Sandro Mazzola facts for kids
Mazzola with Inter Milan in 1971
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Alessandro Mazzola | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 8 November 1942 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Turin, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Forward Attacking midfielder |
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| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||
| 1960–1977 | Internazionale | 417 | (116) | ||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1963–1974 | Italy | 70 | (22) | ||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Alessandro "Sandro" Mazzola (born November 8, 1942) is a famous Italian former professional footballer. He played as a forward or attacking midfielder. Sandro spent his whole career playing for Internazionale, a team in Italy. He also played for the Italian national team.
Many people think he is one of the best Italian football players ever. He was known for his speed, hard work, creativity, and great skills with the ball. He was also good at scoring goals. Sandro Mazzola was a "one-club man," meaning he played for only one team, Inter Milan, for all 17 seasons of his career.
With Inter Milan, he won four Italian league titles (called Serie A). He also won two European Cups and two Intercontinental Cups. In 1965, he was the top scorer in Serie A. With the Italian national team, Mazzola won the UEFA European Championship in 1968. He also reached the final of the 1970 FIFA World Cup.
Sandro is the son of another famous Italian footballer, Valentino Mazzola. His father was part of the "Grande Torino" team and sadly died in a plane crash. Sandro's younger brother, Ferruccio Mazzola, was also a footballer.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Sandro Mazzola was born in Turin, Italy. This was just a few weeks after his father, Valentino Mazzola, joined the Torino football club. His younger brother, Ferruccio, was born two years later.
Sandro was only six years old when his father died in the Superga air disaster. This was a terrible plane crash that killed many players from the Torino team.
Playing for Inter Milan
Even though their father played for Torino, Sandro and his brother Ferruccio joined Internazionale. Sandro Mazzola played his entire career for Inter Milan. He scored 116 goals in 417 league games for the club.
He first played in Serie A in 1961, when he was still very young. His coach was Helenio Herrera. In his first game, he scored a goal from a penalty kick.
Coach Herrera built a very strong Inter Milan team in the 1960s. This team became known as Grande Inter (Great Inter). They were famous for their strong defense, called "catenaccio" (which means "door-bolt" in Italian). They were also great at scoring goals quickly on counterattacks.
Mazzola helped Inter win four Serie A titles. They won two of these titles in a row in 1965 and 1966. In 1965, he was the top scorer in the league with 17 goals.
European Success
In 1964, Mazzola scored two goals in the European Cup Final. This helped Inter beat Real Madrid and win the title. He was also one of the top scorers in that tournament.
Inter won the European Cup again the next year, beating Benfica. They also won the Intercontinental Cup twice in a row, in 1964 and 1965.
In 1967, Inter reached the European Cup Final again but lost to Celtic. Mazzola scored a goal in that final from a penalty. He also reached another European Cup final in 1972, but Inter lost to Ajax.
In 1971, Mazzola was voted the second-best player in Europe for the Ballon d'Or award. This was a huge achievement! He retired from football in 1977. He had been Inter's team captain since 1970.
Playing for Italy
_-_Mazzola_and_Rivera.jpg)
Mazzola played 70 games for the Italian national team between 1963 and 1974. He scored 22 goals for his country. His first game for Italy was against Brazil in 1963, when he was just 20. He scored a goal in that game too!
He played for Italy in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Italy was knocked out early in that tournament.
Winning the European Championship
His biggest success with Italy came in 1968. Italy won the European Championship on their home ground. Mazzola was chosen as one of the best players in the tournament.
The 1970 World Cup "Staffetta"
Two years later, Italy went to the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. The coach, Ferruccio Valcareggi, had a problem. He thought Mazzola and another creative player, Gianni Rivera, couldn't play together. They both played in similar positions.
So, the coach came up with a plan called the "staffetta" (which means "relay"). Mazzola would start the game because he was faster and worked harder. Then, Rivera would come in at halftime when the other team's players were tired. This allowed Rivera, who was great at controlling the game, to have more space.
_-_S._Mazzola,_F._Valcareggi,_F._Capello.jpg)
With this plan, Italy reached the World Cup final for the first time in 32 years. They played against Brazil, led by the legendary Pelé. In the final, the coach changed his mind and kept Mazzola on the field for almost the whole game. Rivera only came on for the last six minutes. Brazil won the match 4-1.
Four years later, in the 1974 FIFA World Cup, Mazzola and Rivera finally played together more. But the Italian team was older and didn't do well. They were knocked out in the first round.
After Football
After he stopped playing football, Mazzola worked in important roles at football clubs. He was an executive at Inter Milan from 1977 to 1984. He also worked for Genoa and later returned to Inter as a sporting director.
He also became a football commentator for Italian television. He is the only person to have commentated on two World Cup finals that Italy won: in 1982 and 2006!
How Sandro Mazzola Played
Sandro Mazzola is remembered as one of Italy's best football players. He was quick, very skilled, and full of energy. He could play in many attacking positions. He was known for his athleticism, how much he ran, and his ability to score goals.
He started as a central midfielder but became famous playing as an "inside-right" forward. He could also play as a main striker or a winger. Later in his career, as he got a bit slower, he played more as an attacking midfielder. He was great at passing, seeing the whole field, and controlling the ball.
Mazzola was also a great goalscorer. He could shoot powerfully and accurately from far away. He was excellent at running into space to get passes from his teammates. His speed and dribbling skills made it hard for defenders to stop him. Besides his skills, Mazzola was also known for his strong personality and leadership on the field.
Outside of Football
On July 3, 1968, Mazzola helped start the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) in Milan. This group helps protect the rights of football players in Italy. He started it with other famous players like Gianni Rivera.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Inter Milan | 1960–61 | Serie A | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | |
| 1961–62 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1962–63 | Serie A | 23 | 10 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 24 | 11 | |||
| 1963–64 | Serie A | 30 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 7 | — | 39 | 16 | ||
| 1964–65 | Serie A | 33 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 43 | 21 | |
| 1965–66 | Serie A | 30 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 37 | 22 | |
| 1966–67 | Serie A | 30 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 3 | — | 42 | 22 | ||
| 1967–68 | Serie A | 28 | 6 | 9 | 2 | — | — | 37 | 8 | |||
| 1968–69 | Serie A | 29 | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 7 | |||
| 1969–70 | Serie A | 28 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 1 | — | 43 | 6 | ||
| 1970–71 | Serie A | 29 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 36 | 10 | |
| 1971–72 | Serie A | 28 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 2 | — | 46 | 11 | ||
| 1972–73 | Serie A | 26 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | 41 | 6 | ||
| 1973–74 | Serie A | 26 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 38 | 7 | ||
| 1974–75 | Serie A | 23 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 34 | 3 | ||
| 1975–76 | Serie A | 25 | 2 | 10 | 4 | — | — | 35 | 6 | |||
| 1976–77 | Serie A | 28 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 39 | 4 | ||
| Total | 418 | 116 | 80 | 14 | 63 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 568 | 161 | ||
| Career total | 418 | 116 | 80 | 14 | 63 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 568 | 161 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 1963 | 4 | 1 |
| 1964 | 3 | 3 | |
| 1965 | 8 | 6 | |
| 1966 | 9 | 5 | |
| 1967 | 3 | 3 | |
| 1968 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1969 | 4 | 2 | |
| 1970 | 10 | 2 | |
| 1971 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1972 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1973 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1974 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 70 | 22 | |
Awards and Achievements
Inter Milan
- Serie A (Italian League Title): 1963, 1965, 1966, 1971
- European Cup: 1964, 1965
- Intercontinental Cup: 1964, 1965
Italy National Team
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1970
- UEFA European Championship: 1968
Individual Awards
- Serie A top goal scorer: 1965 (17 goals)
- European Cup top goal scorer: 1964 (7 goals)
- UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1968
- Ballon d'Or (2nd place): 1971
- Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2014
- Inter Milan Hall of Fame: 2022
Images for kids
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Mazzola with Inter Milan in 1971
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Sandro Mazzola in 1949 with his father Valentino
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Mazzola (crouched, second from the right) with Grande Inter in the 1963–64 season
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Mazzola playing for Italy alongside Gianni Rivera
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Mazzola relaxing with Azzurri in 1974 alongside manager Valcareggi and teammate Capello
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Mazzola in 2008
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Mazzola playing for Nerazzurri in the 1960s
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Sandro Mazzola, upon his debut with Italy, beside Pelé.
See also
In Spanish: Sandro Mazzola para niños
