Giampiero Boniperti
Boniperti with Juventus between 1940s and 1950s
Born(1928-07-04)4 July 1928
Barengo, Italy
Died18 June 2021(2021-06-18) (aged 92)
Turin, Italy
NationalityItalian
Occupations
  • Footballer
  • Company director
  • Politician
Years active
1946–1961(as footballer)
1961–1990(as company director)
1994–1999(politician)
EmployerJuventus F.C.
Known for
  • FIFA 100
  • second highest goalscorer of Juventus
  • see content for full awards and recognition
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
TitleJuventus F.C. chairman
Term1971–1990
PredecessorVittore Catella
SuccessorVittorio Caissotti di Chiusano
RelativesFilippo Boniperti (grandson)
Member of the European Parliament
In office
1994–1999
Personal details
Political partyForza Italia
Other political
affiliations
Forza Europa(1994–1995)
Union for Europe(1995–1998)
European People's Party(1998–1999)
Association football career
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1944–1946 Juventus
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1946–1961 Juventus 443 (179)
International career
1947–1960 Italy 38 (8)
1950 Italy B[1] 1 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Giampiero Boniperti (Italian pronunciation: [dʒamˈpjɛːro boniˈpɛrti]; 4 July 1928 – 18 June 2021) was an Italian footballer who played his entire 15-season career at Juventus between 1946 and 1961, [2] winning five Serie A titles and two Coppa Italia titles. He also played for the Italy national team at international level and took part in the 1950 and 1954 FIFA World Cup finals, as well as the 1952 Summer Olympics with Italy. After retirement from professional football, Boniperti was a CEO and chairman of Juventus and, later, a deputy to the European Parliament.[3]

A forward, Boniperti is regarded by several pundits, including Mario Sconcerti, as one of Italy's and Juventus's greatest ever players, and is considered by some in the sport, such as Bruno Nicolè, to be Italy's greatest player of all time;[4][5][6][7] with 182 goals in all competitions, Boniperti was the highest goalscorer in Juventus history for more than 40 years, until his record was bested by Alessandro Del Piero on 10 January 2006.[8] Del Piero also broke his club record of 443 Serie A appearances on 14 February 2010, when he played his 444th Serie A game in a 3–2 win against Genoa;[9] with 443 Serie A appearances for Juventus, Boniperti is currently third in the club's rankings, behind only Del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon.[10] Boniperti also held the record for most minutes played in Serie A by a Juventus player (39,680), until his record was surpassed by Buffon on 19 March 2017, in the 66th minute of a 1–0 away win over Sampdoria.[11] Boniperti is the eleventh-highest goalscorer of all-time in Serie A. In March 2004, he was named by Pelé as one of the world's top 125 greatest living footballers.

Club career

Born in Barengo, Piedmont, Boniperti signed for Juventus at age 16; he had already built himself a reputation prior to this at youth level, as he scored 11 goals in one match.[5][12] He could score successfully with both feet and was known for his power and tactical awareness. [2] He played his first match for the Old Lady in Serie A on 2 March 1947 against A.C. Milan, which ended in a 2–1 defeat.[13] His first goal for them in the league was three months later, against Sampdoria. Juventus ended the 1946–47 Serie A season as runners-up to local rivals Torino, Giampiero ended the season with five goals in six games to his name.[4][5][12]

Although he began as a centre forward, he could play also as an inside forward or on the right wing. In his second season with Juventus, he was 20 years old and scored 27 goals during that season, finishing above Valentino Mazzola as the league's top scorer.[5][12] Boniperti's first league championship with Juventus was during the 1949–50 season. By his 24th birthday, he had scored 100 goals for the club, adding a second scudetto title to his name in 1951–52. Although he was named the club's captain in 1954, for much of the 1950s Juve and Boniperti struggled to put the club back to the top of the Italian championship.[5][12]

From left to right: Omar Sívori, John Charles and Boniperti, the attacking Magical Trio of Juventus at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1957 Juventus signed two forwards: John Charles and Omar Sivori. With them, Boniperti would be a part of what was referred to as the Magical Trio. During Boniperti's last four seasons at the club before his retirement, Juventus was successful in the Italian league, winning the Serie A three times (1957–58, 1959–60 and 1960–61), and the Coppa Italia twice (1958–59 and 1959–60).[5][12] At the time of his retirement, Boniperti was Juventus' all-time top goalscorer with 182 in all competitions, this record stood for over 40 years before Alessandro Del Piero beat it on 10 January 2006.[5] As of 2010, Boniperti was the second top goalscorer of all-time at Juventus and was seventh on the list of all-time top appearances for the club. With 443 appearances in Serie A for Juventus, he held the club record for most appearances in the competition, until long-serving player and former Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero beat it on 14 February 2010.[14]

International career

Boniperti (left) as Italy captain, in private with the Azzurri coach Lajos Czeizler in 1954.

After playing 14 games in the Serie A league, Boniperti was called up to play for the Italy national football team, making his international debut on 9 November 1947, in a game against Austria; the match ended in a 5–1 loss to the Austrian side.[15][16] He got even with Austria a couple of years later, when in May 1949 he scored his first international goal for Italy, with a 3–1 victory. Boniperti managed to achieve 38 caps (24 of which he played as captain) and scored 8 goals for Italy. Boniperti played for Italy in the 1950 and 1954 FIFA World Cup finals (captaining the team in the latter edition of the tournament), as well as in the 1952 Summer Olympics.[15][17]

Style of play

Boniperti (right) in training with Bianconeri in the 1951–52 season

A talented, creative, and prolific forward, with good technique, Boniperti is regarded by several pundits as one of the greatest and most successful Italian players of all time and is considered by some in the sport, including Alessandro Del Piero, as one of Juventus's greatest players ever. A forward, he began his career as a striker, making a name for himself due to his eye for goal, and later emerging to prominence as a goalscorer for much of his career; in this role, he was usually supported by teammates such as John and Karl Aage Hansen, and Karl Aage Præst. As a centre-forward, he was known for his ability in the air and for having the capacity to score with both feet, as well as his head. A team player, in the later part of his career, he moved into a deeper position, functioning as a second striker or inside forward, as an attacking midfielder, as a winger, or even as a central midfielder, as a defensive midfielder, or as a midfield playmaker. Due to his ball control, technical ability, vision, tactical intelligence, and passing range, he excelled as an assist provider during the final few years of his career, creatively supporting his more offensive teammates John Charles and Omar Sívori. In addition to his footballing ability, he was also known for his leadership.[4][5][6][7][12][13][18][19][20][21]

After retirement

Juventus executive

"Winning is not important, it's the only concern."

—Boniperti on Juventus' winning philosophy, at the inauguration of the Juventus Stadium, September 8, 2011.[22]

A short while after his retirement, the Agnelli family offered Boniperti an executive position as a director in the club's management team; in 1971, he was appointed the chairman of the board of directors (Italian: presidente del consiglio di amministrazione), a position he held for many years, and still had a role at the club as one of the honorary chairmen (Italian: Presidenti Onorari, served along with Franzo Grande Stevens).[13][23][24][25][26]

He often found the pressure of watching rather than playing quite unbearable, and was known to drive around Turin at halftime and just listen to the match on the radio. When players asked for pay rises, Boniperti would point to photographs of recent defeats on the wall and turn them away in shame. The pressure of remaining Italy's top team was intense for him, even behind the scenes. [2]

Politics

From 1994 until 1999, Boniperti was elected as a deputy in the European Parliament with the centre-right wing party Forza Italia.[27]

Personal life

Boniperti's grandson Filippo has followed in his grandfather's footsteps in pursuing a career in football and played for Juventus and the Italy U19 team as a midfielder.[28][29] He is currently a free agent.

Boniperti died in Turin on 18 June 2021 due to heart failure, aged 92.[30] The Italy national team wore black armbands in tribute to him in their match on 20 June against Wales in the UEFA Euro 2020.[31]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[32]
Club Season League National Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Juventus 1946–47 Serie A 65——65
1947–48 4027——4128
1948–49 3215——3415
1949–50 3521——3521
1950–51 3722——4023
1951–52 3319——3522
1952–53 297——317
1953–54 3014——3014
1954–55 279——289
1955–56 316——316
1956–57 244——265
1957–58 34861—348
1958–59 2683020338
1959–60 31730—367
1960–61 2861010306
Career total 4431781313[nb 1]0459179

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[33]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Italy 194710
194800
194931
195030
195151
195240
195340
195443
195532
195630
195720
195830
195910
196021
Total388
Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Boniperti goal.[33][34]
List of international goals scored by Giampiero Boniperti
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 22 May 1949 Stadio Comunale, Florence, Italy  Austria 3–0 3–1 1948–53 Central European International Cup
2 25 November 1951 Cornaredo Stadium, Lugano, Switzerland   Switzerland 1–1 1–1
3 24 January 1954 San Siro, Milan, Italy  Egypt 3–1 5–1 1954 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 5–1
5 17 June 1954 Stade Olympique, Lausanne, Switzerland   Switzerland 1–1 1–2 1954 FIFA World Cup
6 16 January 1955 Stadio della Vittoria, Bari, Italy  Belgium 1–0 1–0 Friendly
7 18 December 1955 Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy  West Germany 2–1 2–1 Friendly
8 10 December 1960 Stadio San Paolo, Naples, Italy  Austria 1–1 1–2 Friendly

Honours

Juventus[5]

Individual

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Boniperti also played in the Latin Cup and the Coppa dell'Amicizia unofficially.

References

  1. ↑ Courtney, Barrie (22 May 2014). "England - International Results B-Team - Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Giampiero Boniperti Obituary". The Times. 24 June 2021.
  3. ↑ "Giampiero Boniperti". Olympedia. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 Gigi Garanzini. "BONIPERTI, Giampiero" (in Italian). Treccani: Enciclopedia dello Sport (2002). Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Stefano Bedeschi (4 July 2014). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Giampiero BONIPERTI" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Riva il migliore per i lettori di CM. Sconcerti: 'Ma Rivera era al suo livello'" (in Italian). calciomercato.com. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Nicolè, il bel centrattacco che pesava troppo: "Il calcio? Dimenticato"" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  8. ↑ "Del Piero supera Boniperti" [Del Piero overtakes Boniperti]. juventus.com (in Italian). 10 January 2006. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "Del Piero, vittoria e record: "Punti pesantissimi"" (in Italian). Sky. 14 February 2010. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  10. ↑ "Presenze Giocatori Campionato Serie A" [Player Appearances Serie A Championship]. myjuve.it (in Italian). My Juve.it. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "After 39,681 Serie A minutes, Buffon smashes yet another Juventus record". fourfourtwo.com. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "BONIPERTI Giampiero: il Presidentissimo" (in Italian). Storie di Calcio. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 "70 years with Giampiero Boniperti". Juventus.com. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  14. ↑ "Star quality shines through". fifa.com. 10 February 2010. Archived from the original on 13 February 2010.
  15. 1 2 "Boniperti, Giampiero: National team statistics" (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "Bonipèrti, Giampiero" (in Italian). Treccani: Enciclopedie on line. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  17. ↑ Giampiero Boniperti – FIFA competition record (archived)
  18. ↑ "Roberto Baggio: il più grande del calcio italiano". calciopro.com (in Italian). Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  19. ↑ Gianluca Minchiotti (7 November 2014). "Le Classifiche di CM: i dieci più grandi attaccanti del calcio italiano" (in Italian). Calciomercato.com. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  20. ↑ Manlio Gasparotto (15 August 2015). "La Gazzetta dello Sport vota Rivera: è il miglior calciatore italiano di tutti i tempi" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  21. ↑ "Del Piero's Boniperti tribute". Football Italia. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  22. ↑ "Del Piero & Boniperti - Two stars at Juventus Stadium" on YouTube
  23. ↑ "Buon compleanno Boniperti, 81 anni bianconeri" (in Italian). Tuttosport. 4 July 2009. Archived from the original on 8 August 2009.
  24. ↑ "Juventus - GIAMPIERO BONIPERTI: Honorary President". Juventus.com. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  25. ↑ "Happy birthday, Giampiero Boniperti!". Juventus.com. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  26. ↑ "Many happy returns, Boniperti!". Juventus.com. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  27. ↑ "4ª legislatura | Gian Piero BONIPERTI | Deputati | Parlamento Europeo". www.europarl.europa.eu.
  28. ↑ "Juve, Filippo Boniperti convocato in Under 19" (in Italian). Tuttosport. 3 December 2009. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016.
  29. ↑ "Juve, Boniperti Jr: "Quante emozioni con la prima squadra"" (in Italian). Tuttosport. 3 February 2010. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  30. ↑ "Morto Giampiero Boniperti, una vita per la Juventus - Sport". Agenzia ANSA. 18 June 2021.
  31. ↑ "ITALY WEAR BLACK ARMBANDS FOR BONIPERTI". Football Italia. 18 June 2021.
  32. ↑ "Boniperti, Giampiero" (in Italian). Enciclopedia del Calcio. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  33. 1 2 "Giampiero Boniperti - Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  34. ↑ Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio 2020. Modena: Panini. 2019. pp. 558–560. ISBN 9788891275394.
  35. ↑ Roberto Di Maggio; Igor Kramarsic; Alberto Novello (11 June 2015). "Italy - Serie A Top Scorers". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  36. ↑ "The Fifa 100". The Guardian. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  37. ↑ "Hall of fame, 10 new entry: con Vialli e Mancini anche Facchetti e Ronaldo" [Hall of fame, 10 new entries: with Vialli and Mancini also Facchetti and Ronaldo] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  38. ↑ "Celebrazioni 60 anni dell'Olimpico, Malagò premia Boniperti" (in Italian). CONI. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
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