Pietro Anastasi
Pietro Anastasi was born in Catania, on April 7, 1948.
His first local clubs were San Filippo Neri and Trinacria. He came from a working class family and had six brothers and sisters.
In 1964 he joined Massiminiana, a club from Catania who were in Serie D. He stayed two years with a 4th place followed by a 1st with promotion to Serie C. He played 38 league games with 18 goals. The club later folded in 1976.
In 1966 he joined Varese in Serie B. The manager was Pietro Magni and the Biancorossi finished 2nd and promoted.
Anastasi played 39 games with 7 goals (6 in B). The following year, under Bruno Arcari, Varese finished 8th in Serie A. He played 30 games with 11 goals (all in A, including Milan and a hat-trick against Juventus in an epic 5-0 win).
His teammates at Varese included Lazio connections: Paolo Ferrario (1960-61, 1961-62), Vincenzo Gasperi (1961-66), Antonio Renna (1964-66), Piero Cucchi (1967-68).
Juventus did not forget the Sicilian's exploits and signed him in 1968. He stayed 8 seasons, playing 307 games with 132 goals (78 in A).
He won the Scudetto three times (1972, '73 and '75). His managers were: Heriberto Herrera, Luis Carniglia, Ercole Rabitti, Armando Picchi, Čestmír Vycpálek (two seasons), Carlo Parola (two seasons).
His teammates included Lazio connections: Nando Viola (1976-77, 1978-82), Giorgio Mastropasqua (1980-82), Vincenzo Chiarenza (1981-82, 1983), Oscar Damiani (1985-86), Dino Zoff (manager 1990-94, 1997, 2001), Luciano Spinosi (assistant to Sven-Goran Eriksson 1997-2000 and with club until 2004).
In his last season at Juventus Anastasi played less (16 in A with 1 goal).
In 1976 Anastasi signed for Inter. He stayed two seasons and played 66 games (46 in A) with 13 goals (7 in A). Inter finished 4th and 5th but won a Coppa Italia in 1978 (Napoli 2-1). His managers were Giuseppe Chiappella and Eugenio Bersellini. The squads included Lazio connections: Claudio Ambu (1982-83) and Silvano Martina (1987-89).
In 1978 he joined Ascoli in Serie A. He stayed three seasons, playing 67 games (58 in A) with 9 goals (all in A, including Juventus in 3-2 away win and Inter in 4-2 away win).
The Bianconeri finished 10th (under Antonio Renna), a historic 4th (Giovan Battista Fabbri) and 11th (Fabbri then Carlo Mazzone). He played alongside Lazio connections: Gaetano Legnaro (1970-72), (Felice Pulici (1972-77), Claudio Ambu again (1982-83) and Fortunato Torrisi (1984-85).
In 1981-82 he played one last season with Lugano in the Swiss second tier. He made 14 league appearances with 10 goals. Lügàn finished 7th.
He then retired at 34.
At international level he earned 25 caps for Italy with 8 goals.
He won a European Championship in 1968 (scoring in the final against Yugoslavia) and took part in the 1974 World Cup (scoring against Haiti).
In the Germany World Cup he rivalled Giorgio Chinaglia for the number 9 jersey.
After retiring for a period he was involved with the Varese academy and worked on TV as a pundit.
Anastasi was a centre-forward. His idol was John Charles but he was a different type of forward from the Welshman.
Anastasi was 1.72, fast, mobile and unpredictable. He was instinctive with quick reflexes making him a prolific scorer, often with acrobatic goals. He was classified as a centre-forward but his mobility often led him to the wings or providing assists behind the other forward.
He scored 201 goals in his career and won the Scudetto three times, a Coppa Italia and a European Championship.
For many in southern Italy he represented a whole social class, those who unwillingly had to leave their roots to go and work in the more opulent north.
Pietro Anastasi died on January 17, 2020 in Varese.
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