Full name Pietro Rava Role Football player Height 1.75 m | Years Team Name Pietro Rava | |
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Date of birth (1916-01-21)21 January 1916 Date of death 5 November 2006(2006-11-05) (aged 90) Died November 5, 2006, Turin, Italy | ||
Italy 4-2 Hungary (Italy Lineup) 1938 Worl Cup Final
Pietro Rava (21 January 1916 – 5 November 2006) was an Italian football defender and coach, who played as a full-back. He won the 1936 Summer Olympics and the 1938 FIFA World Cup with the Italian national team.
Contents
- Italy 4 2 Hungary Italy Lineup 1938 Worl Cup Final
- Club career
- International career
- After retirement
- Club
- International
- Individual
- References
Club career
Rava, born in Cassine, Province of Alessandria, played for the clubs U.S. Alessandria (1928–35, 1946–47), Juventus F.C. (1935–46 and 1947–50) and Novara Calcio (1950–51). He won two Italian Cups in the 1937–38 and 1941–42 seasons, and two scudetti in the 1934–35 and 1949–50 seasons. He was Juventus's captain from 1947 to 1950. In total, he played in 352 Serie A matches (including 303 for Juventus), scoring 15 goals.
International career
Rava appeared in 30 international matches with the Italian national team between 1936 and 1946, losing only one game, and becoming the Italy captain in 1940. He won the gold medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics, and won the 1938 FIFA World Cup. He was selected to the "Best XI" of the 1938 World Cup. Along with Alfredo Foni, Sergio Bertoni, and Ugo Locatelli, Rava is one of only four Italian players ever to win both the Olympic tournament and the World Cup.
After retirement
As a coach, he managed the clubs Sampdoria, Palermo, Padova, Monza, Alessandria, Novara, Carrarese, and A.C. Cuneo.
On 5 November 2006, Rava, the last surviving member of the 1938 World Cup champion squad, died in Turin after having had surgery on his right femur due to a fracture days before. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for several years. Juventus announced that the following day, for a Serie B match against Napoli, the players would wear mourning armbands in his memory.