Full name Attila Sallustro Name Attila Sallustro 1920-1922 Internazionale Napoli Height 1.74 m | Place of death Rome, Italy Died May 28, 1983, Rome, Italy Role Football player | |
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Date of birth (1908-12-15)15 December 1908 Date of death 28 May 1983(1983-05-28) (aged 74) | ||
Place of birth Asuncion, Paraguay | ||
Attila Sallustro (15 December 1908 – 28 May 1983) born in Asunción, Paraguay was a professional Italian–Paraguayan footballer who played as a striker. He is considered an important player in S.S.C. Napoli's history, and became extremely popular with the fans during his time with the club.
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Early life
Sallustro was born in Asunción, Paraguay to Italian parents, but moved to Naples in Italy, with his family as a youngster. He came from a wealthy background and his father wanted him to play football in Italy.
Napoli
He joined Napoli when they were first known as Internaples and stayed on with the club for the majority of his career. At Napoli he was nicknamed "Il Veltro" and "Il Divino". Due to his background, Sallustro chose not to take any financial pay from the club, though he was rewarded with a luxury motor car.
At Napoli he played for 12 years, scoring 107 goals, in a career which was halted at one point due to World War II. He had a brother two years his junior, named Oreste Sallustro (referred to sometimes as Sallustro II). The two played together at Napoli though Oreste appeared less frequently. After retiring from football he stayed in Naples where he died in 1983.
International career
He was called up to the Italian national football team twice in 1929 and scored for them once. One of the games in which he played was a 6–1 defeat of Portugal. Sallustro along with Marcello Mihalic was the first Napoli player to be called up to the Italian national team.
Despite his goal-scoring pedigree at club level, he was kept out of the side during much of his playing days due largely to the inclusion of Giuseppe Meazza. This was famously much to the dismay of some Neapolitans who thought his exclusion from the squad was unjust.