Valentino Mazzola

Valentino Mazzola (26 January 1919 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward.

He had an unsettled childhood; in 1929 his father was fired from his job because of the Great Depression.

To help his family, Valentino sought work the following year, just as he finished the first year of grade school.

He found employment as a baker's boy, then, at age 14, the linen mill at Cassano d'Adda.

In the summer of 1929, at age 10, he threw himself into the river Adda to save the life of a boy four years his junior from drowning: his name was Andrea Bonomi, the future football player and captain of Milan.

A Juventus fan at a young age, he was nicknamed "Tulen" for his habit of kicking old tin cans: which Valentino would kick on his journey between home and

the linen mill.

He played in his local neighbourhood team, the "Tresoldi" and was noticed by a football fan who worked as a test driver for the Alfa Romeo factory in Arese, who offered Valentino a place in the Alfa Romeo team and a job as a mechanic.

Although he started working at a young age, Mazzola continued to cultivate his passion for football; he was the leader of Tresoldi, the team of Cassano d'Adda, who observed him playing in the fields and introduced him to their youth team in 1934.

He briefly moved to Fara d'Adda and then returned to Tresoldi.

He played as a centre midfielder and right-sided midfielder, even though he was already a multi-purpose player.

He participated in his first season with Tresoldi in 1935–36, and the following year he played for the first team, earning 10 lire per game.

In 1938, the same period when Alfa Romeo made him a work proposal that included the possibility of playing in Serie C, he received an offer from Milan, with the prospect to play in Serie A.

He was very indecisive and opted for Alfa Romeo as the car manufacturer also guaranteed him a job.

At Alfa Romeo he played one season as a winger; but according to another source, he instead played as a right midfielder.

In 1939 he was called up to join military service in the Royal Navy, in the port of Venice; he spent a few months on the ship, aboard the destroyer Confienza, and was later moved to the Compagnia del Porto.

In Venice he obtained his elementary school diploma, attending night school.

Valentino was a private person of few words.

He left the team in 1939, to join the military service in Venice.

In 1939, while he was performing his military service in the Navy, he took part in several matches in the team of the Navy, played on the field of basins, putting on a good display, despite weighing 90 kg. He was noted by some observers of Venezia, who after various stresses succeeded in getting him to tryout; according to another source, a naval officer who was a fan of Venezia, admired the skill of Valentino and offered him to the Lagunari.

At the trial, which he showed up and played barefoot, having left his boots intentionally at home not to ruin them.

Considered one of the great number 10s in the history of football and, according to some, the best Italian footballer of all time, Mazzola was the captain and symbol of the "Grande Torino", the team recognised as one of the strongest in the world during the second half of the 1940s, with whom Mazzola won five Serie A championships.

He was also captain of the Italy national team for two years.

He became known during his spell at Venezia, where he played as a midfielder, a playing position he held throughout his career that allowed him to expand his fame beyond Italy.

In his later seasons, he was considered one of the best players in Europe in his role.

He died at the age of 30 in the Superga air disaster.

He was born in Cassano d'Adda, Ricetto, a neighbourhood of abandoned homes to a very modest family.

His father, Alessandro, was a labourer for Azienda Torinese Mobilità and died in August 1940, hit by a truck.

His mother's name was Leonina Ratti and his four brothers were Piero, Silvio, Carlo and Stefano.

On 15 March 1942, he married Emilia Rinaldi, whom he had two sons, both players: Sandro - who played for Inter Milan and the Italy national team – and Ferruccio (who was named in honour of the president of Torino, Ferruccio Novo), born respectively in 1942 and 1945.

In Turin he lived in a small apartment in Via Torricelli 66.

He worked in Lingotto and reported as a FIAT worker essential to wartime production, to avoid participating directly in the Second World War.

Although the Torino players salaries were very good, they were not considered exaggerated, compared to normal payroll.

The players were not considered professionals and officially held other jobs; in the aftermath of the war, Mazzola owned a sports shop in Turin, where he sold footballs that he manufactured personally.

Mazzola, who considered himself a solitary person led a secluded life, prioritising football above all.

His entertainment consisted of a few games of bowls near his house.

He used to write down everything, both in regard to his personal and professional life.

He was very strict and meticulous and demanded the same treatment from others; this was the main reason for separation from his first wife, who was no longer willing to live with his firm discipline.

He separated from his wife in autumn 1946 and remarried on 20 April 1949 to 19-year-old Giuseppina Cutrone.

On 4 May 1949, just days after his second marriage, he died in the Superga air disaster, unfortunately, as he thought he would die because of war or misfortune.