Daniele Massaro

Daniele Emilio Massaro (; born 23 May 1961) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Throughout his career, Massaro played for several Italian clubs, including Monza, Fiorentina, AC Milan, and Roma, before ending his career in Japan with Shimizu S-Pulse. He is mainly remembered for his highly successful career with AC Milan during the late 1980s and 1990s, under managers Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello, with whom he went on to achieve notable domestic, European, and international success. He won four Serie A titles and two European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles with Milan, among other trophies, notably scoring twice in Milan's 4–0 win over Barcelona in the 1994 Champions League final.

Massaro won 15 caps at the international level, making his debut in 1982, and was also a member of the Italy national team that won the World Cup that year, although he did not make an appearance in the tournament. He was also a member of the team that reached the final of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, scoring a goal during the tournament, his only international goal, in Italy's last group match against Mexico; in the final, his last international appearance, he missed one of Italy's penalties in the resulting shoot-out, as Brazil went on to lift the trophy.

Club career Massaro began his career with his local club Monza in Serie B in 1978, putting on notable performances during his three seasons with the club alongside his more technically gifted teammate, Paolo Monelli, which attracted the attention of larger clubs. In 1981, he was acquired by Serie A club Fiorentina, along with Monelli, making his Serie A debut on 13 September 1981, and his Italy Under-21 debut 10 days later. He instantly became a permanent member of Fiorentina's starting line-up, and he came close to winning the Scudetto during his first season with the club, missing out on the title to Juventus by a single point. He continued to be an important member of the club during his subsequent seasons in Florence.

After leaving Fiorentina in 1986, Massaro made a name for himself at AC Milan where he played over 300 games between 1986 and 1995 (apart from a loan spell with Roma during the 1988–89 season), and he was part of the legendary Milan squad of the late 1980s and early 1990s, under Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello, which dominated Italy and Europe. which Milan won 4–0, winning his second European Cup title with the club, under Sacchi's replacement, Capello. He was also Milan's top scorer in the 1993–94 Serie A season with 11 league goals, helping them to win their third consecutive title since 1992 under Capello. In total, during his time with the club, he won four Serie A titles (1988, 1992, 1993, 1994), two UEFA Champions League/European Cup titles (1990, 1994), three UEFA Super Cups (1989, 1990, 1994), two Intercontinental Cups (1989, 1990), and three Italian Supercups (1992, 1993, 1994), also reaching the Coppa Italia final in 1990, two more Champions League finals in 1993 and 1995, and another Intercontinental Cup final in 1994.

After leaving Milan in 1995, he played a year in the Japanese football league with Shimizu S-Pulse, before retiring in 1996. On 13 April 1996, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 win against Bellmare Hiratsuka.

International career Massaro made his Italy under-21 debut on 23 September 1981, ten days after his Serie A debut with Fiorentina. Overall, he made four appearances with the Azzurrini between 1981 and 1984, also taking part with Italy's Olympic under-23 side at the 1984 Olympics, where Italy reached the semi-final, finishing the tournament in fourth place. Having surprisingly earned 15 appearances for the Italian senior squad, Massaro's international career actually spanned more than a decade between 1982 and 1994. He was a member of the Italian squad that won the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, but did not receive any playing time during the tournament. This was his only goal for Italy, In the 1994 FIFA World Cup final loss against Brazil, he missed a one-on-one opportunity and later failed to convert a penalty kick in the shoot-out, which marked his last international appearance.

After football He was also the captain of the Italian Beach Soccer National Team for a couple of years. Massaro is also an avid golfer during his free time. After fully retiring from football, he took part in several rally races in the Italian Rally Division, racing twice in the WRC, in the Sanremo Rally (in 1998 and 1999). Massaro currently works with Milan as a public relations manager.

Style of play A talented and determined player, Massaro was gifted with pace and agility, as well as good physical and athletic attributes. During his highly successful stint with AC Milan, he was initially deployed as an outside forward on the left, or as a winger under his Milan manager Arrigo Sacchi, due to his good technique. in this position, he was also capable of playing off his teammates and of holding up the ball when playing with his back to goal.

Career statistics Club

International

Score and result list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Massaro goal.

+ International goal scored by Daniele MassaroNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 28 June 1994 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, United States 1–1 1–1 1994 FIFA World Cup

Honours Milan FIFA World Cup: 1982; runner-up: 1994

Individual AC Milan Hall of Fame