Mazzola: the legend of Sandro in 10 matches

What makes a player special? Is it their skill, their goals? Or perhaps a distinctive trademark, such as a shirt number or a pair of moustaches recognisable among thousands of others? Maybe it is a long career spent wearing just one shirt?

What if it was all of these things that made Sandro Mazzola unique? Player, captain, one-club man, timeless symbol. But above all, a good man, just as he wanted to be remembered. A good man who lived his life with Inter and for Inter: a ‘mother’ to little Sandro, to whom he gave back all the love he had received and more at different moments and stages of his life.

The first of these is the most famous, the most unforgettable, and the one upon which his life was built: a life that began as an Inter player and saw him make 565 appearances in the Nerazzurri shirt. To us, Mazzola is a symbol, a shining star who paved the way for everyone who came after him. To understand what he represents, we want to tell you about the ten most significant matches of Sandro’s Nerazzurri career.

“LIKE THAT 9-1” — JUVENTUS-INTER, SERIE A 1960/61

Turin, 10 June 1961. Inter had to travel to Juventus for a match that had, in fact, already been played. The game was originally scheduled for 16 April but was abandoned following a pitch invasion. After initially awarding Inter the win by default, a result that would have been decisive in the title race, it was decided on 3 June that the match would have to be replayed from the beginning. In protest, president Angelo Moratti decided to send the De Martino side, the team that was once known as the Primavera. Among the young Nerazzurri was one particularly promising player: Sandro Mazzola, 18 years old, who nevertheless had some very important school exams coming up. His teammates insisted that he come to Turin and play alongside them. Sandro obtained permission from the headmaster, asking him to consider that this might be his only ever Serie A appearance, and took to the pitch against Juventus, who had just been crowned Italian champions. The match was completely one-sided: it finished 9-1, with Omar Sívori scoring six goals. But Inter’s only goal had a special signature: Mazzola himself scored it from the penalty spot. A debut and a goal against Juventus, in a match that would prove highly significant in shaping Inter’s identity. It would certainly not be Sandro’s last appearance.

13 SECONDS — INTER 1-1 MILAN, SERIE A 1962/63

Sandro’s first full season with Inter’s first team. It was a special year, with Herrera’s side battling Juventus for the Scudetto, a triumph that president Angelo Moratti had been chasing for some time. Mazzola was 20 years old, still very young, but he was already a key figure for the Mago in the dugout. He wore the number 8 shirt and would normally have played as an inside forward, but Herrera fashioned a role specifically for him, somewhere between a forward and a midfielder, to make the most of his outstanding goalscoring ability. On 24 February 1963, Inter faced Milan in the return derby. It was the first derby of Sandro’s career, having missed the first meeting of the season. Kick-off: Di Giacomo to Mazzola, Mazzola to Suárez. A ball is played deep to Corso on the left, who feeds Mazzola, and he immediately lays it back to Suárez. Luisito finds Sandro again, all alone inside the Milan box: goal, 1-0 after just 13 seconds. The fastest goal in the history of the derby, to this day, on the occasion of his first match against Milan. The game finished 1-1 after Sani’s equaliser, but Mazzola’s 13 seconds went down in Italian football history.

VALENTINO’S SHIRT — INTER 1-1 TORINO, SERIE A 1962/63

A historic day, in a match unlike any other for Sandro. Inter face Torino at San Siro on the final day of the Serie A season. The Nerazzurri had already won the Scudetto on 5 May, but the match against the Granata was an opportunity to celebrate. This was where the success story of the Grande Inter began: Herrera and Moratti’s first title, and the first league championship after nine years of waiting. It was also the first time Sandro faced Torino. At the start of the match, Granata captain Enzo Bearzot presented him with a shirt that had belonged to Valentino Mazzola, Sandro’s father and the star of Grande Torino who died at Superga in 1949. Mazzola scored a goal to finish the season with 11 league goals, making him Inter’s joint top scorer alongside Di Giacomo. Ferrini’s equaliser was significant only for the record books: the Nerazzurri fans’ celebrations could begin. From Grande Torino to Grande Inter, the only two Italian teams ever to be given that distinction — and always with the Mazzola family at the heart of the story.

“PUSKÁS’ WORDS” — INTER 3-1 REAL MADRID, EUROPEAN CUP 1963/64

The Grande Inter’s first European season was a triumph: the Nerazzurri won their first European Cup at Vienna’s Prater on 27 May 1964. But their opponents were no ordinary side: it was Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás’ Real Madrid, the team that had left an indelible mark on football history. Mazzola was just 21 when he played in the final. The emotion was overwhelming. In the tunnel before going out onto the pitch, Sandro was mesmerised by the Real Madrid stars. It was up to Suárez to snap him out of it: “We’re going out to play the final — do you want to stand here watching Alfredo?” Mazzola certainly went out and played that final: he scored twice, took Inter to the top of European football and established himself once and for all as a truly world-class player. The most important seal of approval came from Puskás, who gave him his shirt: “I played against your father. You are worthy of him.”

VICTORY FOR “LA BELLA” — INTER-INDEPENDIENTE, SECOND LEG OF THE 1964 INTERCONTINENTAL CUP FINAL

From Europe to the world, the myth of the Grande Inter continued to grow. Winning the European Cup earned the Nerazzurri a meeting with Argentina’s Independiente for the Intercontinental Cup, which at the time was played over two legs. At Avellaneda on 9 September, a genuine battle unfolded, with Independiente winning 1-0. The return leg was scheduled for Milan two weeks later. Inter had to win to force la bella, the decisive play-off for the trophy. It took just eight minutes to change the course of history. As always, it was Sandro Mazzola who stepped up, breaking the deadlock. The second goal arrived towards the end of the first half, scored by Mario Corso. Inter won and earned the right to contest the play-off, which was held in Madrid and decided in extra time by another Corso goal.

“WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN” — INTER-LIVERPOOL 3-0, EUROPEAN CUP 1964/65

How do you complete an impossible comeback? With character and a touch of madness. In 1965, Inter, the reigning European champions, were looking to repeat the previous year’s achievement. In the semi-finals, the Nerazzurri faced Liverpool. At Anfield, the Reds won 3-1, with Sandro scoring Inter’s goal. A comeback was needed. Inter had to overturn a daunting deficit against Bill Shankly’s formidable English side, who had celebrated by blasting out When the Saints Go Marching In. Mazzola had an idea: he handed the San Siro announcer the 33 rpm record featuring Louis Armstrong’s version of the song, asking him to play it after Inter’s victory. And so it was. In the eighth minute, Corso opened the scoring. A minute later, Joaquín Peiró brilliantly robbed goalkeeper Lawrence of the ball and made it 2-0. The decisive goal came in the second half from Giacinto Facchetti: 3-0, comeback complete. Inter had won. San Siro had won, more electrifying than ever. When the Saints Go Marching In rang out at full volume around the stadium. Sandro had been right.

TWO GOALS FOR THE SECOND CUP — INTER 3-0 INDEPENDIENTE, INTERCONTINENTAL CUP 1965

The comeback against Liverpool opened the door to the second European Cup final. At San Siro, against Benfica and in torrential rain, Jair scored the only goal of the game. European champions once again, and once again facing Independiente in the Intercontinental Cup. This time, the tie got off to a positive start. At San Siro on 8 September 1965, Inter won the first leg 3-0. Peiró opened the scoring in the third minute, but the star of the show was Mazzola. In the 22nd minute, he scored at the end of a spectacular Nerazzurri attacking move. Then came the masterpiece in the second half: Sandro scored an overhead kick that finally put the Argentinians to the sword. In the return leg, Independiente could only manage a 0-0 draw. Inter were world champions for the second consecutive year.

THE GOLDEN STAR — INTER 4-1 LAZIO, SERIE A 1965/66

A dominant league campaign, a season in which Inter powered towards the Scudetto at full speed. Napoli, Milan and Bologna tried to put pressure on the Nerazzurri, but there was no stopping them. The title was mathematically secured on 15 May 1966, in the penultimate league game against Lazio at San Siro. Suárez opened the scoring early in the second half, before Renna equalised. Mazzola restored Inter’s lead in the 63rd minute, followed by an own goal from Governato and a Domenghini strike. The match finished 4-1. Inter were Italian champions, but this was no ordinary Scudetto. It was the tenth in Nerazzurri history: Inter had earned their First Star, 58 years after the Club’s foundation and 58 years before the arrival of the Second. Curious numbers that repeated themselves, with Sandro always at the heart of the story. He scored 19 goals in the 1965/66 league campaign.

THE TABLE — INTER-MILAN 2-0, SERIE A 1970/71

Mazzola’s story went well beyond the Grande Inter era. Sandro became a leading figure in a new winning cycle, a veteran of a revamped side seeking fresh success. Alongside him were Burgnich, Facchetti and Corso, helping to guide a new generation of champions such as Boninsegna. Mazzola was now Inter captain and one of the team’s defining figures. The season, however, began badly, with Napoli and AC Milan pulling clear at the top of the table. Nerazzurri coach Heriberto Herrera was dismissed, with Gianni Invernizzi promoted from the Primavera. And so the legendary table of the Nerazzurri veterans was born, led by Mazzola: a series of predictions for Inter’s results and those of their rivals, creating a roadmap that would have to be followed if they were to mount a comeback. One of the key turning points came in the derby on 7 March 1971. In the 12th minute, Corso scored from a free-kick, before Mazzola doubled the lead with a header after making the most of a Boninsegna lay-off. The match finished 2-0, with Inter now breathing down Milan’s neck in the table. The table would be followed to the letter, and the Scudetto arrived on 2 May with a 5-0 victory over Foggia.

THE LAST ONE — MILAN 2-0 INTER, COPPA ITALIA 1976/77

Sixteen years after making his debut against Juventus, Mazzola brought his career as an Inter player to an end. He did so in a derby that doubled as the Coppa Italia final, on 3 July 1977: white shirt, number 10 on his back and the captain’s armband around his arm. At the centre of the pitch, he exchanged greetings with Gianni Rivera, the Rossoneri captain — his counterpart and the other half of Italy’s famous “relay” at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. The match ended in a Milan victory, with the Coppa Italia going to the Rossoneri. But all eyes and applause were for Sandro, who marked the end of his playing career with a quotation from Dante: “It is willed there where what is willed can be done; and ask no more.” And so Mazzola’s playing career came to an end, while a new chapter began one that would see him become a major figure as a director, forever bound to the Nerazzurri colours.

That day, Sandro said goodbye to Inter and to his people. Now it is our turn to pay tribute to him and thank him for everything he has been throughout his life. A good man, above all.