Top 10 ‘Oriundi’ in Italian football
The term ‘Oriundi’ refers to those players in Italy who have represented the Azzurri as their adopted nation. Recently, Inter Milan enforcer Thiago Motta was included in the Italian team by manager Cesare Prandelli, which is going to play Germany in Dortmund.
In recent years, players like Amauri, Mario Balotelli and Mauro Camoranesi have had the distinction of playing for the Italian national team. Let’s take a look at other players who chose Italy over their original country.
Giovanni Moscardini (Scotland)
‘Johnny’ was the first Oriundi in Italy and represented the Azzurri nine times during which he scored seven goals. Until now, he is the only Scottish-born footballer to have represented Italy. After the end of the first World War, Moscardini returned to
the land of his forefathers, and became a fabled striker for Serie A side Lucca in 1919. Two years later, his brilliant performances earned him his first national cap. The Glasgow-born striker also played for Pisa and Genoa.
Miguel Montouri (Argentina/Chile)
The Argentina-born playmaker represented Chile and then Argentina before he became the only ‘Oriundo-Azzurro’ captain. The South American was an elegant player and a precise passer of the ball. Montouri is considered a legend at Fiorentina, where he played
from 1955-61. During that time he also won 12 caps for Italy. Still regarded as the best-ever number 10 in Fiorentina, Montouri never returned to his homeland and chose to spend the rest of his life in his adopted country.
Enrique Guaita (Argentina)
The Argentine was nicknamed ‘Il Corsaro Nero’ by the Roma fans where he played from 1933-35. His first ever season with the club was a huge success as he scored an astonishing 29 goals in just 28 games. He went on to play 10 games for Italy in which he scored
10 goals. His most important strike for the national side was the deciding goal in a 1-0 win over Austria in the 1934 World Cup semi-final.
Attila Sallustro (Paraguay)
Sallustro was the only Italo-Paraguayan to play for Italy and was a hero at Napoli for whom he scored 107 goals between 1926 and 1937. His film star looks didn’t hurt his popularity either as he was offered numerous film roles, though he declined them as
he loved playing football more than anything. If it were not for the great Giuseppe Meazza, he would surely have added more to his three national caps.
Mauro Camoranesi (Argentina)
The former Juventus winger has the record of most caps by an Oriundi (43) and was a regular in the Italian side that won the World Cup in Germany in 2006. The highly gifted Argentina-born winger is still a fan favourite at Juventus.
Omar Sivori (Argentina)
The Argentine made his debut for the Azzurri on April 1961 and ‘El Cabazon’ went on to represent his adopted country nine times, including an appearance at the 1962 World Cup. The Argentine is still considered as one of the greatest-ever Juventus players,
as he helped the Old Lady to three Scudetto titles with 167 goals in 253 games.
Luis Monti (Argentina)
Monti was one of the three Oriundi who helped Italy win their first World Cup in 1934. Monti played 18 times for the Azzurri. He was a very tough and dependant midfielder and had bundles of pace and energy available at his disposal.
Juan Schiaffino (Uruguay)
He was the inspiration behind Uruguay’s world cup victory in 1950 and played 48 games for the South American side. He moved to AC Milan in 1954 and after five months, represented Italy on four occasions.
Raimondo Orsi (Argentina)
The elegant striker moved to Italy in 1929 and joined Juventus where he is still considered a legend. He made his debut for Italy against Portugal and scored twice in the 6-1 victory. His 35 caps saw him score 13 goals and he also had the honour of winning
the World Cup for Italy in 1934.
Jose Altafini (Brazil)
The stylish Brazilian won the World Cup for the Selecao in 1958 and then joined Milan, where he won the Scudetto twice, and his brace also handed his team the 1963 European Cup. He scored five goals in six appearances for the Azzurri.
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