Sandro, forever

Back then, the only matches shown on TV were European Cup games. Real Madrid often came out on top, just as they do today: a legendary team featuring Puskas, Gento and Di Stefano. For a young boy, it was only natural to be mesmerised watching them. A little less so when you were about to step onto the pitch yourself to play in a European Cup final. It took Luisito Suarez, before kick-off in Inter vs. Real Madrid, to snap 21-year-old Sandro Mazzola out of it. "We're going out there to play the game. What are you going to do, stay here and watch?" The answer came on the pitch. A 3-1 win and two goals against Real Madrid. Did you know no one else has ever scored twice against Los Blancos in a Champions League final?

Sandro Mazzola was a son of Inter, and not just metaphorically. The greatest tragedy in the history of Italian football, the Superga air disaster, took the life of Valentino Mazzola, one of the greatest players of all time. Sandro was just six years old. In footballing terms, he was taken under the wing of Veleno Lorenzi, an Inter legend who would take him to the stadium on Sundays and to training during the week, where he honed his skills alongside a certain Giuseppe Meazza.