Gianpiero Combi

Infobox Football biography
playername=Gianpiero Combi


fullname =
nickname = Uomo di Gomma (the Rubber Man)
dateofbirth = November 20, 1902
cityofbirth = Turin
countryofbirth = Italy
dateofdeath = death date and age|1956|8|12|1902|11|20
currentclub =
clubnumber =
height =
position = Goalkeeper
years = 1921-34
clubs = Juventus
caps(goals) = 367 (0) It [http://www.juworld.net/giocatori-scheda.asp?idgiocatore=164 Statistic Area - All Juventus FC players: Gianpiero Combi] - www.juworld.net]
nationalyears = 1924-34
nationalteam = Italy
nationalcaps(goals) = 47 (0)

Gianpiero Combi (November 20, 1902– August 12, 1956) was one of Italian football's greatest goalkeepers of all-time [http://www.figc.it/versione_inglese/club_italia/html/combi.htm Special on the Azzurri - the greatest: Gianpiero Combi] - www.figc.it] . He spent his entire career at Juventus FC and won the 1934 World Cup with the Italian national team. He was considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world [It [http://it.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761570265_4/Calcio_(sport).html Calcio (sport): calciatori celebri (page 4)] - it.encarta.msn.com] during the 1930s alongside Ricardo Zamora and František Plánička.

Club career

Born in Turin on 20 November 1902 and played for Juventus' youth side, he debuted in the Italian Serie A on February 5, 1922 in a match against Milan. Combi played for Juventus FC his entire career, he played 351 games in Serie A, winning five titles - in 1926 (having conceded only 18 goals during the season [It [http://www.juworld.net/partite-della-juventus.asp?Pagina=14&c=Campionato%20a%20gironi All Juventus FC matches: Italian Federal Championship (pages 14 and 15)] - www.juworld.net.] ), 1931, 1932, 1933 and 1934 as part of the first "golden age" of the club with a record of five championship victories in a row, a feat known as "Il Quinquennio d'Oro" (The Golden Quinquennium [It [http://www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org/nasce_girone_unico.html Italian Football Championship: The birth of FIGC Serie A] - www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org] ).

Along with Virginio Rosetta and Umberto Caligaris, Combi formed a formidable defensive wall (known in Italy as the "Trio Combi-Rosetta-Caligaris" It [http://www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org/1934-4.html 1934 Italia: The three schools confront (chapter four)] - www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org] ) for both Juventus and the Italian national team. He played his last match in Serie A on April 15 1934, in a 2-1 win over Brescia. In total Combi played for 13 seasons with Juventus, totaling 348 Serie A matches and another 16 games in the Central European Cup It [http://www.juworld.net/giocatori-scheda.asp?idgiocatore=164 Statistic Area - All Juventus FC players: Gianpiero Combi] - www.juworld.net] , an international competition for clubs where Juventus played four consecutive semi-finals from 1932 to 1935 [ [http://www.rsssf.com/tablesm/mit.html Mitropa Cup] - www.rsssf.com] to claim the record for most appearances by a goalkeeper for the club, a record he held for more than 40 years until Dino Zoff in the 1970s (476 matches) and Stefano Tacconi in the 1980s (377 matches)It [http://www.juworld.net/statistiche-tabelle-giocatori.asp Statistics: players with most matches at Juventus FC] - www.juworld.net] .

The Italian national team

Combi's first match for the Italian national team was in Budapest, at the age of 22, on April 6 1924 in a 7-1 loss against Hungary [http://www.figc.it/versione_inglese/club_italia/html/combi.htm Special on the Azzurri - the greatest: Gianpiero Combi] - www.figc.it] . He returned in "Azzurro" a year and seven games later when the Technical Commission, made up of Rangone, Giuseppe Milano and Baccani selected him to play against France in Turin on the 22nd of March 1925. This match was played in "Corso Marsiglia" Stadium and this time the large score was in favor of the "Azzurri", a victory of 7-0 [http://rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres1920.html Italy - International Matches 1920-1929] - www.rsssf.com] . After this match Combi never looked back and for the next ten years it was extremely rare to see another goalkeeper defending the Italian posts.

The 1928 Olympic Games were held in Amsterdam and this time Combi formed part of the squad and defended the Italian squad for the rest of the tournament: Quarter Final against Spain 1-1 after extra time, Quarter Final Replay against Spain 7-1 [http://rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres1920.html Italy - International Matches 1920-1929] - www.rsssf.com] , Semi Final against Uruguay 2-3 [http://rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres1920.html Italy - International Matches 1920-1929] - www.rsssf.com] and 3rd Place Final against Egypt 11-3 [http://rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres1920.html Italy - International Matches 1920-1929] - www.rsssf.com] . With this result on June 10 1928 in the Olympisch Stadion of Amsterdam, the "Azzurri" won their first honour: the Bronze Medal of the 9th edition of the Olympic games.

Other triumphs followed, the next being the winning of the inauguralCentral European International Cup [Also knowned as the "Švehla Cup". After the Second World War the championship was known as the "Dr. Gerö Cup".] , a predecessor cup of the European Nations Cup held between the National teams of Central Europe. In these matches Italy lost against Matěj Šindelář's Austria 0-3 in Vienna [http://rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres1930.html Italy - International Matches 1930-1939] - www.rsssf.com] but won all the others, against Switzerland 3-2 in Zurich [http://rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres1930.html Italy - International Matches 1930-1939] - www.rsssf.com] , against Czechoslovakia 4-2 in Bologna [http://rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres1930.html Italy - International Matches 1930-1939] - www.rsssf.com] and the last match against Hungary on 11 May 1930

Combi made his debut as Italian captain in his 33rd game on November 15 1931 [http://rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres1930.html Italy - International Matches 1930-1939] - www.rsssf.com] .

The 1934 World Cup

Around the beginning of 1934, 32-year-old Gianpiero Combi was preparing to retire from football. In this season he was on the way to winning his fifth Italian championship (a record fourth in a row) with Juventus and he had played more than 40 games for the national team. A new promising young goalkeeper was emerging : Carlo Ceresoli, who played for Inter. On his debut Ceresoli had helped the national team to qualify for the 1934 World Cup which was held in Italy that summer, by eliminating Greece in Milano by a 4-0 win [http://rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres1930.html Italy - International Matches 1930-1939] - www.rsssf.com] . But the National Coach Vittorio Pozzo included Combi in the Italian squad -he was also one of the "Nazio-Juve" members- and was asked by Pozzo to postpone his retirement until the end of the tournament as his experience might be a great help. During a training session a few weeks before the beginning of the tournament, a shot by Pietro Arcari broke one of Ceresoli's forearms. This forced him to miss the World Cup and Combi again found himself the top goalkeeper in Italy, with the responsibility of leading the "Azzurri" to their debut in football's premier competition.

The first match was on May 27 1934 when Italy played the first round of the World Cup in the Stadio Nazionale of the P.N.F. in Rome against the United States. The "Azzurri" beat their opponents 7-1, [http://rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres1930.html Italy - International Matches 1930-1939] - www.rsssf.com] a victory provided by a hat trick from Angelo Schiavio, a "double" from Raimundo Orsi and a goal each from Giovanni Ferrari and Meazza. In the Quarter finals the Italians met Spain, who were led by another great goalkeeper of the time, Ricardo Zamora. The game was played on May 31 1934 in the Stadio Comunale "Giovanni Berta" of Florence. The game against the Spanish team was a very difficult one, dominated by the speed and force used by both teams and finished in a 1-1 draw after extra time [http://rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres1930.html Italy - International Matches 1930-1939] - www.rsssf.com] . A replay had to be played the next day, in which Italy changed four players and Spain seven. Italy won 1-0 with a goal by Meazza [http://rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres1930.html Italy - International Matches 1930-1939] - www.rsssf.com] .

Their semi-final opponents were the Austrian "Wunderteam" It [http://www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org/1934-4.html 1934 Italia: The three schools confront (chapter four)] - www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org] , the squad who had beaten the Italians 4-2 in Turin four months earlier. The match was played in Milano's Stadio Calcistico San Siro on 3 June and the "Azzurri" won 1-0 with a goal by Enrico Guaita [http://rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres1930.html Italy - International Matches 1930-1939] - www.rsssf.com] . Combi was also decisive when he made two miraculous saves to keep the score in favor of Italy until the end. The final was held in Rome on June 10 1934 against Czechoslovakia. The first half finished without a goal but in the 71st minute, against all odds, Antonin Puč managed to beat the Italian goalkeeper. Ten minutes later Orsi equalized and the game went to extra-time. With the help of a noisy support, so great that the rival coach Pozzo had to continually run along the pitch so that the players could hear his instructions, Italy won the match through a goal by Schiavio and the Italian team were crowned World Champions. Gianpiero Combi, who played 510 minutes and conceded three goals as captain of the squad, received the Jules Rimet trophy from the Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini [It [http://www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org/1934-5.html 1934 Italia: 10 June 1934, the final match (chapter ten)] - www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org] .

End of career and retirement

A year later, in November 1935, Combi played only five of the eight matches in the International Cup and in his absence the Italian team won the trophy. He totalled 47 caps [http://www.figc.it/versione_inglese/club_italia/html/combi.htm Special on the Azzurri - the greatest: Gianpiero Combi] - www.figc.it] for the Italian team, 5 of which were as captain.

Although he had stopped playing football, his passion for the sport remained all his life and he still held a number of unofficial positions with Juventus. He offered advice to the technical staff and also served as a scout. In 1951 the Italian Football Federation offered him the job of technical commissioner for the Italian national team with Carlino Beretta and Toni Busini. They led the National Team for seven months, from 8 April to 25 November 1951 in which time the Italian squad played 5 games without any losses. They won 4-1 against Portugal and France, and drew against Yugoslavia (0-0), Sweden (1-1) and Switzerland (1-1) - the only competitive game of the five.

He died in Imperia in August 1956, aged 54.

Records

* First Goalkeeper to win four Italian Championships in a row [From 1930-31 season to 1934-35 season. See also Valerio Bacigalupo, who has won the Scudetto with Torino F.C. 1906 from 1945-46 season to 1948-49 season) is the only Italian goalkeeper to win 4 consecutive "Scudetti".] .
* He played the 3rd most games for Juventus It [http://www.juworld.net/statistiche-tabelle-giocatori.asp Statistics: players with most matches at Juventus FC] - www.juworld.net] .
* Combi kept a clean sheet for 934 consecutive minutes in 1925-26 season, a record in Italian Football [From the third match (Juventus 6-0 Milan on 25 October 1925) to thirteenth match (Parma 0-3 Juventus on 28 February 1926) of the FIGC Football Championship 1925-26 according to It [http://www.juworld.net/partite-della-juventus.asp?Pagina=14&c=Campionato%20a%20gironi All Juventus FC matches: Italian Federal Championship (pages 14 and 15)] - www.juworld.net.] .

Honours

Club

* 1925-26 Serie A (Juventus)
* 1930-31 Serie A (Juventus)
* 1931-32 Serie A (Juventus)
* 1932-33 Serie A (Juventus)
* 1933-34 Serie A (Juventus)

International

* 1930 Central European International Cup (Italy)
* 1935 Central European International Cup (Italy)
* 1934 FIFA World Cup (Italy)

Curiosities

* Gianpiero Combi and Dino Zoff (1982), are the only goalkeepers to have won the FIFA World Cup as captain of their national teams.
* Combi, alongside František Plánička, was one of the only two goalkeepers-captains at the same World Cup final [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A561809 Football World Cup, 1934, Italy] - www.bbc.co.uk] .
* He was also known in Italy as "Uomo di Gomma" (the Rubber Man) due to his agility and his carefree but secure saves It [http://www.juworld.net/giocatori-scheda.asp?idgiocatore=164 Statistic Area - All Juventus FC players: Gianpiero Combi] - www.juworld.net] .
* At the Eurocup in Italy in 1980, the idea to change the name of the major stadium in Turin, Stadio Comunale, was being considered by the Comune. Juventus proposed the name "Stadio Gianpiero Combi", but the idea was finally abandoned and this stadium remained with its old name.

See also

* One-club man

External links

* [http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=COMBIGIA01 DatabaseOlympics.com profile]

References