Humberto Tozzi

Humberto Barbosa Tozzi (4 February 1934 – 17 April 1980) was a Brazilian international footballer who played for São Cristóvão, Palmeiras, Lazio and Fluminense. Tozzi represented Brazil at the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 1954 FIFA World Cup.

Humberto Tozzi

Tozzi in 1954
Personal information
Full name	Humberto Barbosa Tozzi
Date of birth	(1934-02-04)4 February 1934
Place of birth	São João de Meriti, Brazil
Date of death	17 April 1980(1980-04-17) (aged 46)
Place of death	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Playing position	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1950–1953	São Cristóvão	126	(29)
1953–1956	Palmeiras	135	(126)
1956–1960	Lazio	103	(44)
1960–1961	Palmeiras
1961	Fluminense
National team
1954–1955	Brazil	7	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Humberto started his career with a club from his hometown and made the switch to São Cristóvão, a smaller club in Rio de Janeiro, that same year. A year later he went to Palmeiras where he became top scorer of the Campeonato Paulista with 22 goals, a year later he became top scorer again and now hit the nets 36 times, but the club could not win the title. In 1956 he made the switch to the Italian Lazio and played there for four seasons and won the Coppa Italia in 1958. In 1960 he returned to Palmeiras and won the league title with the club. In 1961 he played the final of the Copa Libertadores against Peñarol. He then played for Olaria, Fluminense and Portuguesa.

International career

In 1952 he was already included in the Olympic selection for the Games in Helsinki. He scored the first goal in the 5-1 victory against the Netherlands.

In 1954 he was also in the selection for the 1954 World Cup. He was not used in the group stage, but he was used in the quarterfinals against the Magic Magyars, a match that would go down in the history books as the Battle of Bern. After a fiercely protested penalty kick in favor of Hungary, the match turned into a battlefield, in which dirty mistakes were made. After a red card from the Hungarian József Bozsik and the Brazilian Nílton Santos, Humberto was also sent off in the 79th minute.