- Pietro Rava
Pietro Rava (
January 21 ,1916 –November 5 ,2006 ) was an Italian football defender and coach. He won the1936 Summer Olympics and the1938 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) andNovara 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 352Serie A matches (including 303 for Juventus), scoring 19 goals.it icon [http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Primo_Piano/2006/11_Novembre/05/rava.shtml "Addio Rava, Mondiale nel 1938"] - www.gazzetta.it - "La Gazzetta dello Sport " - retrieved Nov. 05, 2006.]For the Italian national team, he appeared in 30 international matches from 1936 to 1946, becoming the captain in 1940. He won the
gold medal at the1936 Summer Olympics , and won the1938 FIFA World Cup . He was selected to the "Best XI" of the 1938 World Cup. Along withAlfredo Foni ,Sergio Bertoni , andUgo 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 inTorino after having had surgery on his rightfemur due to a fracture days before. He had been suffering fromAlzheimer's disease for several years. Juventus announced that the following day, for aSerie B match against Napoli, the players would wear mourning armbands in his memory. [it icon [http://www.juventus.com/it/news/detail.aspx?lml_language_id=0&trs_id=1203000&ID=9209 "La Juventus in lutto per Rava"] - www.juventus.com -Juventus FC official web site - retrieved Nov. 05, 2006.]References
Further reading
*it icon [http://www.tifonet.it/juventus/articolo.php?codice=757 Player bio] - www.tifonet.it - retrieved November 2006.
* [http://www.myjuve.it/players-juventus/pietro-rava-24.aspx Rava's statistics at Juventus] - www.myjuve.it - retrieved November 2006.
* [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/rava-intl.html Pietro Rava - International Appearances] - www.rsssf.com - by Roberto Di Maggio,RSSSF .
* [http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=RAVAPIE01 DatabaseOlympics.com profile]
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