Long before football’s charity matches became familiar television fixtures, Sandro Mazzola showed that his attachment to the game extended well beyond Inter’s black and blue. In December 1993, the former Nerazzurri captain pulled on the pink shirt of Gazzetta for a fundraising match in Alessandria, bringing star quality, calm authority and the habits of a true teammate to an unusual afternoon at the Moccagatta.
A pink shirt for a charitable cause
Mazzola is remembered above all for Inter and Italy, yet there was one memorable exception to those colours. During the autumn of 1993, the Italian Singers’ National Team arranged a charity fixture against a Gazzetta side, with proceeds intended for good causes.
The match was set for mid-December at Alessandria’s Moccagatta Stadium. The singers had one request: their opponents needed a recognisable football name who could help draw a crowd. Gazzetta turned to Mazzola, already a trusted collaborator and friend, and he accepted immediately and enthusiastically.
- The fixture took place at the Moccagatta in Alessandria.
- It was played in mid-December 1993.
- About 5,000 spectators attended despite the grey winter conditions.
- Candido Cannavò was among those in the stands, supporting the Gazzetta team.
- The occasion was organised to raise money for charity.
Mazzola’s place in the dressing room
Before the match, Gazzetta coach Gino Franchetti worked on his selections and plans, while a preparatory game was held to bring Mazzola into the group. It quickly became clear that no introduction was really required. Operating in midfield, he moved the ball simply and accurately, mixing switches of play, shots and passes that released teammates, offering a quiet demonstration of the level he had once inhabited.
His contribution was just as important away from the ball. In the dressing room, Mazzola treated the less experienced players as equals, urging them to work together and reminding them that everybody had a role.
He also told a story from his first days around the great Inter side. As a young player, he had admired a teammate’s new boots so much that the older player gave them to him. They were too large, but Mazzola wore them regardless and ended the day with blisters.
For those sharing the room with him, the tale carried the weight of a football education: even a future Inter icon had begun as an eager youngster looking up at the established men around him.
A 2-2 draw and a lasting gesture
The game ended level at 2-2. Antonio Barbarossa and Eros Ramazzotti scored for the singers, while Mazzola converted a penalty to put Gazzetta 2-1 ahead at one stage.
- Final score: Gazzetta 2, Italian Singers’ National Team 2.
- Scorers for the singers: Barbarossa and Ramazzotti.
- Mazzola scored Gazzetta’s temporary second goal from the penalty spot.
- A young Turin referee, Rossetti, officiated the match and already showed assured control.
Rossetti’s handling of one disputed non-foul stood out. When journalists protested, he approached the player involved as if delivering a reprimand, told him to look him in the eyes, then allowed him to continue. It was a small moment of composure from an official who would later become well known.
The afternoon also had a painful postscript for Gazzetta’s centre-forward, who was carried off after a heavy challenge from a rugged defender on the singers’ side and went to hospital to have his injured leg examined. In the days that followed, Mazzola telephoned every morning to ask about his recovery.
That final detail captured the character he brought to Alessandria. Mazzola had arrived as the famous name capable of filling seats, but he left having behaved like what he had always been: a teammate.
