17 February 2015
Today marks the tenth anniversary of the passing of Omar Sivori, one of the finest footballers to ever don the black and white stripes of Juventus.
Born in Buenos Aires on 2 October 1935, Sivori was just 21 years of age when he swapped his native Argentina for Turin, departing first club River Plate to join the Bianconeri for a then world record fee.
Small and skillfull, nimble and mercurial, the Argentine assassin’s talents were the perfect foil for the ‘Gentle Giant’ John Charles and the club’s second all-time top goalscorer Gianpiero Boniperti.
And the ‘Magical Trio’ hit it off immediately, awakening the Bianconeri from their slumber to end a six-year Scudetto drought in 1958, with Sivori netting 22 goals in 32 appearances.
But there was more to come from the fans’ favourite. In the club’s next title winning season (two years later in 1960), he registered 27 goals in 31 games, while he celebrated his third Scudetto-winning in 1961 campaign with a phenomenal 26 in 27.
These three Scudetto triumphs, plus two Coppa Italia trophies, led Sivori to be named the European Footballer of the Year in 1961.
Yet it was his love for the shirt that really tugged at supporters’ heartstrings, with one quote in particular encapsulating his mantra: “Here you always need to fight and when everything seems lost, keep believing. Juve never give in.”
Omar Sivori. Gone but never forgotten.
