Sandro Mazzola, Inter Milan icon, dies aged 83 | OneFootball

Inter said in a statement on Saturday that former Italian forward Sandro Mazzola, who spent all 17 professional seasons at the club, has died aged 83. The club called him one of the greatest footballers in history, saying he embodied Inter from childhood and often wished to be remembered as a good man who kept fighting even when victory was impossible.

Mazzola scored 158 goals in 565 appearances, winning four Serie A titles and two European Cups. He was part of Italy’s Euro 1968 winners and the 1970 World Cup runners-up.

He was six when his father Valentino, also an Italy international, died in the Superga air disaster in May 1949, which killed the entire Torino team as it returned from a match in Lisbon.

Aged 18, he made his first-team debut when Inter fielded their youth side in a replay against Juventus. The federation had ordered the game to be replayed, overturning an initial 2-0 award to Inter after a pitch invasion by Turin supporters.

Having taken a school exam before travelling to Turin, he converted a penalty for Inter’s only goal in a 9-1 defeat to Juventus.

He soon became a mainstay, helping Inter win a first European Cup in 1964 by scoring twice in a 3-1 final against Real Madrid. He played a key role in the club’s repeat triumph the following season.

Mazzola retired in 1977, later serving as Inter’s sporting director. He also held the same role at Torino, his father’s club.

Source: L'Équipe

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