Inter remembers Sandro Mazzola on his birthday

Sandro Mazzola was one of us: one of the very best, one of those people who leave an indelible mark on history. Sandro was Inter. His class, his unwavering values and his total dedication embodied everything the Club stood for. His love for the Nerazzurri colours was unconditional.

“Inter is like a mother to me,” he said in his final interview with the Club’s official channels. A mother to a boy who, at just six years old, had suffered the tragedy of losing his legendary father Valentino, captain of Grande Torino, in the Superga disaster. For Mazzola, Inter became a second family. He gave the Club everything he had and became one of its most beloved sons.

17 seasons, 565 competitive appearances, 158 goals. One shirt for a lifetime: as a player, with No. 8 or No. 10 on his back, as captain, as a director, and as a legend for all time. Sandro took Inter where the Club had never been before: to the top of Europe and the world, twice. He was a shining star of the Grande Inter side that made Italian football history, the only Italian team to earn the “Grande” epithet after his father Valentino’s Torino.

When Sandro left us last September, a part of every Inter fan went with him. His loss was felt not only by those who saw him play, but by everyone who dreams in black and blue and imagines what it must have been like to watch a player of his calibre. Mazzola will never be a faded memory or a page in an old newspaper. Sandro lives on in the trophies housed at Inter HQ, in the hearts of those who knew him and in every youngster who pulls on a Nerazzurri shirt and dreams of following in his footsteps.

Sandro Mazzola will be with us forever. On 8 November, his birthday, his memory shines all the brighter, reminding us once again what it means to be an Inter fan. It lights up our hearts, just as his gentle smile did whenever it appeared unexpectedly beneath his moustache.

Happy birthday, Sandro. One of us.