1930s Italy National Football Team

Italian players carry coach Vittorio Pozzo on their shoulders after winning FIFA World Cup in Rome, on 10th June 1934.

Coach Vittorio Pozzo lead Italy National football team from 1929 to 1948.

Coach Vittorio Pozzo with players on training.

Coach Vittorio Pozzo following a match.

Striker and inside forward Giuseppe Meazza made his official debut in Italian championship, with Milan football team FC Internazionale, on 12th September 1927, when he was 17. He played his first match with Italy National football team on 9th February 1930. He is considered as the all-time best Italian football player and one of the all-time football players in the world. He is ranked fourth best player in the history of the World Cup.
Above: Giuseppe Meazza in 1935.

Giuseppe Meazza (friendly called Peppino) was an idol of his time.
Above: cover of a magazine supplement about Giuseppe Meazza (April 1933).

Giuseppe Meazza and Vittorio Pozzo in the Arena Civica (Civic arena) in Milan.

Other football players gained huge popularity in the 1930s in Italy, such as Angelo Schiavio and Silvio Piola.
Above: cover of a magazine supplement about centre forward Angelo Schiavio (May 1933).

Cover of a magazine supplement about centre forward Silvio Piola (October 1934).

Italy National football team in 1930.

In 1930, Italy won Central European International Cup, the first major victory under the lead of coach Vittorio Pozzo.
Central European International Cup was an international football competition whose six edition were played between 1927 and 1960. Partecipating nations were Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Switzerland and Yugoslavia (last edition only).
The 1927-1930 edition was won by Italy (11 points), followed by Austria and Czechoslovakia (10 points each).

On 8th October 1932, FIFA assigned the 1934 World Cup to Italy, that had to qualify to take part in it (the only case the hosts had to qualify).
Above: official poster for 1934 FIFA World Cup, held in Italy from 27th May to 10th June.

Official postcard for 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy.

Italy main team in 1934 FIFA World Cup.
Standing, from the left: Gianpiero Combi, Luis Monti, Attilio Ferraris, Luigi Allemandi, Enrique Guaita, Giovanni Ferrari; crouched, from the left: Angelo Schiavio, Giuseppe Meazza, Eraldo Monzeglio, Luigi Bertolini, Raimundo Orsi.

After beating USA (7-1) and Spain (1-1 after extra time, 1-0 in the replayed match), in the semi-final Italy played against Austria, the favourite team, and won 1-0.
Above: Enrique Guaita scores the goal of victory for Italy (21').

The final Italy-Czechoslovakia took place in Stadio del Partito Nazionale Fascista (National Fascist Party Stadium) in Rome. The stadium was built as Stadio Nazionale (National Stadium) in 1911, following the project of Italian architect Marcello Piacentini. The name was changed in 1927. After the war, it was given back the original name. In 1949, after the Superga tragedy, in which all the players of Turin football team AC Torino (aka Grande Torino) died, it was called Stadio Torino (but not as official denomination). The stadium was closed in 1953 and demolished in 1957. In its place, Stadio Flaminio was built (still operative), for the 1960 Summer Olympics.

Italy National football team presentation before the final in Rome.

Team captains Combi (Italy, left) and Plánička (Czechoslovakia) just before the match.

Antonín Puč scores the goal of temporary advantage for Czechoslovakia (76').

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Official artwork for 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy.

1930s Italy National Football Team's Legacy
Central European International Cup 1927-1930, 1933-1935;
FIFA World Cup 1934, 1938;
1936 Berlin Olympics, gold medal.

The very first Italy National football team in 1910: De Simoni, Varisco, Calì, Cappello, Fossati, Trerè, Bojocchi, Lana, Cevenini, Rizzi, De Bernardi; coach: Umberto Meazza.

Italy National football team played its first match against France in the Arena Civica (Civic arena) in Milan on 15th May 1910 (Italy-France 6-2). In the first two matches Italian players wore white shirts.

Italian players wore azure shirts from the third match. It was played in Milan against Hungary on 6th November 1911 (Italy-Hungary 0-1).
Azure was the color of Casa Savoia (House of Savoy), Italy's reigning family from 1861 to 1946.

Logo of Italy National football team from 1923 to 1943. It was formed by two different symbols.
On the left: the Casa Savoia crowned coat of arms.
On the right: the ancient Rome's fascio littorio (in Latin: fasces lictoriae, bundle symbol of magistrate's power and jurisdiction; adjective lictorius is from verb licère, to call someone to court), as featured in the logo of PNF-Partito Nazionale Fascista (National Fascist Party).

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