"The desire to remember is mixed with modesty: how difficult it is to find the best words to say goodbye to someone who made history in an indelible and unprecedented way," thus begins Inter's long remembrance of Sandro Mazzola, one of the legends of the Grande Inter team, who passed away at the age of 83.
A memory that traces every step of the Nerazzurri's career, because Sandro Mazzola "was Inter's history: he joined as a boy and never left." From the "heavy burden on his shoulders" of the eternal memory of his father Valentino, lost in the Superga disaster.
At the time, Sandro was just over six years old. But football was in the Mazzola family's destiny. From a young age, at the age of eight, Sandro wore the Inter shirt. Years spent learning the game, then the epic Juventus-Inter match on June 10, 1961 , when Moratti and Herrera fielded their Primavera team in protest. Sandro Mazzola was also there, and he scored his first goal at just 18 from a penalty .
A clear sign of what would come. Under the guidance of Helenio Herrera, Sandro Mazzola wrote indelible pages of sporting history. Flagbearer and idol of an unrivaled team, made up of great champions and incredible successes. Sarti, Burgnich, Facchetti, Bedin, Guarneri, Picchi, Jair, Mazzola, Peirò, Suárez, Corso, and the nursery rhyme that fills the memories and hearts of Nerazzurri fans. Mazzola was the emblem of the Grande Inter.
The first major European Cup victory against Real Madrid in 1964 bears his signature. He won "four Scudetti, two European Cups, two Intercontinental Cups, and was the top scorer in Serie A (in 1965 with 17 goals) and the European Cup (7 goals in 1964). He finished second in the 1971 Ballon d'Or behind Johan Cruyff," Inter recalls.
After abandoning his boots, he embarked on a career as a manager and sporting director, with his most famous signing being Ronaldo the phenomenon —convinced he would wear the jersey of the Beneamata by none other than Mazzola and Moratti—who celebrated his 50th birthday just yesterday. A lifetime in the Inter jersey, for the good of Inter, for the love of those colors he helped make great. "He had only one final wish," Inter recalls, "to be remembered as a good man, who fights even when it's impossible to win, like in that 9-1."
(Unioneonline)
