Sandro Mazzola, Inter Legend, Dies at 83

Sandro Mazzola, one of the defining figures of Herrera's Grande Inter and the son of Torino great Valentino Mazzola, has died aged 83.

Inter said in a statement on their official website: "Inter, the club's president Giuseppe Marotta, vice-president Javier Zanetti, head coach Cristian Chivu and his staff, the players and all of Inter's staff are deeply saddened by the death of Sandro Mazzola — a legend of the Nerazzurri and of world football — and extend their heartfelt condolences to his family, who keep his memory alive. Mazzola was one of the greatest footballers in history. And not only in the history of the Nerazzurri. He was history itself for Inter: having arrived at the club as a boy, he never left it."

Born in Turin on 8 November 1942, Mazzola spent his entire career at Inter, from his Serie A debut in June 1961 to his retirement in 1977 at almost 35. That debut came in a 9-1 win over Juventus, a fixture Inter's directors fielded a youth side in for as a protest against the scheduling of the rearranged match. Mazzola scored the side's only goal, from the penalty spot.

Across 565 appearances he scored 158 goals for Inter, helping the club to four Scudetti — three of them during the mid-1960s side that dominated Italian and European football, plus a fourth in 1971 — and two European Cups and two Intercontinental Cups.

For Italy he won 70 caps and scored 22 goals after his debut in 1963, and was part of the side that beat Yugoslavia to win the 1968 European Championship on home soil.

Mazzola went on to work as a club director and as a television pundit after retiring, remaining a fixture of Inter's public life long after his playing career ended.