Giuseppe Meazza – Inter Milan and Italy
Il genio (The Genius), as many called him, Giuseppe Meazza, is Inter Milan’s all-time top scorer and their greatest ever player. The versatile forward played for Nerazzurri between 1927 and 1940, scoring 282 in all competitions. His goals and assists helped his club win three Serie A titles and a Coppa Italia.
Meazza also scored 33 goals for his country, winning the 1934 and 1938 World Cups.
To give an idea to those who did not see Meazza play, the Italian intellectual Luigi Veronelli said: “I also saw Pele playing. He did not achieve Meazza’s elegant style of playing. One day, I witnessed him doing something astonishing. He stopped the ball with a bicycle kick, elevating himself two meters from the ground. Then he landed with the ball glued at his foot, dribbled over an astonished defender, and then went on to score a goal with one of his hallmark shots, sardonic and accurate to the millimetre.”
In 1980, the San Siro Stadium in Milan was renamed the Giuseppe Meazza in honour of the Italy legend. However, it is also still known as the San Siro due to its location.
Matthias Sindelar – Austria Vienna and Austria
Known as the Mozart of Football or the Paper Man due to his slim build, he was the star man for his club and the captain of the Austrian national team that came fourth at the 1934 World Cup. A team that is regarded as the first to play ‘total football’. Sindelar won eight trophies in fifteen years at Vienna, scoring 225 goals. His skill, composure, playmaking and goalscoring exploits made him a superstar in his own country and across Europe.
He was often described as a chess master in the field, thinking several moves ahead of the opposition and taking as much satisfaction from creating goals as he did scoring them.
“He had brains in his legs, and many remarkable and unexpected things occurred to them while they were running.” – Austrian-born columnist Alfred Polgar
As World War Two approached, Sindelar scored for Austria in a friendly against Germany, angering the Germans in attendance. This, and his refusal to switch from playing for Austria to play for Germany, made him a Nazi adversary and an even bigger superstar in his own right country. Soon after, Sindelar was found dead.
Voted Austria’s best footballer and sportsman of the 20th century.
Jimmy McGrory – Celtic
His number of goals can vary depending on the source; however, the official Celtic website says McGrory scored an incredible 468 goals in 445 appearances. This includes 39 hat-tricks and eight goals in a single game. He is Celtics’ all-time top scorer and number one on the list of goals scored in the Scottish League.
“Shoulders like a young Clydesdale, neck like a prime Aberdeen Angus and a head the nightmare of every goalkeeper. He had the knack of connecting with his napper and directing the leather netwards with greater velocity and judgement than many a counterpart could accomplish with his feet.” – Bill Paterson, ex-Arsenal, May 23 1953.
At just 5ft 6in, McGrory was small for a forward when he played, but his strength and bravery more than made up for his lack of height. Several broken noses and a broken jaw showed he was never afraid of bigger defenders. The “Human Torpeado”, as he became known for his liking of diving headers, may have been criminally overlooked by the national side, but he will forever be a Celtic and Scottish great.
Featured image courtesy of SmartFrame / SuperStock
