Giorgio Chinaglia passed away yesterday

Giorgio Chinaglia, one of the best International player other than Pele and Carlos Alberto to have played against Mohun Bagan, passed away yesterday at the age of 65.  He had a heart attack in March and although he recuperated, he had a second heart attack on 1st April at his home in Florida, which led to his death.

Giorgio Chinaglia will be remembered for being a part of the New York Cosmos team who played against Mohun Bagan at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on September 25, 1977. During the match, Mohun Bagan was leading by 2-1 but Cosmos got a late penalty and Chinaglia equalized for the visiting team. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.

Born on January 24, 1947, Giorgio Chinaglia was a prolific striker from Italy. He started his club footballing career with Swansea in 1964 and then went on to play for Lazio before becoming the first high profile signing for North American Soccer League in 1976. Giorgio joined New York Cosmos which also featured legends like Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer, when he was at his peak of club footballing career with Lazio and went on to play for 7 years with New York Cosmos winning 4 titles with them scoring 243 goals. Giorgio also had 14 national caps scoring 4 goals, including playing twice in the 1974 World Cup for Italy.

In 2000, Chinaglia was inducted into the United States National Soccer Hall of Fame and was named the greatest player in Lazio's history during the club's centenary celebrations.