Pietro Rava - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Pietro Rava was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

defender

Defender (football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

and coach

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

. He won the 1936 Summer Olympics

1936 Summer Olympics

The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...

and the 1938 FIFA World Cup

1938 FIFA World Cup

The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:...

with the Italian national team

Italy national football team

The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

.

Rava, born in Cassine

Cassine

Cassine is a town and commune of the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont. It is located 21 km southwest of the town of Alessandria on the left of the lower course of the Bormida in the Alto Monferrato Acquese. The town lies partly in the hills, where the ancient nucleus of...

, Province of Alessandria

Province of Alessandria

The Province of Alessandria is an Italian province, with a population of some 430,000, which forms the southeastern part of the region of Piedmont. The provincial capital is the city of Alessandria....

, played for the clubs U.S. Alessandria

U.S. Alessandria Calcio 1912

Unione Sportiva Alessandria Calcio 1912 is the professional Italian football club based in Alessandria, Piedmont.In the current season, it plays in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione group A.- Brief history :...

(1928–35, 1946–47), Juventus F.C.

Juventus F.C.

Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...

(1935–46 and 1947–50) and Novara Calcio

Novara Calcio

Novara Calcio is an Italian football club based in Novara, Piedmont.-History:In December 1908 the F.A.S. was created by eight students of Liceo Carlo Alberto, aged between 15–16 years; among them an engineer, Gianni Canestrini, and a lawyer, Piero Omodei Zorini...

(1950–51). He won two Italian Cups

Coppa Italia

The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...

in the 1937/38 and 1941/42 seasons, and two scudettos 1934/35 & 1949/50. He was Juventus' captain from 1947 to 1950. In total, he played in 352 Serie A

Serie A

Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

matches (including 303 for Juventus), scoring 15 goals.

For the Italian national team

Italy national football team

, he appeared in 30 international matches from 1936 to 1946, losing only one game, becoming the captain in 1940. He won the gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

at the 1936 Summer Olympics

1936 Summer Olympics

, and won the 1938 FIFA World Cup

1938 FIFA World Cup

The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:...

. He was selected to the "Best XI" of the 1938 World Cup. Along with Alfredo Foni

Alfredo Foni

Alfredo Foni was an Italian footballer in the 1930s and later on a coach. He was born in Udine....

, Sergio Bertoni

Sergio Bertoni

Sergio Bertoni was an Italian football player in striker role, and later manager.Born in Pisa, he played for Pisa Calcio and Genoa C.F.C. ....

, and Ugo Locatelli

Ugo Locatelli

Ugo Locatelli was an international footballer for Italy who won a Gold medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics and a winner's medal at the 1938 FIFA World Cup.Locatelli was born in Toscolano-Maderno, near Brescia, Lombardy...

, Rava is one of only four Italian players ever to win both the Olympic tournament and the World Cup.

As a coach, he managed the clubs Sampdoria

U.C. Sampdoria

Unione Calcio Sampdoria is an Italian association football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria...

, Palermo

U.S. Città di Palermo

Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo is an Italian football club from Palermo, Sicily which currently plays in Serie A, the top level of Italian football. Formed in 1900 as Anglo Panormitan Athletic and Football Club, the club had various names before assuming its final form in 1987 and is currently...

, Padova

Calcio Padova

Calcio Padova is an Italian football club, based in Padua, Veneto. The club was founded in 1910. Padova is playing in Serie B, having last been in Serie A in 1996...

, Monza

A.C. Monza Brianza 1912

Associazione Calcio Monza Brianza 1912 is an Italian football club based in Monza, Lombardy.Founded in 1912, Monza currently plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione group A, having last been in Serie B in 2000. Monza spent the last few years in Serie C1 and Serie C2.-History:Monza was founded on 1...

, Alessandria

U.S. Alessandria Calcio 1912

, Novara

Novara Calcio

, Carrarese

Carrarese Calcio

Carrarese Calcio is an Italian association football club, based in Carrara, Tuscany. Carrarese currently plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, having last been in Serie B in 1948. The team's colors are light blue and white.-History:...

, and A.C. Cuneo

A.C. Cuneo 1905

Associazione Calcio Cuneo 1905 is an Italian football club, based in Cuneo, Piedmont.The club currently plays in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.-History:The club was founded in 1905 as Unione Sportiva Alta Italia, taking its current name in 1998....

.

On November 5, 2006, Rava, the last surviving member of the 1938 World Cup champion squad, died in Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

after having had surgery on his right femur

Femur

The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...

due to a fracture days before. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...

for several years. Juventus announced that the following day, for a Serie B

Serie B

Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...

match against Napoli, the players would wear mourning armbands in his memory.

Honours

1936 Summer Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...

Gold Medal Winner.
Serie A 1937–38 Runner-up.
Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...

1937-38 Winner.
1938 FIFA World Cup
1938 FIFA World Cup
The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:...

Winner.
1938 FIFA World Cup
1938 FIFA World Cup
The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:...

Best XI.
Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...

1941-42 Winner.
Serie A-B 1945–46 Runner-up.
Serie A 1946–47 Runner-up.
Serie A 1949-50
Serie A 1949-50
-Final classification:-Results:...

Winner.

Honours

Further reading