Enrique Omar SÃÂvori (, ; 2 October 1935 â 17 February 2005) was an Argentine-Italian football player and manager who played as a forward. At club level, he is known for his successful time with Italian side Juventus during the late 1950s and early 1960s, where he won three Serie A titles among other trophies; he also played for River Plate in Argentina and Napoli in Italy.
He made his international debut for Argentina, winning the South American Championship in 1957. Later in his career, he represented Italy and took part in the 1962 World Cup. After his retirement as player, he coached several teams in Argentina.
SÃÂvori is considered as one of the best players of his generation and also one of the greatest players of all time, he was known for his skill, speed, goalscoring, technique, creativity, and his footballing talent was widely acclaimed. He won the South American Championship Best Player award in 1957, and the coveted Ballon D'Or award in 1961. He scored 432 goals in his career, including friendlies.
SÃÂvori was born in San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Buenos Aires Province, into a family of Italian descent. His paternal grandfather, Giulio Sivori, was an immigrant from Cavi di Lavagna, a hamlet in the province of Genoa, while his mother Carolina was of Abruzzese ancestry. As a youngster SÃÂvori became heavily interested in the game of football and by the time he reached his teens he was signed up to a side from the city of Buenos Aires, River Plate. The teenage SÃÂvori was given a chance to break through into a squad which included players like the famed forward ÃÂngel Labruna and Félix Loustau who established themselves in the era of La Máquina, one of the foremost formations in football history. He soon earned the nickname El Cabezón (bighead) from the fans, due to his hair, outspokenness, confidence, arrogance, and playing style.
River was able to win the Argentine Primera División in 1955, the title was confirmed when River beat local archrival Boca Juniors 2âÂÂ1 at La Bombonera, in Buenos Aires, with just one game remaining. The same season River won the Copa RÃÂo de La Plata by beating Nacional from Uruguay. The following season he had similar success when River won the Argentine league title on the final day of the season; beating Rosario Central 4âÂÂ0, with SÃÂvori scoring the final goal. SÃÂvori would play his final game for River against the same team on 5 May 1957.
During the 1957âÂÂ58 season, the 21-year-old SÃÂvori was signed by Italian club Juventus after being spotted by Renato Cesarini. Juventus paid 10 million pesos (the equivalent of ã91,000) for the transfer, which was a world-record transfer fee for the time. SÃÂvori's move would prove bad for River's league fortunes, in the 18 years after 1957 they were unable to win the league in Argentina. However, they were able to complete their El Monumental stadium (previously nicknamed "the horseshoe") by adding a fourth stand bearing his name, with the money from the deal.
The same season two other prominent Argentines moved to the Italian league: Antonio ValentÃÂn Angelillo (Inter) and Humberto Maschio (Bologna). The three had all been part of Argentina's defenders that brought home gold from the 1957 South American Championship. With an emphasis on the forward line positions, the team was nicknamed The Angels with Dirty Faces, a reference to cinema's then-celebrated Angels with Dirty FacesâÂÂthe team's irreverent style of play and lackadaisical attitude to training. The nickname followed the trio after the tournament and their move to Italy. In Italy, the trio were nicknamed The Trio of Death, the trio's clinical ability in scoring goals.
Prior to the arrival of SÃÂvori and Welshman John Charles, Juventus had been going through somewhat of a slump. However, the duo along with experienced Juventino Giampiero Boniperti put together a formidable force and won Serie A during the 1957âÂÂ58 season. Their good form continued and SÃÂvori won two more scudetti (1959âÂÂ60 and 1960âÂÂ61) as well as two Coppa Italia titles (1958âÂÂ59 and 1959âÂÂ60), and the Coppa delle Alpi (1963). Omar SÃÂvori's hard work had paid off and he was named European Footballer of the Year (also known as Ballon d'or) in 1961.
The same year as his personal achievement however, the Magical Trio as they were known, had broken up with Boniperti's retirement and the following season John Charles moved back to Leeds United. SÃÂvori stayed on with the Old Lady, notably scoring the only goal in a 1âÂÂ0 victory against Real Madrid, making Juventus the first Italian side ever to win at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. SÃÂvori wore the number 10 shirt and was appointed the team's captain in 1963, but did not win any more championships or trophies with Juventus, and left after the 1964âÂÂ65 season, because of a disagreement with new coach Heriberto Herrera.
With Juventus, SÃÂvori scored 167 goals in 253 appearances in all competitions, making him the club's fifth highest goalscorer ever as of 2011. He also holds the record for most Serie A goals in a single league match; during the 9âÂÂ1 victory against Inter Milan on 10 June 1961 he scored six goals; this record is jointly shared with Silvio Piola of Pro Vercelli.
In 1965, SÃÂvori signed with Napoli, helping them to a third-place finish in the first season at the club; they also won the Coppa delle Alpi. After two successful seasons at the club, Napoli's squad during the 1967âÂÂ68 season boasted several talents along with SÃÂvori, such as goalkeeper Dino Zoff, and fellow strike partner José Altafini, and were considered one of the favourites to win the league title; the club took A.C. Milan all the way in the battle for the Serie A championship but eventually finished in second place, while SÃÂvori was ruled out for most of the season due to a knee injury and several clashes with manager Bruno Pesaola. Ironically, SÃÂvori's last game for Napoli was against his former club Juventus, in which he was given a red card for kicking Erminio Favalli, and was suspended for six matches. Following his ban, SÃÂvori decided to return to Argentina during the 1968âÂÂ69 season.
At international level, SÃÂvori defended the Argentina national football team eighteen times and registered nine goals. The Argentine side of the time had a formidable attack with SÃÂvori, Oreste Corbatta, Osvaldo Cruz, Humberto Maschio and Antonio Angelillo. The attacking trio of SÃÂvori, Maschio, and Angelillo were nicknamed the caras sucias, which literally means dirty faces in Spanish; in reference to the film of the same name, and due to way they played the game, like fun, dirty faced, mischievous children.
SÃÂvori defended Argentina to the gold medal 1957 South American Championship in Lima, Peru. Argentina dominated in every game during that year's South American Championship; the team's wins throughout the competition included an 8âÂÂ2 victory against the Colombia national football team, and a 3âÂÂ0 victory against close rivals Brazil.
SÃÂvori moved to Italy in 1957, along with his compatriots Maschio and Angelillo. The Argentine football association banned the attacking trio from playing for Argentina, and eliminated them from the 1958 World Cup. SÃÂvori's Italian ancestry enabled him to become an Italian citizen. In April 1961 he made his debut for Italy. Along with several other foreign-born Italian players, SÃÂvori played for Italy at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, where they suffered a first-round elimination. He would earn nine caps and score eight goals while playing for Italy.
Encyclopædia Britannica has described SÃÂvori's playing style as "audacious and brilliant"; a highly talented footballer, he is considered one of Italy's and Juventus's greatest ever players, as well as one of the best players of his generation. SÃÂvori was a quick, diminutive, highly creative, and technically gifted forward, known for his pace on the ball, who used his acceleration, outstanding dribbling skills, flair, and feints to beat opposing defenders; these included turns, flicks, quick changes of direction, and his innovative trademark move: the nutmeg, also known as tunnel, in Italian, which involved him playing the ball between an opponent's legs. He was primarily a left footed player, and was an excellent finisher and a prolific goalscorer, who possessed a powerful and accurate shot from both inside and outside the area, and who had the ability to score not only with his left, but also his right foot and, in spite of his short stature, his head; this would sometimes see him receiving kicks to the face. Despite not being particularly strong, due to his slender physique, SÃÂvori was also known for his tenacity and bravery on the pitch, as well as his professionalism as a footballer, although he also drew criticism at times for his volatile character and unsportsman-like behaviour, which often saw him argue with officials, commit aggressive tackles on his opponents, or attempt "to provoke and to humiliate" other players with his skill on the ball.
Although he was an excellent goalscorer, especially while with Juventus, SÃÂvori was also able to use his vision and passing accuracy to create chances for team-mates, working in unison with Charles and Boniperti in the club's attacking trident, and was capable of playing both in the centre as a main striker and in a deeper role as a second striker or inside forward on the left side of the pitch. Because of his creative playing style, skill, eye for goal, country of birth, hairstyle, strong mentality, and at times rebellious nature both on and off the field, SÃÂvori is often retroactively compared to another leftâÂÂfooted Argentine player who emerged after him: Diego Maradona, with some parts of the media dubbing him "the Maradona of the Sixties".
SÃÂvori retired from the playing field in 1969. Although he retired to his native Argentina as a wealthy man, his love for the game meant that he decided to take up a further career as a coach; he coached River Plate, Rosario Central, Estudiantes de La Plata, Racing Club and Vélez Sarsfield.
From 1972 until 1974, SÃÂvori took charge of the Argentina national team, and the team qualified for the 1974 FIFA World Cup. SÃÂvori was the first man to call up Ubaldo Fillol to defend Argentina. Fillol would become one of the most highly regarded keepers in Argentine history. After that he became a full-time scout in South America for Juventus. In 1983, he was the head coach for Toronto Italia in the National Soccer League.
In March 2004, SÃÂvori was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers and honoured as part of the FIFA 100. The following year in February 2005, SÃÂvori died in his hometown of San Nicolás at the age of 69 due to pancreatic cancer.
River Plate
Juventus
Napoli
Argentina
Individual
SÃÂvori played the part of himself, in two Italian films.