Alessandro Altobelli (Italian pronunciation: [alesˈsandroaltoˈbɛlli]; born 28 November 1955) is a former professional Italian footballer who played as a forward, and who won the 1982 World Cup with Italy. Nicknamed Spillo ("Needle") for his slender build, Altobelli was a prolific goalscorer and regarded as one of the greatest and most effective Italian strikers of the late 1970s and 1980s. Altobelli is currently the all-time top scorer in the Coppa Italia, with 56 goals in 93 appearances, and the ninth-highest scoring Italian player in all competitions, with almost 300 career goals.

Club career

Altobelli was born in Sonnino, Latina. Following spells at Latina (Serie C) and Brescia (Serie B), he was signed by Serie A club Inter Milan in 1977, for whom he played 466 times, scoring 209 goals (128 in Serie A). He contributed heavily to his team's scudetto victory of 1980 (scoring 15 goals), and also helped Inter to win two Coppa Italia titles in 1978 and 1982, finishing as the tournament's top scorer in the 1982 edition, with nine goals. Altobelli was also the top scorer in the 1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup, with seven goals, leading Inter to the quarter-finals of the tournament. After his lengthy period with Inter, he played one season with Juventus during the 1988–89 season, before ending his career with Brescia in Serie B once again, during the 1989–90 season.

International career

For Italy, Altobelli was capped 61 times between 1980 and 1988, scoring 25 goals, and he is currently Italy's sixth highest goalscorer. His most notable international goal was Italy's third goal in the 1982 FIFA World Cup final, which Italy won 3–1 over West Germany. After coming on in the seventh minute of play for the injured Francesco Graziani, he became the second ever substitute to score in a FIFA World Cup final (after Dick Nanninga in 1978 and with Rudi Völler and Mario Götze repeating this, in 1986 and in 2014, respectively). Altobelli also played at Euro 80, with Italy finishing in fourth place on home soil, as well as representing Italy at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, scoring four goals, which were, however, not enough to prevent the defending champions from crashing out of the tournament in the round of 16. He also represented Italy at Euro 88, where he played as the team's captain, leading the Italian squad to the semi-finals once again. He made four substitute appearances scoring just after coming on in a 2–0 win over Denmark in the group stages.

Style of play

Altobelli was a highly prolific goalscorer, who was regarded as a complete, world class striker. A well rounded centre-forward, with an eye for goal, he excelled in the air due to his heading accuracy, power, elevation, agility and acrobatic ability; he was also a fast, hard-working, and opportunistic player, with excellent technique, and he possessed an accurate shot with either foot, in spite of being naturally left-footed. Despite his slender build, he had excellent balance and deceptive strength. Moreover, he was capable of protecting the ball with his back to goal, and holding it up for his teammates.

After retirement

After retirement, he played for Italy national beach soccer team, being the top scorer at the 1995 and 1996 Beach Soccer World Championships.

In the 1990s, he entered politics. He also worked as a sporting director for Padova and as a football scout for Inter.

In the 2000s, he served as a pundit for Al Jazeera. Since September 2020, he serves as a pundit for RAI TV show A tutto campo. He also featured as a pundit in 90º minuto.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCoppa ItaliaEuropeTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Latina1973–74Serie C287––287
Brescia1974–75Serie B16210–172
1975–76Serie B261140–3011
1976–77Serie B341333–3716
Total762683–8429
Inter Milan1977–78Serie A2810104204014
1978–79Serie A291121673719
1979–80Serie A291554433822
1980–81Serie A291241844117
1981–82Serie A29999434221
1982–83Serie A3015114534622
1983–84Serie A281053623915
1984–85Serie A30171161025125
1985–86Serie A299641064519
1986–87Serie A281175834319
1987–88Serie A289105624416
Total31712880466935466209
Juventus1988–89Serie A20467843515
Brescia1989–90Serie B32710–337
Career total47317295567739645275

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Italy198062
198130
198272
198341
198493
198573
1986109
1987104
198851
Total6125

Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Altobelli goal.

List of international goals scored by Alessandro Altobelli
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
122 June 1980Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, ItalyPortugal1–03–1Friendly
22–1
311 July 1982Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, SpainWest Germany3–03–11982 FIFA World Cup
413 November 1982San Siro, Milan, ItalyCzechoslovakia1–02–2UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
522 December 1983Stadio Renato Curi, Perugia, ItalyCyprus1–03–1UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
63 March 1984BJK İnönü Stadium, Istanbul, TurkeyTurkey2–12–3Friendly
726 May 1984Varsity Stadium, Toronto, CanadaCanada1–02–0Friendly
89 December 1984Stadio Adriatico – Giovanni Cornacchia, Pescara, ItalyPoland1–02–0Friendly
95 February 1985Dalymount Park, Dublin, Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland2–02–0Friendly
106 June 1985Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, MexicoEngland2–12–1Friendly
1125 September 1985Stadio Via del Mare, Lecce, ItalyNorway1–01–2Friendly
1226 March 1986Stadio Friuli, Udine, ItalyAustria1–12–1Friendly
1311 May 1986Stadio San Paolo, Naples, ItalyChina2–02–0Friendly
1431 May 1986Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, MexicoBulgaria1–01–11986 FIFA World Cup
155 June 1986Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla, MexicoArgentina1–01–11986 FIFA World Cup
1610 June 1986Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla, MexicoSouth Korea1–03–21986 FIFA World Cup
172–1
1815 November 1986San Siro, Milan, ItalySwitzerland2–13–2UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
193–1
206 December 1986National Stadium, Ta' Qali, MaltaMalta2–02–0UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
2124 January 1987Stadio Comunale, Bergamo, ItalyMalta3–05–0UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
224–0
2314 February 1987Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, PortugalPortugal1–01–0UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
2423 September 1987Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani, Pisa, ItalyYugoslavia1–01–0Friendly
2517 June 1988Müngersdorfer Stadion, Cologne, GermanyDenmark1–02–0UEFA Euro 1988

Honours

Inter Milan

Italy

Individual

External links