Kepa has signed with Arsenal as a new goalkeeper. Mark De Man, a former Anderlecht defender, shares a name related to an on-field instruction. Valentino and Sandro Mazzola, renowned Italian midfielders, served as mezzalas in their careers. Valentino Mazzola was integral to Torino and died tragically in the Superga air disaster. Sandro's connection to Inter began when a family friend encouraged him to become a mascot, influenced by his father's legacy. Sandro played nearly 500 matches for Inter between 1963-74.
The story of how Sandro signed with Inter is directly linked to his father's death. One day Benito Lorenzi, the Inter forward who played with my father in the Italy team and was a very close friend of his, came to my house. He asked my mother to let me go to Milan to become the team's mascot.
Valentino Mazzola is regarded by some as the best Italian player of all time. Captain of the Azzurri and Torino and the symbol of the Grande Torino side that dominated Serie A in the late 1940s, Valentino died at 30 in the Superga air disaster in 1949.
Sandro was a one-club man with Inter and was a key part of the Grande Internazionale team that seemed unbeatable in the 1960s.
Even as mascots we were on bonuses and we used to get 10,000 lire for a win and 5,000 for a draw. It was a lot of money for our family.
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