Giampiero Boniperti was born in Barengo (Novara-Piedmont) on July 4 1928.
His clubs as a boy were local Barengo and Momo Novarese.
In 1946 he joined Juventus and at first was in the reserves team but towards the end of the season played 6 games and scored 5 goals for the first team, under Renato Cesarini. The Bianconeri finished 2nd behind Torino.
From the following year, under Cesarini and then William Chalmers, he played regularly, 40 league games and scored 27 goals (top Serie A scorer) and Juventus finished 2nd (again behind Torino). The following year Chalmers stayed on and Boniperti played 32 league games with 15 goals with the Bianconeri finishing 4th.
In 1949-50, with the tragic disappearance of the Grande Torino team in the Superga air crash, Juventus won the Scudetto under Jesse Carver. Boniperti played 35 league games and scored 21 goals.
The following year Juventus finished 3rd but Boniperti continued scoring, 22 league goals.
In 1951-52 the Bianconeri won the Scudetto again, under Carver and then György Sárosi and Boniperti scored 19 goals in 33 games.
In 1952-53 he scored less, 7 goals in 29 appearances and Juventus finished 2nd. Another 2nd place followed with Boniperti scoring 14 goals.
The 1954-55 season saw a disappointing 7th place for Juve while Boniperti became captain and scored 9 goals. In the following two seasons came two 9th places with Boniperti scoring 6 and 4 goals.
In 1957 Juventus bought John Charles and Omar Sivori and won the Scudetto again, under Ljubiša Broćiç. Boniperti played 34 league games with 8 goals plus 6 games in Coppa Italia with 1 goal. The Trio Magico (Charles-Sivori-Boniperti thus won Juventus their 10th title and first star). Boniperti now played further back and more for the team.
In 1958-59 Juventus finished 4th but won the Coppa Italia, defeating Inter 4-1. Boniperti played 26 league games with 8 goals, 3 games in Coppa Italia and 4 in Europe.
In 1959-60 Juventus won the Scudetto again plus the Coppa Italia, under Carlo Parola. Boniperti played 31 league games with 7 goals, 3 games in Coppa Italia and 2 in Europe.
The 1960-61 season was his last as a player at Juventus. He ended in style winning another Scudetto, again under Parola. Boniperti played 28 league games with 6 goals, 1 game in Coppa Italia and 1 in the European Cup.
At 33 he retired after a phenomenal career with Juventus. He played 469 games with 188 goals (178 in A) and won 5 league titles and the Coppa Italia twice.
He won 38 caps for Italy and scored 8 goals. He took part in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil.
A few years after retiring, Boniperti was called by the Agnelli family to take on a role as director at Juventus. In 1971 was elected president of Juventus, a position he maintained until 1990. In this period Juventus won 9 league titles, the Coppa Italia twice, a European Cup, an Intercontinental Cup, a Cup Winners Cup, a UEFA Cup, a European Super Cup. In February 1990 he resigned after having overseen one of the most successful periods in the club's history.
He was called back in 1991 as Chief Executive Officer with full powers. He maintained the role until June 1994. In this period Juventus won a UEFA Cup.
From 2006 until his death he was Juventus honorary president.
A life for Juventus. He once quoted "Juventus is not only the club of my heart. It is my heart". Definitely a Juventus legend.
On a curious note however he did once play a game in Torino colours. Following the Superga air crash tragedy, when the whole Grande Torino team were killed, a friendly was organised to raise money for the victims' families. A selection of the best Serie A players, including Boniperti, represented Torino "Simbolo" in a friendly against River Plate from Argentina.
Besides football he was also involved in FIAT's multisport club Sissport. From 1977 he was Chief Executive Officer and then president from November 1990 to 2014. The club was particularly strong in athletics and had athletes such as Sara Simeoni, Pietro Mennea, Gabriela Dorio and Maurizio Damilano representing it.
He also had a brief five-year spell (1994-1999) as a European Parliamentarian with Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party.
Boniperti, nicknamed "Marisa" by opponents for his blond locks, was a forward. He started as a right winger and then moved to centre-forward. He had great vision and sense of position, he was quick with a powerful shot and also good in the air. A complete forward. Later in his career he pulled back slightly and became an excellent assist-man for John Charles and Omar Sivori. He is however still 15th all-time scorer in Serie A.
Giampiero Boniperti died in Turin on June 18, 2021.
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