Italy’s two-footed goal-getter

At the 1938 FIFA World Cup France™, Italy confirmed their supremacy by defending their title. The well-deserved success was carved out by a compact and mature team. Among a cast already etched into footballing folklore, including luminaries such as Giuseppe Meazza and Giovanni Ferrari, Silvio Piola delivered a series of stellar displays befitting a man who would go down as one of the greatest forwards that the Italian game has ever produced. “As for Meazza, Piola and Ferrari, you’ll never see anything like them on any other pitch ever again,” said Amedeo Biavati. “I don’t think you’ll ever find three such players in the same team.”

Piola was not a showman by nature. He was efficient, measured and devastatingly effective. The Gattinara native combined power with elegance, intelligent movement and sheer ruthlessness in front of goal. Above all, the Lazio sharpshooter oozed calmness, with total awareness of his mental and technical strengths. Despite heading into the FIFA World Cup™ as one of the standout performers in Italy, the marksman never felt the need to assert himself as a charismatic leader. Vittorio Pozzo’s team already had an established pecking order, and Piola seamlessly slotted into the national-team set-up. His performances did the talking for him, with his goals at the 1938 edition proving decisive. Piola opened his account at the competition with an extra-time winner against Norway in his side’s curtain-raiser, but his tournament truly came to life in a 3-1 triumph against hosts France in the quarter-finals, when he registered a brace, blending sublime timing and clinical finishing. Coolness personified amid a raucous atmosphere, he forwent over-the-top celebrations and refrained from goading the home faithful, contenting himself with a fleeting glance at his team-mates and a swift return to his team’s half of the pitch. That was Piola’s way of making his mark.

Following a 2-1 success over Brazil in the semi-finals, Piola served up more magic in the final by notching a double to down Hungary 4-2 in a thriller. The two vastly different goals were born from his footballing intelligence: while the first was a thunderous strike following a majestic, free-flowing Italy move, the second was perfectly placed into the bottom corner. In a pressure-cooker contest that could have overwhelmed any individual, Piola performed as if it were just another ordinary Sunday, showcasing composure, focus and determination in abundance. The striker closed out the tournament with five goals, earning him a runner-up berth on the scoring chart. That impressive figure was matched by Piola’s extraordinary domestic exploits. Indeed, the Lombardy-born star remains the all-time leading scorer in the top tier of Italian football to this day with 274 goals, ahead of Francesco Totti and Gunnar Nordahl. Pozzo, the mastermind behind Italy’s back-to-back global conquests in 1934 and 1938, beautifully summed up Piola’s remarkable qualities: “I still don’t know if Silvio is better with his right or left foot. He’s simply outstanding with both. His timing in the air is top-notch, and I’ve never seen anyone else like him when it comes to overhead kicks and acrobatic efforts.”