Sandro Mazzola, one of the great names in Italian football and a symbol of Inter Milan, has died at the age of 83. The club confirmed this Saturday, September 19, the passing of its former captain, a protagonist of a generation that turned the team into a European and world power.
The entity has expressed its condolences to the family on behalf of its president, Giuseppe Marotta; its vice president, Javier Zanetti; the coach, Cristian Chivu, and the entire institution. In its farewell, Inter remembers a footballer whose relationship with the club extended far beyond his retirement.
Mazzola played 565 official matches and scored 158 goals wearing the nerazzurri jersey. He won four Italian leagues, two European Cups, and two Intercontinental Cups. But his legacy also holds an image especially recognizable to the Spanish fan: his two goals against Real Madrid in the 1964 European final.
The night Mazzola defeated Real Madrid
That final ended with a 3-1 victory for Inter and the first European Cup in its history. Mazzola was decisive with a double that placed his name among the protagonists of continental football.
Opposite were Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskas, two of his references. Inter itself recalls in its tribute the admiration he felt when meeting those players before stepping onto the pitch in Vienna. Once the match began, the young Italian went from admiring his idols to deciding the match against them.
It was one of the great nights for the team led by Helenio Herrera. A year later, the Milanese team won the European Cup again and confirmed that its first success had not been an isolated episode.
Mazzola shared that cycle with Luis Suárez, Giacinto Facchetti, Giuliano Sarti, and Tarcisio Burgnich, among other members of the so-called Grande Inter. His ability to act between midfield and attack made him one of the fundamental pieces of that generation.
Inter and Italian football bid farewell to one of its symbols
Giuseppe Marotta has summarized the former footballer's bond with the institution with a phrase: "Sandro was Inter." The president highlighted that he arrived as a boy and chose to stay throughout his career, and pointed out that preserving his memory is part of the club's obligations. Tribute from Marotta.
Javier Zanetti has also published a personal farewell. The vice president has remembered Mazzola as an important figure in his arrival in Milan and has thanked him for the role he played in the beginning of his relationship with Inter.
Expressions of mourning have transcended sports rivalry. Milan has expressed its condolences and remembered him as a loyal adversary, while Juventus has highlighted his class and behavior within Italian football.
The Italian Football Federation has arranged a minute of silence in the matches of the national competitions this weekend. Also, the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has bid farewell to the former player, emphasizing his ability to move several generations. The funeral is scheduled for Monday at the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan.
European Champion with Italy and second in the Ballon d'Or
His international dimension was not limited to Inter. With the Italian national team, he won the European Championship in 1968 and reached the final of the World Cup in 1970. He played 70 matches wearing the Italy jersey and scored 22 goals. Associated Press.
In 1971, he finished second in the Ballon d'Or voting, an individual recognition that accompanied his fourth league title with the Milanese team. The previous ones had come in 1963, 1965, and 1966.
His entire career as a player took place at the same club. For 17 seasons, he was one of its references, until he closed his stage on the field in 1977.
The Superga tragedy that marked his childhood
The story of Mazzola began under the weight of a legendary surname and an early loss. Born in Turin, he was the son of Valentino Mazzola, captain of Grande Torino, the team that dominated Italian football during the 1940s.
His father died on May 4, 1949, in the Superga air disaster, along with almost the entire Torino squad. Sandro was six years old.
The boy who lost his father in one of the greatest tragedies in sports would end up building his own career in another of the great Italian clubs. His surname thus became linked to two historic teams: Valentino's Torino and Sandro's Inter.
Decades after those two European Cups, Mazzola continued to be a reference for the Milanese fans. His death leaves Inter without one of the protagonists who explain its history: a one-club footballer whose memory also belongs to European football.