Sleeves up ! Story of Valentino Mazzola
“He alone is half the squad. The other half is made by the rest of us together.” – Mario Rigamonti
As the leader of arguably the greatest Italian club side in history, and with the rugged good looks of a classic Hollywood actor, Valentino Mazola was one of the football’s first superstars. A dazzling left inside forward adept in all areas of the pitch, Mazola was the fulcrum of a Torino side that won five consecutive league titles in the 1940s before being wiped out in a tragic air crash at Superga on May 4, 1949.
The above quote by the rocky Mario Rigamonti echoed what everybody thought about Mazzola. He was capable of doing everything on the pitch, from organizing to... goalkeeping! Yes, goalkeeping. 13th june 1948, Genoa-Torino. Bacigalupo – another one with boiling temper – had punched Brighenti in retaliation for precedent troubling, and was given his marching orders. Mazzola took notice as captain, and with no further ado, went to the goalpost and played the rest of the game. In a commentated intervention he went out of the posts and punched out a ball with such violence it bounced to the midfield. Gabetto and Castigliano did their due and the game was won 2-1.
TECHNICALITIES
Valentino Mazzola is considered one of the best football players of all time, and perhaps the first modern all-around footballer, as he was a well-rounded and hardworking footballer who could lead his teammates to victory with his charismatic presence and leadership.
Mazzola was not very tall – around 1.70 – and if you watch the line-ups, he was surely the smallest in comparison. But his complexion was very solid and he worked stubbornly to perfection. He used to play “muro”: when he noted his left foot was flawable, he spent hours and hours kicking the ball with his left foot against a wall. That gave him the ability of shooting with both feet.
But his trademark were surely headers. In those times, no one made compliments when jumping, and defenses were tough. Well, despite not “towering” over 1.70, just see photographs of him jumping and marvel. Remember the balls of that time were very unpredictable: they burst, became heavy with rain, and had this knots on one side, and shoes were not what they are now: they were quite heavy and the pegs on the bottom were hammered from tiny circles of leather stuck together. Valentino himself tied his shoes around his ankle and the arch of his foot, to prevent them slipping off during the game.
On estimations, he could jump over 1mt. And sometimes, even over the goalkeeper... Note, too, that modern headers often place one folded arm over their chest, as to protect themselves when falling. Valentino jumped with his arms paralel to the body, only folding them when too near of a rival or to keep balance.
His rythm disarmed most markers. Speedy for someone so robust, he ran outpacing his rivals, in a matter of minutes he was in defense and later in attack. The only man marker he suffered was Teobaldo Depetrini, because he kept sticking to his back, almost glued to his shirt. But even he most of the time “lost grip” of Mazzola.
Passion and Leadership:
Mazola was not just captain in name, he was the most respected player at that time and everyone used to look up to him. In a game with Roma, on accord with the coach, he told everybody to stop after the sixth: no humiliation was meant, and not a goal was to be scored. But he did not count on a fateful shoot by Grezar – who didn’t believe his eyes and turned as to ask for forgiveness – and afterwards a PK, that Ossola asked to be converted in a free kick and shoot out on purpose. The thing is, the six starting goals were scored from minute 1 to 19 of the first half!
His character makes him play with wounded legs and fever (March 9, 1949) and win most of the times. Courageous and strong, he followed intently most of the play himself, even getting down at defense to lend a hand, or on the slipstream of an attack, even if he didn’t launch it. His injuries were unfrequent, surprisingly as he got into many a row – rivals knew that was a way of getting him out of the game – and markers were not very careful back then. He even played hours after his divorce trial, reaching Rome in a private plane and changing in the car who took him to the stadium, taking Toro to yet another victory.
His iconic move was rolling his sleeves up. On occasions when Torino were struggling, the Filadelfia stadium’s in-house trumpeter would summon a storm, the iconic Mazola would roll his sleeves up, and Torino would swarm all over the opposition.
The ritual rarely failed; in 5 years of dominance, Torino scored almost 500 goals and were unbeaten at home for over 4 seasons.
As titles were racked up and opponents swept aside, Torino became a byword for post-war pride and virtue. Mazzola’s elegant facial features meant that his image was soon appearing on a whole host of commercial paraphernalia. A hero to football fans and a magnet for women, Mazzola’s scandalous infidelities were his only falling, at a time when divorce was still illegal in Italy.
International career:
Having long been captain of Torino, Mazzola was named captain of the national team as well towards the end of 1947 as the national team built towards their defence of the World Cup in 1950.
The 1947-48 season saw Torino dominate to an even greater extent as they won Serie A by an astonishing 16 points ahead of AC Milan, averaging more than three goals per game across the whole season with 125 in 40 matches.
Mazzola himself contributed 25 of those goals, the second highest total in the league. By the end of April 1949, Torino stood four points clear of Inter at the top of the table with four games left and a fifth league title in a row either side of the war seemed certain.
However, tragedy struck just days later. Mazzola had helped to organise a testimonial match against Benfica on 3 May and although he was unwell at the time, he was determined to play in the match, which Torino eventually lost 4-3. The decision was taken that the team would fly back to Turin, a rare thing for a football team at the time. On that return journey on 4 May, the plane approached the city in poor weather and was forced to descend to gain better visibility. With the pilot unable to see properly, the plane crashed into the wall of the Basilica on the hillside at Superga, just outside Turin.
Everyone on board, including 18 players and five club officials, was killed. The Italian federation awarded the league title to Torino, even though the season was not over. They played their last four matches with a youth team, against opponents who in a show of solidarity also fielded youth teams. Mazzola was just 30 years old when he died. Although he only played 12 international matches, he is remembered as one of Italy's greatest ever players. His son Sandro, just seven years old at the time of his father's death, would go on to become a great player in his own right with Internazionale.
To all, Mazzola was like a big brother, always giving a hand when needed, with a loyal spirit and the interest of the team at heart. His secret was simple: “You can always win in soccer, as long as you change.” And he refused to take the center of the stage: “Soccer will always be a game of eleven”
The Filadelfia stadium who saw them, that should be an Italian pride, is now in ruins, the people who saw them are mostly gone. But Valentino and his team mates are frozen in their eternal youth, up there in the hill, knowing that somehow they were as special as everyone knew them to be, and over all, never ever equaled.
And we are still here, and ever will, no matter what comes, “il Capitano ci guarda”.
ONLY FATE WON THEM OVER
Trivia
- José Altafini, a forward who won the 1958 World Cup with Brazil and also played for Italy, Palmeiras, and AC Milan is called "Mazzola" in his home country, because when he started to play, it was said he looked like the great Valentino.
- In the Milan area, players who insist on dribbling rather than passing are called "Veneziani" (Venetians). This is a reference to Valentino Mazzola when he played for Venezia.
Honors:
Club
Torino
- Serie A (5): 1942–43, 1944–45, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49
- Coppa Italia (1): 1942–43
Venezia
- Coppa Italia (1): 1940–41
Individual
- Seria A top goal scorer (1): 1946–47
- Coppa Italia top goalscorer (1): 1942–43
- Inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame (Posthumously): 2012
- Italy's Sports Walk of Fame: 2015.
Sources:
The Rough Guide to Cult Football By Andy Mitten
This awesome post by a Torino fan -
http://www.xtratime.org/forum/showthread.php?t=140323
wiki
