Pietro Paolo Andrea Buscaglia was born in Torino on February 9, 1911. His parents however were both from Vigevano in Lombardy.
His first club was GC Vigevanesi (Vigevano-Pavia) in 1929. The Ducali were in Prima Divisione (3rd tier) and finished 13th. He then stayed another two seasons with a 1st place and promotion and then a 4th place in Serie B, under manager Ugo Bonzano. Buscaglia played 22 league games and scored 14 goals in his spell in Lombardy.
In 1932 he joined Lazio in Serie A. This was partly due to the fact that he had to do his military service in the capital. The manager was Austrian Karl Stürmer and the Biancocelesti finished 10th. The highlights were wins against Ambrosiana-Inter 2-1 away, Roma 2-1, Alessandria 6-0, Juventus 1-0 and Milan 2-0 at home. Buscaglia played 11 league games with 1 goal (Triestina).
In 1933-34 he stayed with Lazio. The manager was still Stürmer and the Romans finished 10th again. Their best results were beating Milan 4-0, a 2-2 away draw to Juventus and drawing a derby 3-3 after being 0-3 down. Buscaglia played 23 league games with 4 goals (Casale, Triestina, Bologna, Triestina again).
In 1934 he signed for Torino. He stayed four seasons with the Granata. Toro finished 14th, 3rd and 3rd (under Tony Cargnelli) and 9th (under Gyula Feldmann and then Mario Sperone). In 1935-36 Torino won the Coppa Italia in which he was top scorer with 8 goals plus another 4 goals in the Central European Cup. In total he played 80 league games and scored 35 goals. His teammates included future film star Raf Vallone and future Lazio manager Federico Allasio (1954).
In 1938 Buscaglia joined Milan where he stayed three seasons. Milan were forced to be called Milano at the time by the nationalistic regime. The Rossoneri finished 9th in the first season under Jozsef Bánás. He played 21 league games with 5 goals (Novara, Juventus, Triestina, Lucchese, Inter) and 4 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Anconitana).
In 1939-40 the Diavolo finished 8th again under Bánás. Buscaglia played 9 league games with 3 goals (Napoli x2, Roma) and 3 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Fiorentina).
In his last year, in 1940-41, Milan finished 3rd under Guido Ara. Buscaglia played 10 league games with 2 goals (Bari, Fiorentina). This was the season the great Giuseppe Meazza joined Milan after thirteen seasons with Ambrosiana Inter.
In Buscaglia’s time in Milan he played alongside two future Lazio players, Leonardo Remondini (1947-50) and Paolo Todeschini (1948-49)
In 1941-42 he spent a season with Savona in Serie B. The Biancoblu finished 14th, under Hungarian manager György Orth. Buscaglia played 27 league games and was top scorer with 10 goals. One of his teammates was former Lazio, Romolo Remigi (1933-34).
In 1942-43 during the war, he played for Abbiategrosso (Milan) in the 3rd tier. He played 35 league games with 18 goals.
His last club was his hometown Vigevano. After the war he spent two seasons, 1945-47, back with his local team. He helped the "Vige" get promoted to Serie B, where they then finished 7th. He played 65 league games and scored 16 goals.
At 36 he then retired. He went back to Vigevano where he opened a shop.
He won one cap for Italy in 1937 in a 2-0 win against Hungary.
Buscaglia was a midfielder. He was no giant at 1.68 and 70 kilos but he had a good club career. He played as inside half and was known for his well-timed runs into the area which explains his many goals. He played with three important clubs, Lazio, Torino and Milan. He made 162 appearances in Serie A with 50 goals. He won one piece of silverware, the 1936 Coppa Italia with Torino.
At Lazio he stayed two seasons. He made 34 league appearances with 5 goals. A curious fact about his time in Rome is that he played in a jazz band.
He died in Vigevano on July 12, 1997. A street in Vigevano has since been named after him.
Lazio Career
Season | Serie A Appearances (goals) |
1932-33 | 11 (1) |
1933-34 | 23 (4) |
Total | 34 (5) |
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