Pietro Rava

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Olympic medalist
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Pietro Rava
Medal record
Men's Football
Gold 1936 Berlin Team

Pietro Rava (January 21, 1916 – November 5, 2006) was an Italian football defender and coach. He won the 1936 Summer Olympics and at the 1938 FIFA World Cup with the Italian national team.

Rava, born in Cassine, Province of Alessandria, played for the clubs U.S. Alessandria (?-1935, 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 the scudetto 1949/50. He was Juventus' captain from 1947 to 1950. In total, he played in 352 Serie A matches (including 303 for Juventus), scoring 19 goals.[1]

For the Italy national team, he appeared in 30 international matches from 1936 to 1946, becoming the 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.

As a coach, he managed the clubs Sampdoria, Palermo, Padova, Monza, Alessandria, Novara, Carrarese, and A.C. Cuneo.

On November 5, 2006, Rava, the last surviving member of the 1938 World Cup champion squad, died in Torino 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.[1] Juventus announced that the following day, for a Serie B match against Napoli, the players would wear mourning armbands in his memory.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b (Italian) "Addio Rava, Mondiale nel 1938" - www.gazzetta.it - La Gazzetta dello Sport - retrieved Nov. 05, 1006.
  2. ^ (Italian) "La Juventus in lutto per Rava" - www.juventus.com - Juventus FC official web site - retrieved Nov. 05, 1006.

[edit] Further reading

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Italy squad - 1938 FIFA World Cup Winners (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
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U.C. Sampdoria – Managers

Galluzzi (1946–47) • Baloncieri (1947–50) • Galluzzi (1950) • Foni (1950–51) • Foni (1951–52) • Poggi (1952) • Fiorentini (1952–53) • Tabanelli (1953–55) • Czeizler (1955–56) • Rava (1956–57) • Amoretti (1957) • Dodgin, Sr. (1957–58) • Baloncieri (1958) • Monzeglio (1958–61) • Lerici (1961–63) • Ocwirk (1963–65) • Baldini (1965–66) • Bernardini (1966–71) • Herrera (1971–73) • Vincenzi (1973–74) • Corsini (1974–75) • Bersellini (1975–77) • Canali (1977–78) • Giorgis (1978–79) • Toneatto (1979–80) • Riccomini (1980–81) • Ulivieri (1981–84) • Bersellini (1984–86) • Boškov (1986–92) • Eriksson (1992–97) • Luis Menotti (1997) • Boškov (1997–98) • Spalletti (1998) • Platt (1998–99) • Spalletti (1999) • Ventura (1999–2000) • Cagni (2000–01) • Bellotto (2001–02) • Novellino (2002–07) • Mazzarri (2007–)