passer, two-footed, had remarkable field vision, and was noted for his balance and agility on the ball, as well as his turns and spins.〔〔 His trademark goals were ones where he would collect the ball at the half-line, dribble through several opponents with a series of twinkle-toed shuffles, and turns, until arriving in front of the goal, where he would stop and invite the goalkeeper to attack him like a matador, before faking a shot, then dribbling past the beaten goalkeeper to slot home easily. In away games, the defenders would often foul and hack him to avoid being humiliated.〔Paolo Facchinetti, ''La Grande Ambrosiana. L'Inter di Meazza contro Juve e Bologna: storia e numeri di uomini e fatti leggendari'', GEO Edizioni, Empoli, 2001〕 "Gol alla Meazza" and "finte alla Meazza" have since become popular sayings for Italian football fans to describe a truly inspiring goal off the dribble or a series of jukes. His goals “ad invito”, where he would invite the goalkeeper out before dribbling around him is yet another popular saying. Meazza once said, "There is nothing worse than having a penalty kick saved by a keeper who didn't understand the fake."〔〔 Vittorio Pozzo, the mastermind coach behind both Italian World Cup victories, wrote of him: "He was a born forward. He saw the game, understood the situation, distributed the ball carefully and made the team offense operate. Having him on the team was like starting the game 1–0 up." Gianni Brera called him "Il Folber", and his style of play the "fasso-tuto-mi" because he considered him the complete central midfielder and a nimble acrobat. "He was only Italian that stood out amongst the sensational Brazilians and Argentines" said Brera.〔(【引用サイトリンク】author=Gianni Brera )〕 Peppino Prisco, who became vice-president of Internazionale in 1963 and won every trophy possible with the club considered him the best of all time and said, "Meazza was great, unbeatable, even if he would occasionally run into a frightful crisis, caused by his intense sexual activity and his passion for the game. When he took over on the field, he did things that left the mouth ajar." Bruno Acari IV, who played with Meazza on AC Milan and later coached, once said that "Peppino never wanted to hear about tactics. He was a simple person who became a king when he entered the goal box, with a technical ability that was comparable to Pelé." San Siro, the principal stadium in his native city of Milan, which is today shared by Internazionale and crosstown rivals AC Milan, is now officially called ''Stadio Giuseppe Meazza''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Giuseppe Meazza」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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