Name Humberto Maschio Playing position Role Football player | Years Team Position Forward | |
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Full name Humberto Dionisio Maschio Date of birth (1933-02-20) February 20, 1933 (age 82) Similar People Antonio Valentin Angelillo, Juan Jose Pizzuti, Omar Oreste Corbatta, Roberto Perfumo, Omar Sivori | ||
Place of birth Avellaneda, Argentina | ||
Humberto Dionisio Maschio ([ˈmaskjo]; born 20 February 1933 in Avellaneda, Buenos Aires Province) is an Italian Argentine former football player and manager, who played as a forward.
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During the late 1950s and 1960s Antonio Valentín Angelillo, Omar Sívori and Maschio acquired the nickname The Angels with Dirty Faces when they moved en masse from Argentina to play football in Italy. The name, an ironic reference to the then-celebrated Angels with Dirty Faces movie, was given to them on account of their typically South American colour and flair. They were also known as The Trio of Death because of their clinical ability in scoring goals.
At international level, he represented both the Argentina national football team, winning the 1957 Copa América, and the Italy national football team, taking part in the 1962 FIFA World Cup.
Club career
Maschio started playing at Arsenal de Llavallol to later move to Quilmes Atlético Club where he proved himself a prolific goal-scorer. He joined Racing Club in 1954, and transferred to Italy in 1957. He had been linked with a move to Juventus in 1956, but their interest cooled following the international between Italy and Argentina in Buenos Aires that year when he looked ineffective. Instead he signed for Bologna in 1957, but although he paired up with Bernard Vukas there, he was unable to recreate the form he showed at Racing.
From Bologna Maschio moved to Atalanta who bought a half-share in him during the 1959–60 season. In Bergamo Maschio regained the form that had taken him to international prominence scoring heavily, and creating numerous chances for his colleagues. At Atalanta Maschio moved from playing as central striker to a deeper role which allowed him to use his vision and creativity. So impressive was his form at Atalanta that he moved to Inter in 1962. However, Maschio failed to fit in with manager Helenio Herrera who used him as a central striker and his time in Milan was of limited success. Following his time at Inter, Maschio briefly played with Fiorentina.
His performance brought him to the Italian national team to play in the 1962 FIFA World Cup. He returned to Racing in 1966 to win the Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup in 1967, and to end his career with the club of Avellaneda with 44 goals in 139 matches.
Argentina
Maschio played 12 games for the Argentina national football team between 1956 and 1957, scoring 12 goals. He helped Argentina to win the 1957 Copa América, and was the top scorer of the tournament with 6 goals.
Italy
Thanks to his Italian ancestry (from Godiasco, in the province of Pavia), Maschio also played two games for the Italian team in 1962, scoring no goals. In the 1962 World Cup played in Chile, Maschio was the captain of the Italian team and one of the protagonists of the infamous Battle of Santiago incidents in the match against the Chilean host team, in which Chilean player Leonel Sánchez broke his nose with a left hook; Italy lost the match 2–0, and were eliminated in the first round.
Managerial career
Maschio coached the Argentine national team in the first half of 1969 and the Costa Rica national team 1972. He also had a short spell with Bolivian side Blooming in the 1985 Copa Libertadores.