page_title: José Altafini
section_title: Juventus
hierarchical_section_title: José Altafini / Club career / Juventus
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Il calciatore italo-brasiliano José João Altafini "Mazzola" alla Juventus nella stagione 1972-73.
context_page_description: José João Altafini, also known as "Mazzola" in Brazil, is an Italian-Brazilian former footballer, who played as a forward. Although he began his career with Palmeiras in Brazil, he soon moved to play football in Italy, and is mostly remembered for his highly successful stint with Italian club A.C. Milan, with which he achieved great domestic and international success; he later also played for Napoli and Juventus, before ending his career in Switzerland with spells at Chiasso and Mendrisiostar. A highly prolific goalscorer, Altafini also held the record for the most goals scored in a single European Cup campaign for over 50 years; he is also one of only eight players to have scored five goals in a single European Cup match. He is the joint-fourth highest scorer in Italian Serie A history with 216 goals, and also holds the record for being the fifth-youngest player in Serie A history to score 100 goals, a feat which he managed at the age of 24 years and 239 days. At international level, he represented both Brazil and Italy; he was a member of the Brazilian side that won the 1958 FIFA World Cup, and later also represented Italy at the 1962 FIFA World Cup.
context_section_description: After his time at Napoli, Altafini joined Juventus along with his former Napoli teammate goalkeeping legend Dino Zoff. Despite his advancing age, which often led him to be used as a substitute, Altafini was decisive in helping Juventus to win two more Serie A titles during the 1972–73 and the 1974–75 seasons. During the 1972–73 season, Juventus were point behind Milan, who were leading the Serie A table, before their final match of the season against Roma. Juventus were trailing at half-time, but Altafini scored a crucial equaliser (his ninth of the season), before Antonello Cuccureddu scored the late match winner. Milan were defeated in Verona, and Juventus's victory allowed them to capture the Serie A title. Another one of his most notable moments during his Juventus career was his goal against his former club, Napoli, during the 1974–75 season, at the age of 37. Before the match, Juventus were in first place, two points ahead of Napoli, in second place; Altafini came off the bench a few minutes before the end of the match, scoring the match winner in the 88th minute, helping Juventus to a 2–1 victory, which allowed them to increase their lead over Napoli and win the title; Altafini managed 8 goals in 20 appearances that season. A few days after the match, a banner with the writing "José core 'ngrato" was placed on one of the gates of the San Paolo stadium, referencing the fact that Altafini had previously played for the Neapolitan club.
  He also helped Juventus to a Coppa Italia and a European Cup Final in 1973, scoring a goal in the quarter-finals of the 1972–73 European Cup against Újpesti Dózsa, and two goals in the semi-final against Derby County. Juventus narrowly missed out on a treble by losing both cup finals despite their 1973 league title. Their Coppa Italia defeat came at the hands of Altafini's former club, Milan, once again, on penalties, while Juventus were defeated by Ajax in the European Cup final. During the 1973–74 season, Juventus went trophyless, although Altafini managed 7 goals in 21 appearances, and in his final season, Altafini made only 10 appearances however, as Juventus missed out on the title, finishing in second place behind local rivals Torino; Altafini decided to leave Serie A after 18 seasons in Italy.
  By the time he left Juventus at the age of 38 in 1976, Altafini had played 459 games in Serie A and had scored 216 goals, although he had scored most of these in the early part of his career. In fact, he only scored 53 goals in his last 8 seasons in Italy, whereas he had scored 134 in his first 8. He is currently the fourth highest goalscorer of all time in Serie A, alongside Giuseppe Meazza, and behind only Silvio Piola, Totti, and Nordahl. He also holds the second highest number of appearances in Serie A by a non-Italian born player, behind Javier Zanetti.
caption: Altafini with Juventus in the 1972–73 season
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