Eraldo Monzeglio

Monzeglio was born in Vignale Monferrato, in the province of Alessandria (Piedmont). In his nineteen-year career as a football defender, which lasted from 1924 to 1943, he played for Casale, Bologna, and Roma. With Bologna, he was victorious in the 1928–29 championship, also winning two Mitropa Cups in 1932 and 1934.

At international level, Monzeglio played for the Italy national team on 35 occasions, which the team also won two FIFA World Cup finals, in 1934 and 1938, being named to the Team of the Tournament in 1934; he also won two Central European International Cups with Italy.

Despite his success and fame as a footballer, following the conclusion of the Second World War, however, Monzeglio had initially attracted controversy, due to his political views and close friendship with the Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, as well as his role as Mussolini's personal coach. Monzeglio later became a coach, managing the Italian teams of A.S. Roma, Como, Pro Sesto, Napoli, Sampdoria, Juventus, and Lecco, as well as Chiasso, in Switzerland, between 1941 and 1973. Monzeglio died in Turin, on 3 November 1981, at the age of 75. In 2013, he was posthumously inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

Player

Bologna

Serie A: 1928–29 Mitropa Cup: 1932, 1934 Italy

FIFA World Cup: 1934, 1938 Central European International Cup: 1927–30, 1933–35; runner-up 1931–32

Manager

Napoli

Serie B: 1949–50

Individual

FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament: 1934 Seminatore d'oro: 1959–60 Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2013 (Posthumous)