Sandro Mazzola, Italy and Inter Milan soccer star, dies at age 83

Sandro Mazzola, the former Inter Milan captain who was one of Italy’s most acclaimed players, has died. He was 83.

His death was announced on Saturday by Inter, the soccer club where he spent his entire 17-year playing career. No cause of death was given but Mazzola had been suffering from a long, unspecified illness.

“FC Internazionale Milano, its President Giuseppe Marotta, Vice President Javier Zanetti, head coach Cristian Chivu and his staff, the players, and everyone at Inter mourn with profound sorrow the passing of Sandro Mazzola, a Nerazzurri and world football legend,” Inter said in an emotional statement.

“Sandro Mazzola was one of the greatest footballers in history. Not only in the history of the Nerazzurri.”

A product of the Inter youth academy, Mazzola made his Serie A debut as a teenager in 1961, against Juventus, scoring his team’s only goal in a 9–1 rout.

Mazzola, an attacking midfielder or second striker, went on to net 158 goals in 565 matches for Inter, helping the Nerazzurri to four Serie A titles and two European Cups.

He also won the European Championship with Italy in 1968. Mazzola, who scored 22 goals in 70 matches for the Azzurri, played in three World Cups, reaching the final with Italy in 1970.

Mazzola was runner-up in the 1971 Ballon d’Or, behind soccer great Johan Cruyff.

“The passing of Sandro Mazzola is a source of deep sorrow for me and for all of Italian soccer," said Giovanni Malagò, president of the Italian soccer federation. "We have lost a legend, one of the figures who helped make our soccer great on the global stage.

“Sandro was an icon, a captain, and a champion who defined an era and became part of our collective memory.”

Mazzola was the son of another iconic player, Valentino Mazzola, who died in the Superga air disaster along with the whole ‘Grande Torino’ team in 1949, when Sandro was 6 years old.

“He was Valentino’s son — a man who managed to turn a monumental surname into an equally magnificent legacy, built on talent, personality, courage, and extraordinary humanity,” Malagò said.

"I like to think that he has finally reunited with his father and with those champions alongside whom he wrote one of the finest chapters in the history of Italian soccer.”

After Mazzola scored two goals to help Inter beat Real Madrid 3-1 in the 1964 European final, Real Madrid star Ferenc Puskás told him “You are worthy of your father Valentino" as the duo swapped shirts.

Mazzola was top scorer in the competition that season, and top scorer in Serie A in the following season.

After retiring in 1977, Mazzola held an executive position at Inter and then went on to become the team's sporting director from 1995 to 1999. He was a regular visitor to Inter's headquarters and training grounds after leaving the club.

Mazzola was also a TV sports commentator, including the 1982 World Cup final and the 2006 edition, both won by Italy.

Among the tributes, AC Milan called Mazzola “a historic and loyal rival, a legend of Inter and the national team, a protagonist in the history of Italian soccer.”

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni paid tribute to Mazzola on social media.

“With the passing of Sandro Mazzola, we lose a great champion and one of the most beloved figures in the history of Italian soccer,” she wrote.

"Legend of Inter and the Azzurri, European champions in 1968, he brought joy and passion to generations of Italians, leaving an indelible mark on our nation ... To his family, to all his loved ones, and to the fans, my most heartfelt condolences."

Mazzola's funeral will take place on Monday, at the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, the same church where the funeral of Milan and Italy soccer star Franco Baresi took place last month.

Inter ended its statement by describing how Mazzola wished to be remembered.

“The star with the moustache shone on the pitch, and still does today,” Inter said. "As he often said, he had one final wish: “To be remembered as a good man, someone who keeps fighting even when winning is impossible, like in that 9-1.”

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