Sandro Mazzola

Although their father, Valentino, had played for Torino F.C., Sandro Mazzola and his brother Ferruccio signed for Internazionale. Unlike his younger brother, Sandro Mazzola spent his entire career with Inter, scoring 116 Serie A goals for the club in 417 league appearances. He made his Serie A debut under manager Helenio Herrera during the 1960–61 season, along with many other youngsters, against rivals Juventus on 10 June 1961, scoring his team's only goal from a penalty in a 9–1 loss; this was his only appearance of the season. Herrera had joined Inter a year earlier, from Spanish side Barcelona, along with his midfield general Luis Suárez, who would serve as Inter's main playmaker during the 1960s.

Herrera's Inter side during that period also featured Tarcisio Burgnich and Giacinto Facchetti as his fullbacks, Brazilian Jair as his winger, Mario Corso as the left midfielder, Armando Picchi as his sweeper, and Mazzola, who eventually played in the inside-right offensive position under Herrera. Together, they would transform the club into the best team in Italy, Europe, and the world during the 60s, which came to be known as Grande Inter. They were known for their infamous defensive "catenaccio" tactics and ability to score from swift and sudden counterattacks. Mazzola won four Serie A titles with Inter, including two consecutive titles in 1965 and 1966, finishing as the league's top scorer in the former season, with 17 goals, and narrowly missing out on a treble in the…

Mazzola played 70 times for Italy between 1963 and 1974, scoring 22 goals. His debut for the national side was against Brazil on 12 May 1963, when he was aged only 20, and he marked the occasion by scoring a goal from a penalty. Mazzola later played for his country at the 1966 FIFA World Cup under Edmondo Fabbri, appearing in all three of Italy's group matches, and scoring in his nation's opening fixture, a 2–0 win over Chile, as Italy were eliminated in the first round; he later took part at the next two editions of the tournament with Italy. His biggest achievement with the national side came in 1968, however, when Italy won the 1968 European Championship on home soil under manager Ferruccio Valcareggi, and Mazzola was named as a member of the Team of the Tournament for his performance. Two years later, however, although Italy arrived at the World Cup in Mexico as defending European champions, there was much turmoil within the team, as the Italian national team's coach, Valcareggi, believed that Mazzola could not play alongside the other Italian creative star player Gianni Rivera, who played in a similar position for Mazzola's rival club Milan, as it would offset the balance within the team; Mazzola was therefore chosen to start in all three of Italy's first round matches, due to his superior athleticism and work-rate. As the Italians had difficulty scoring during the group stage, and Mazzola had struggled to regain match fitness after coming down with a stomach flu,…

Mazzola is widely considered to be one of the greatest Italian football players of all time and one of the best players of his generation. A quick, talented, skilful, energetic, tactically intelligent and versatile player, he was capable of playing in several advanced positions. Known for his athleticism, defensive work-rate, and acrobatic ability in the air, he initially played as an offensive–minded central midfielder in his youth, known as the "mezzala" role in Italian, but was later primarily utilised as an inside-right under Herrera, a role in which he rose to fame, establishing himself as one of the best players in the world in his position; he was also used as a centre-forward, as a winger, as a main striker, or even as a supporting striker on occasion. In his later career, as he lost some of his speed and mobility, he was usually deployed in a more creative role as an offensive midfielder, which was aided by his passing range, vision, technique, ball skills, and close control; he was also capable of playing in a deeper midfield role, as a playmaker. Despite occupying a more withdrawn, creative playing role for much of his career, Mazzola was also known to be a prolific goalscorer as a forward, due to his eye for goal, and his powerful and accurate striking ability from both inside and outside the area, as well as his ability to time his attacking runs and get on the end of his teammates' passes, which enabled him to win the Serie A top scorer award in 1965. However,…

Sandro Mazzola was born in Turin a few weeks after his father, Valentino Mazzola, joined Torino from Venezia. His younger brother, Ferruccio, who was named after the club president of Torino, was born two years later. Their parents divorced in 1946, but their father gained custody of Sandro, who was six years old when his father died in the Superga air disaster.