Omar Sívori

The Argentine forward who won the Ballon d'Or and the South American Championship.

Omar Sívori was an Argentine-Italian football player who played as a forward. He made his international debut for Argentina, winning the South American Championship in 1957. Later in his career, he represented Italy and took part in the 1962 World Cup. Sívori is considered as one of the best players of his generation and also one of the greatest players of all time, known for his skill, speed, goalscoring, technique, and creativity. He won the South American Championship Best Player award in 1957 and the Ballon d'Or award in 1961.

Quick Facts

Full name: Enrique Omar Sívori
Born: 2 October 1935
Birthplace: San Nicolás, Argentina
Died: 17 February 2005
Height: 1.63 m / 5 ft 4 in
Position: Forward
Total caps: 341
Total goals: 176

Lore & Background

Sívori defended the Argentina national football team eighteen times and registered nine goals. The Argentine side of the time had a formidable attack with Sívori, Oreste Corbatta, Osvaldo Cruz, Humberto Maschio and Antonio Angelillo. The attacking trio of Sívori, Maschio, and Angelillo were nicknamed the caras sucias, which literally means dirty faces in Spanish. Sívori defended Argentina to the gold medal 1957 South American Championship in Lima, Peru. Argentina dominated in every game during that year's South American Championship; the team's wins throughout the competition included an 8–2 victory against the Colombia national football team, and a 3–0 victory against close rivals Brazil.

Reader's Guide

Sívori was a quick, diminutive, highly creative, and technically gifted forward, known for his pace on the ball, who used his acceleration, outstanding dribbling skills, flair, and feints to beat opposing defenders. He was primarily a left footed player, and was an excellent finisher and a prolific goalscorer, who possessed a powerful and accurate shot from both inside and outside the area. Despite not being particularly strong, due to his slender physique, Sívori was also known for his tenacity and bravery on the pitch, as well as his professionalism as a footballer, although he also drew criticism at times for his volatile character and unsportsman-like behaviour.

Because of his creative playing style, skill, eye for goal, country of birth, hairstyle, strong mentality, and at times rebellious nature both on and off the field, Sívori is often retroactively compared to another left–footed Argentine player who emerged after him: Diego Maradona.

Did You Know?

He scored 432 goals in his career, including friendlies.
Sívori's transfer from River Plate to Juventus was a world-record transfer fee for the time, at 10 million pesos (the equivalent of £91,000).
He holds the record for most Serie A goals in a single league match, scoring six goals during Juventus's 9–1 victory against Inter Milan on 10 June 1961.
Sívori is often retroactively compared to Diego Maradona, with some parts of the media dubbing him 'the Maradona of the Sixties'.