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Happy birthday, it would be so great if any FIF member have seen him playing live foodball, to tell us about him
#MILANINTER, SANDRO MAZZOLA REMEMBERS
His goal after 13 seconds, Giuseppe Meazza’s speech in Milanese dialect, his Nerazzurri heart. Inter legend Sandro Mazzola remembers it all here
MILAN – Count to thirteen. You can do it – it’s easy. But there’s one person in particular who’ll be doing that more than most this week. His name? Sandro Mazzola. Because it took him precisely 13 seconds to score against AC Milan in his first ever derby of 24 February 1963.
"That’s my most treasured memory from the derbies," begins Mazzola. "When I scored, I just couldn’t believe it. I never used to make much fuss about celebrating my goals, but that time I did two pirouettes! I was euphoric – so much so that Luis Suarez ran over and said: 'You’ve had your celebration, now get back and lend a hand!'"
The first #MilanInter of the 2014/15 season is fast approaching, and Mazzola will be watching events unfold intently: "Where will I watch the match? I’m not sure yet, I usually decide at the last minute. But I always try and watch it with my children and grandchildren." A Nerazzurri dynasty, then! The heirs of a great legacy handed down goal after goal, derby after derby, victory after victory.
"The derby was always the most important match for us. I had a great example in Giuseppe Meazza – he simply would never give up. I remember that one time he gathered us all to eat together in a sort of training camp. At some point, he came in and delivered a speech in Milanese dialect: 'You think I’ve gone crazy, but just remember something: I have a black stain on my career because I played for AC Milan for six months'. That really pumped us up, we couldn’t wait to get out on the pitch," recalls Mazzola.
The feeling of playing in a derby – of being on the pitch in the middle of it all – is something that only those that have experienced it can truly explain: "Everybody in the city would get up early, then the fans would march from the Piazza del Duomo all the way to San Siro. There were flags and banners everywhere."
And how did it feel to run out onto the pitch? "The real problem was the stairs! You had to go down out of the changing rooms, then go through the tunnel before you finally made it onto the pitch. Inside, however, you couldn’t hear anything. But when you began to climb the steps onto the pitch, you heard the roar of the crowd and your legs would start to tremble with excitement," says Mazzola, smiling.
Seconds later, the match would be underway. And for legends like Sandro Mazzola, it might take just thirteen more to leave a mark. An instant. But the memories – the emotions of representing the Nerazzurri in the Milan derby – last forever.
Luis Suarez sounds like the leader kinda player back then, I remember reading that before the CL final against RM, Mazzola was starring at Di Stefano for so long and Luis Suarez told Mazzola "Are we coming here to play the final or starring at Di Stefano? concentrate on the game!"
Legends
Some people are actively involved with football news, histories and the like. And most of are just slouches at home, watching Inter games on a shitty stream.
Mazzola suspected Inter doping
Inter legend Sandro Mazzola discussed his best and worst moments under Helenio Herrera, including his suspicions of doping.
The forward is the son of Valentino Mazzola, who died in the Superga plane crash that wiped out the Grande Torino team, but became a star player in his own right in the 1960s under Coach Herrera.
“Herrera always told us he had to train our minds first and then our legs, but at the same time he made us work to the point of exhaustion,” Mazzola told the Corriere dello Sport.
“He would make us train on Mondays too and order pre-match training camps. He was not a medic, but he drew up very strict diets.
“On match day he would make us eat a rare piece of meat at 10am. I couldn’t do it. So I wouldn’t collapse, I had a deal with an old friend who ran a bakery in Milan. He made me three sandwiches that I’d eat behind Herrera’s back.”
However, the diet also extended to suspicions of doping.
“It’s true. At a certain point I started to feel very dizzy on the pitch. I went to the doctor, who gave me a series of tests and said I had to stop, as I had serious problems and would be out for at least six months.
“Herrera didn’t want that. I don’t know what was going on exactly, but before the game they always gave us a cup of coffee. I don’t know what was in it.
“I remember one of my teammates, Szymaniak, asked if I took simpamine (a mild form of amphetamine, ndr). I didn’t know what it was, but there was something strange going on, that is true.”
Mazzola won four Scudetti at Inter from 1962 to 1971, plus two editions of the European Cup and Intercontinental Cup.
“My happiest moment at Inter was the first European Cup Final against Real Madrid. You must know first that we didn’t have a television, so we’d go to the bar, drink a beer and watch the game.
“All the Finals featured Real Madrid and I adored Alfredo Di Stefano, who everyone said played like my father. During the warm-up, I saw him suddenly in front of me and was absolutely star-struck.
“I just stood there staring until Suarez tapped me on the shoulder and said ‘We’re going to train, are you going to stand here and watch Alfredo?’
“I even scored in the Final that night. I celebrated in a really over the top manner and wouldn’t stop. Suarez, again, said to me: ‘If you don’t stop this lot will score another four against us.’
“The worst moment was in 1967, when in the space of a week we lost both European Cup and Scudetto against Celtic and that damned Mantova game.
“The Mantova defenders said they’d let me score, but I still didn’t manage. Then there was that damned error from Sarti. I know him well and his mistake was one of a goalkeeper who was trying to make the difficult things seem easy. I didn’t believe any of the ugly rumours based on the fact he went to Juventus a year later.
“The truth is we lost those games because it was the end of an era and the club had already made it known they intended to sell some players. We subconsciously thought it was Game Over.
“When I returned home from Mantova with my step-father, I cried throughout the entire car journey.”
Mazzola drew up his ideal all-time XI: “Ghezzi, Burgnich, Jack Charlton, Picchi, Facchetti; Beckenbauer, Rivera, Pelè; Van Basten, Cruyff, Messi. Obviously, the Coach would be Helenio Herrera.”
I'm sure there was plenty of other teams doping too. I'm sure we're doping our players now. Just like all the other top teams.
Yeah like I didn't know that before bandiera said it...lelSo anybody going to apologize to bandiera for not believing him?