[1] Although he began his career with Palmeiras in Brazil, he soon moved to play football in Italy, and is mostly remembered for his highly successful stint with Italian club AC Milan, with which he achieved great domestic and international success; he later also played for Napoli and Juventus, before ending his career in Switzerland with spells at Chiasso and Mendrisiostar.

[12] As a pundit, he is popular and known in Italy for coining the expression "golaço" (or the Italianised "golazzo") whenever a notable goal is scored,[13] as well as his iconic exclamation "incredibile, amici!"

[14] Altafini was born on 24 July 1938 in Piracicaba, a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, with a large Italian community, mostly originating from Trentino Alto Adige, where certain dialects are still spoken.

[17] José began playing football for the youth side of his city at the age of 16, the XV de Novembro Sporting Club.

[2] At the age of 17, he began to play for the youth side of the Italian-Brazilian São Paulo club Palmeiras, initially as an attacking midfielder or winger, before being moved to a more offensive position as a forward.

[19] On 6 March 1958, Altafini scored two goals in an historic match against the legendary Santos team of Pelé, Pepe and Zito in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo.

[22] In Milan's 5–0 win over l'Union Luxembourg, he managed to score five goals in a single match of the competition, a record which he shares with eight other footballers, including Lionel Messi.

[20] In 1965, Altafini joined Napoli, due to his disagreements with Amarildo and Paolo Ferrario at Milan,[2] where he formed a notable attacking partnership with Italo-Argentine advanced playmaker Omar Sívori, who had been his Italy teammate at the 1962 World Cup in Chile.

On 31 December 1967, in a 2–2 home draw against Torino, Altafini scored an acrobatic goal from a bicycle kick, a "golaço" which made him extremely popular with the Napoli fans.

Despite his role in the club's history,[3] during his time at Napoli, Altafini only managed to win a minor trophy, the Coppa delle Alpi, during the 1966–67 season.

[3] A few days after the match, a banner with the writing "José core 'ngrato" was placed on one of the gates of the San Paolo stadium, referencing the fact that Altafini had previously played for the Neapolitan club.

He is currently the fourth highest goalscorer of all time in Serie A, alongside Giuseppe Meazza, and behind only Silvio Piola, Totti and Nordahl.

[13] After leaving Italy in 1976, Altafini briefly played in the National Soccer League with Toronto Italia, where he appeared in the 1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup.

[13] Altafini made his international debut for Brazil at the age of 18 and 327 days on 16 June 1957, marking his first appearance with a goal against Portugal in a 3–0 friendly victory.

[26] On the 7 and 10 July, he helped Brazil to win the Copa Roca against rivals Argentina, alongside debutant Pelé, scoring a goal.

Altafini played in the first two group matches of the 1962 World Cup, against West Germany and Chile, as Italy were eliminated in the first round.

In addition to his pace and physical attributes, he was gifted with excellent control, technique, flair and dribbling ability; he was also a highly creative player, having started his career as an attacking midfielder or winger, before being switched to a more offensive role as a centre-forward.

He made a name for himself as a highly prolific goalscorer throughout his career, due to his powerful, accurate shot and ability to make attacking runs, as well as his intelligence and instinctive opportunism inside the penalty area.