Silvio Piola

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Silvio Piola
Personal information
Full name	Silvio Piola
Date of birth	29 September 1913
Place of birth	Robbio Lomellina, Italy
Date of death	October 4, 1996
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	none
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1929-1934 1934-1943 1943-1944 1945-1947 1947-1954	Pro Vercelli Lazio Torino Juventus Novara	127 (51) 227 (143) 23 (27) 57 (26) 185 (86)
National team
1935-1952	Italy	34 (30)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Silvio Piola (September 29, 1913 - October 4, 1996) was an Italian footballer whose career lasted from 1929 until 1954. He won one Football World Cup (1938), and is currently the top scorer in the history of Serie A, with 274 goals.

Born in Robbio Lomellina, province of Pavia, Piola began his career with Italian club side Pro Vercelli, making his Serie A debut against Bologna on February 16, 1930, scoring 13 goals in his first year, at the age of 17. He went on to score 51 goals in 127 appearances in Serie A for Pro Vercelli. In 1934, he moved to Lazio, who had been on the receiving end of his first Serie A goal on November 11, 1930. He was to spend the next nine seasons there. Piola was the Serie A top scorer twice while at Lazio, in 1937 and 1943. After leaving Lazio, he spent war-torn 1944 at Torino, where he scored an amazing 27 goals in just 23 games. Towards the end of the war, he joined Novara. Then, from 1945 to 1947, Piola played for Juventus, before moving back to Novara, where he stayed for seven more seasons.

His first game for Italy came against Austria on March 24, 1935, when he also scored his first goal for the team. He was a World Cup winner in 1938, when he scored two of Italy's goals in the 4-2 victory over Hungary. Piola went on to play 34 games for Italy and score 30 goals, a tally that would surely have been greater if not for the interruption caused by World War II. His last international appearance was in 1952, when Italy drew 1-1 with England. He died in Gattinara.

Piola is currently the highest goalscorer in Serie A history, with 274 goals, a full 49 goals ahead of anyone else. He played 536 (or 537) Serie A games, putting him 4th on the all-time list for appearances in Italy's top flight.

	Italy squad - 1938 FIFA World Cup Champions (2nd Title)
MF Andreolo | FW Bertoni | FW Biavati | GK Ceresoli | MF Chizzo | FW Colaussi | MF Donati | FW Ferrari | FW Ferraris | DF Foni | MF Genta | MF Locatelli | GK Masetti | FW Meazza | DF Monzeglio | GK Olivieri | MF Olmi | FW Pasinati | MF Perazzolo | FW Piola | DF Rava | MF Serantoni | Coach Pozzo