Bruno Mazzia was born in Vigliano Biellese on March 14, 1941.
He started his football with local club Biellese's youth setup. He then made his debut for the first team in 1957 in Serie C. He played two seasons for his hometown club and the Bianconeri finished 7th and 4th. He played 26 league games and scored 1 goal.
In 1959 he stayed in Piedmont but joined Juventus in Serie A. He stayed three seasons. In the first season, under Carlo Parola, the Bianconeri won the Scudetto and Coppa Italia. In the second they won the Scudetto again and in the third, under Julius Korostelev for the first two matches and then Parola again, they finished 12th. Mazzia played 26 league games with 2 goals (Lecco, Bologna).
In his time in Turin, he played alongside greats such as John Charles, Omar Sivori, Giampiero Boniperti and Benito Sarti to name a few.
In 1962-63 he played a year with Venezia on loan. They were in Serie A but got relegated under Carlo Alberto Quario. Mazzia played 13 league games.
In 1963-64 he spent a season with Lazio, on loan in Serie A. The manager was Argentine Juan Carlos Lorenzo and the Eagles finished 8th. Mazzia played 24 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia.
In 1964 he returned to Juventus for two seasons. In the first, under Heriberto Herrera they finished 4th but won the Coppa Italia (Inter 1-0). In the second, still under Herrera, they finished 5th. Mazzia played 30 league games with 2 goals (Inter, equaliser in 1-1 away draw, Inter again in 1-3 defeat).
In 1966 he was sold to Brescia in Serie A. The Leonessa finished 13th under Renato Gei and Mazzia played 32 league games with 6 goals (SPAL,Mantova, Lazio, Fiorentina, Lazio again, Cagliari) and 1 game in Coppa Italia. The following year the Bresciani were relegated, under future Italy manager, Azeglio Vicini and Mazzia played 20 league games with 3 goals (Cagliari x2, Bologna) and 1 game in Coppa Italia.
In 1968 he joined Perugia in Serie B. He stayed four seasons finishing 8th, 10th, 6th and 6th again. His manager was Giudo Mazzetti for all four seasons, a rare occurrence. Mazzia played 128 league games with 12 goals plus 10 games in Coppa Italia with 1 goal. His teammates included Lazio connections Luigi Polentes (1969-77), Costantino Fava (1967-68, 1970, 1971), Giorgio Mastropasqua (1980-82).
In 1972-73 he played a season with Reggina in Serie B. The manager was Mazzetti, from his Perugia days, and the Amaranto finished 16th. Mazzia played 31 league games and 3 in Coppa Italia.
In 1973 he joined Alessandria in Serie C and stayed two seasons. In the first the "Orso Grigio" was promoted to B, under Dino Ballacci and then Mario Pietruzzi. Mazzia played 29 league games with 2 goals and 4 games in Coppa Italia. In B they were relegated immediately after a playoff (Reggiana 1-2) under Sergio Castelletti and then Anselmo Giorcelli. Mazzia played 28 league games, plus the playoff, with 7 goals and 2 games in Coppa Italia.
In 1975 he returned to Biellese in Serie D but left after playing 2 league games and joined nearby Pro Vercelli in Serie C. He stayed two seasons and the Leoni finished 3rd and 9th. He played 57 league games with 8 goals. His managers were Bruno Fornasero in the first year and Sergio Vatta and then Antonio Montico in the second year.
Mazzia then retired at 36.
At international level he played five times for the Italy U21 side and won the Mediterranean Games in 1959.
After retiring he went into coaching. He started at Pro Vercelli in 1977 in C1 but was replaced in the first part of the season. He then had spells with: Nocerina (1979, Serie B, came in after 19 games, relegated), Lecce (1979-80, B, 15th), Forli (1981, C1, resigned after 6 games), Vicenza (1982-83, C1, came in after 7 games, 4th), Mantova (1984, C2, came in after 18 games, 4th), Campobasso (1984-86, B, 13th and 10th), Cremonese (1986-89, B, 5th, 6th, 4th and promoted to A), Udinese (1989, A, replaced after 17 games), Brescia (1990, B, replaced after 3 games), Padova (1991-92, B, replaced after 31 games).
His finest hour was therefore winning promotion to Serie A with Cremonese in 1989. He started out as a classic 'Italian style' coach favouring the man to man marking system but then evolved, in the 1980's and 90's, to one of the main promoters of the 'zonal style' of play.
As a player he was an inside half but he could play in any midfield role. He had a decent career, playing 56 league games for Juventus and scoring twice against arch-rivals Inter. He played 145 games in Serie A.
At Lazio he only played one season on loan. It was a good one, playing 25 games and Lazio finished 8th.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1963-64 | 25 | 24 | 1 |
Sources
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