Meazza and Ferrari
23/11/2021 | Isaque Argolo

During the Italian football summit, some pieces and a change of actions and system were necessary in order to make Italian football something completely different from the 20s, in other words, a world power, one of the main powers in the world. Of the main pieces, above all, stood out Giuseppe Meazza, from Ambrosiana-Inter, and Giovanni Ferrari, who belonged to the school of Alexandria — the same of Adolfo Baloncieri —, but played in two great teams of Italian football.

Starting with the left insider, Ferrari, who saw his rise be directly linked to the fall of Mario Magnozzi. At that time, Magnozzi could no longer perform regularly. He was no longer at the peak of his match performances, therefore giving more and more space to the young Giovanni, who, gradually, with each match, stood out more and more for Juventus & Italy.

Meazza, for his part, stood out early in his career as a centre-forward. He even played alongside names prior to Giovanni, such as Adolfo Baloncieri, Mario Magnozzi & Renato Cesarini. However, as early as 1932, when Italy had already changed their main tactics, Meazza was shifted to the right insider, as his class allowed him to act there.

     Orsi                  Schiavio                  Guaita


 Ferrari                  Meazza

Monti

Italy 1934.

As much as Meazza was adapting to the new position, this same process ended up taking a long time at Ambrosiana-Inter. While Meazza acted as an insider for Azzurra, he still acted as a centre-forward for Ambrosiana-Inter. This only changed in the second half of the 30s, with the acquisition of Giovanni Ferrari, Meazza became, in fact, a right insider for the club.

Chemistry.

In fact, they understood each other. Meazza was a complete player, with a wide repertoire of shooting, class, ingenuity and owner of an exceptional dribble. Ferrari was an elegant player, with excellent passing, broad game vision and a tougher defensive task than Meazza.

Il Balilla was a more incisive player, he went farther to score, in addition to possessing vigor, a determination that Ferrari lacked. He aligned those traits with his world class, but at times Meazza had his glimpses of fame, so he wasn't always a fighter. Ferrari was a more assistant player, he was always more likely to help Meazza than the other way around. Ferrari was a player in a similar class to Meazza's. Perhaps, with a little more subtlety. he was a hard worker, a player who played for the team, paced the game with his calculating style.

Colaussi                  Piola                  Biavati  


 Ferrari                  Meazza

Andreolo

Italy 1938.

Ferrari was more subtle, a player who needed greater certainty of play, his game was reflected in a scientific and elegant pass. He was much slower than Meazza, on the other hand. Meazza was a more electric racing player, more shot oriented than the Ferrari. Both were exceptionally created, but with a leaner side to Ferrari. That left insider delivered balls with constancy and always turning to see the best side to pass. With passes of more than 40 meters, he reversed the plays and launched the wings. Meazza was more of an individual, a player who preferred to do his own thing and was far more offensive than Ferrari who, in turn, had a harder defensive work than Meazza.

The Italian 'W'.

In the old Italian system — Metodo — as István Tóth himself had already mentioned, the two insiders were more withdrew than the classic English 'W'. They, however, were not fixed, as they alternated as the attack was created. Meazza tended to be further ahead. Ferrari, acting more like a cadence agent, was more behind Meazza. Even so, in a standard tactical organization, both were cast as something akin to today's central midfielders.