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For the less notable footballer, see Alessandro Mazzola (footballer born 1969).

Sandro Mazzola

Mazzola on a 1968 Ajman stamp
Personal information
Full name	Alessandro Mazzola
Date of birth	(1942-11-08) 8 November 1942 (age 69)
Place of birth	Turin, Italy
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder, Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1960–1977	Internazionale	417	(116)
National team‡
1963–1974	Italy	70	(22)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 April 2008. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 April 2008

Alessandro ("Sandro") Mazzola (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsandro matˈtsɔla]; born 8 November 1942 in Turin, Piedmont) is an Italian former football player. He is the son of Valentino Mazzola, who was killed in the Superga air disaster in 1949, and the most renowned Italian football player of the 1940s. Sandro played for the Internazionale team known as La Grande Inter. He was an inside-right or offensive midfielder blessed with creative instincts, helped by his passing range, vision and close control. He was also a prolific goalscorer.

With the entire career of seventeen seasons played only for the club, he holds the honor of being a one-club man.

Biography [link]

Alessandro Mazzola was born in Turin, Italy a few weeks after his father joined Torino FC from Venezia A.C.. His younger brother, Ferruccio, who was named after the president's Torino FC, was born two years later. His parents divorced in 1946, but his mother gained custody of Sandro Mazzola. He was 6 years old when his father died.

Internazionale [link]

Sandro Mazzola and his brother Ferruccio signed for Internazionale. He played all his career for Inter, scoring 116 Serie A goals. His Serie A debut was for Inter against Juventus on 10 June 1961, when his team lost 9-1. A year before his debut, Helenio Herrera arrived from FC Barcelona as the coach of Inter. He brought Luis Suárez from FC Barcelona as his midfield general, he had Tarcisio Burgnich and Giacinto Facchetti as his fullbacks, Brazilian Jair as his wing, Mario Corso as the left midfielder, Armando Picchi as his sweeper, and Mazzola who eventually played the game in the inside-right position. Together, they would transform the club into the best in Europe. They were known for their defensive tactic known as catenaccio. In 1964, Mazzola scored twice to beat Real Madrid in the 1964 European Cup Final to emulate A.C. Milan's feat of the previous season. They would defend their title again the following season by beating S.L. Benfica in the Final. In the 1966-67 season, they made it to their third Final, but lost to Celtic F.C. with Mazzola scoring one goal.

Italy national football team [link]

Mazzola also played 70 times for Italy, scoring 22 goals. His debut for the national side was against Brazil on 12 May 1963, when he was aged only 20. Mazzola played for his country at the 1966, 1970, and 1974 FIFA World Cups. His biggest achievement came in 1968 when Italy won the 1968 European Championship. Two years later, Italy arrived at the World Cup in Mexico as favorite.^{[citation needed]} The Italian coach Ferruccio Valcareggi believed that Sandro Mazzola could not play together on the pitch at the same time with other Italian star player Gianni Rivera. By second round, he devised a solution he called "staffetta" (relay) to play both players. Mazzola would start in the first half while Rivera would come in at half time. With this strategy, Italy reached the Final against Pelé's Brazil for the first time in 32 years. The match was billed as the battle between offensive and defensive football, but on game day, Ferruccio Valcareggi abandoned his "staffetta" policy and only used Mazzola until the very end. Gianni Rivera finally went into the game with 8 minutes to go. Two of Italy's biggest stars finally united together on the pitch where many people believed they should have been all along, but it was too late. Brazil won 4-1.

Four years later, Ferruccio Valcareggi finally used the two together, but Italy was an aging side losing in the first round (group stage).

Honours [link]

By the end of his career, Mazzola had won four Serie A titles (1963, 1965, 1966 and 1971), two European Cups (1964 and 1965), two Intercontinental Cups (1964 and 1965), one European Championship (1968) and was top-scorer in Serie A in season 1964-65. He is now a football analyst and commentator on Italian channel RAI.

External links [link]

• (Italian) Inter Archive

Italy squads v t e Italy squad – 1966 FIFA World Cup 1 Albertosi 2 Anzolin 3 Barison 4 Bulgarelli 5 Burgnich 6 Facchetti 7 Fogli 8 Guarneri 9 Janich 10 Juliano 11 Landini 12 Leoncini 13 Lodetti 14 Mazzola 15 Meroni 16 Pascutti 17 Perani 18 Pizzaballa 19 Rivera 20 Rizzo 21 Rosato 22 Salvadore (c) Coach: Fabbri v t e Italy squad – UEFA Euro 1968 Winners (1st Title) 1 Albertosi 2 Anastasi 3 Anquilletti 4 Bercellino 5 Burgnich 6 Bulgarelli 7 Castano 8 De Sisti 9 Domenghini 10 Facchetti (c) 11 Ferrini 12 Guarneri 13 Juliano 14 Lodetti 15 Mazzola 16 Prati 17 Riva 18 Rivera 19 Rosato 20 Salvadore 21 Vieri 22 Zoff Coach: Valcareggi v t e Italy squad – 1970 FIFA World Cup Runners-up 1 Albertosi 2 Burgnich 3 Facchetti (c) 4 Poletti 5 Cera 6 Ferrante 7 Niccolai 8 Rosato 9 Puia 10 Bertini 11 Riva 12 Zoff 13 Domenghini 14 Rivera 15 Mazzola 16 De Sisti 17 Vieri 18 Juliano 19 Gori 20 Boninsegna 21 Furino 22 Prati Coach: Valcareggi v t e Italy squad – 1974 FIFA World Cup 1 Zoff 2 Spinosi 3 Facchetti (c) 4 Benetti 5 Morini 6 Burgnich 7 Mazzola 8 Capello 9 Chinaglia 10 Rivera 11 Riva 12 Albertosi 13 Sabadini 14 Bellugi 15 Wilson 16 Juliano 17 Re Cecconi 18 Causio 19 Anastasi 20 Boninsegna 21 Pulici 22 Castellini Coach: Valcareggi