On This Day: August 21

August 21 brought the end of one of the most recognisable names in Italian sporting history. While a footballing legend passed away, it has also seen some triumphs for Italy, with success in a range of different sports. 1979 – Two days before his 69^th birthday, Azzurri legend Giuseppe Meazza died in Rapallo. While he also represented both Milan and Juventus briefly, Meazza is more feted for his time with Inter, for whom he scored 243 goals as well as 33 in 53 games for his country. 2008 – Elisa Rigaudo achieved her greatest result to date in the 20km walk, finishing the race in Beijing in third place. While the Italian was no match for Russian winner Olga Kaniskina, she finished just five seconds away from the silver medal. 2010 – Inter’s dominance over Italian football continued with a 3-1 win in the Supercoppa Italiana against Roma. A Samuel Eto’o brace clinched the match as Rafael Benitez’s Nerazzurri come from behind to beat the Giallorossi to add the Supercoppa to their Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League titles. 2012 – Luigi Datome dominated Italy’s victory over Turkey as they won their third Eurobasket qualification match in a row 78-69. Datome scored 23 points as a spectacular final quarter saw the Azzurri came from behind, winning the last period 27-14 on their way to qualification.

The post On This Day: August 21 appeared first on GazzettaWorld.