Silvio Piola (September 29, 1913 in Robbio Lomellina , Italy - October 4, 1996 in Gattinara , Italy) was an Italian footballer whose career lasted from 1929 until 1954.
Piola began his career with Italian club side Pro Vercelli , making his Serie A debut against Bologna on February 16, 1930. He went on to score 51 goals in 127 appearances in Serie A for Pro Vercelli. In 1934, he moved to Lazio, who had been on the receiving end of his first Serie A goal on November 11, 1930. He was to spend the next nine seasons there. Piola was the Serie A top scorer twice while at Lazio, in 1937 and 1943. After leaving Lazio, he spent war-torn 1944 at Torino, where he scored an amazing 27 goals in just 23 games. Towards the end of the war, he joined Novara. Then, from 1945 to 1947, Piola played for Juventus, before moving back to Novara, where he stayed for seven more seasons.
His first game for Italy came against Austria on March 24, 1935, when he also scored his first goal for the team. He was a World Cup winner in 1938, when he scored 2 of Italy's goals in the 4-2 victory over Hungary. Piola went on to play 34 games for Italy and score 30 goals, a tally that would surely have been greater if not for the interruption caused by |. His last international appearance was in 1952, when Italy drew 1-1 with England.
Piola is currently the highest goalscorer in Serie A history, with 274 goals, a full 49 goals ahead of anyone else. He played 536 (or 537) Serie A games, putting him 4th on the all-time list for appearances in Italy's top flight.
