MILAN (AP) — Sandro Mazzola, the former Inter Milan captain who was one of Italy’s most acclaimed players, has died. He was 83.
His death was announced on Saturday by Inter, the soccer club where he spent his entire 17-year playing career. No cause of death was given but Mazzola had been suffering from a long, unspecified illness.
“FC Internazionale Milano, its President Giuseppe Marotta, Vice President Javier Zanetti, head coach Cristian Chivu and his staff, the players, and everyone at Inter mourn with profound sorrow the passing of Sandro Mazzola, a Nerazzurri and world football legend,” Inter said in an emotional statement.
“Sandro Mazzola was one of the greatest footballers in history. Not only in the history of the Nerazzurri.”
A product of the Inter youth academy, Mazzola made his Serie A debut as a teenager in 1961, against Juventus, scoring his team’s only goal in a 9–1 rout.
Mazzola, an attacking midfielder or second striker, went on to net 158 goals in 565 matches for Inter, helping the Nerazzurri to four Serie A titles and two European Cups.
He also won the European Championship with Italy in 1968. Mazzola, who scored 22 goals in 70 matches for the Azzurri, played in three World Cups, reaching the final with Italy in 1970.
Mazzola was runner-up in the 1971 Ballon d’Or, behind soccer great Johan Cruyff.
“The passing of Sandro Mazzola is a source of deep sorrow for me and for all of Italian soccer," said Giovanni Malagò, president of the Italian soccer federation. "We have lost a legend, one of the figures who helped make our soccer great on the global stage.
“Sandro was an icon, a captain, and a champion who defined an era and became part of our collective memory.”
Mazzola was the son of another iconic player, Valentino Mazzola, who died in the Superga air disaster along with the whole ‘Grande Torino’ team in 1949, when Sandro was 6 years old.
“He was Valentino’s son — a man who managed to turn a monumental surname into an equally magnificent legacy, built on talent, personality, courage, and extraordinary humanity,” Malagò said.
"I like to think that he has finally reunited with his father and with those champions alongside whom he wrote one of the finest chapters in the history of Italian soccer.”
After Mazzola scored two goals to help Inter beat Real Madrid 3-1 in the 1964 European final, Real Madrid star Ferenc Puskás told him “You are worthy of your father Valentino" as the duo swapped shirts.
Mazzola was top scorer in the competition that season, and top scorer in Serie A in the following season.
After retiring in 1977, Mazzola held an executive position at Inter and then went on to become the team's sporting director from 1995 to 1999. He was a regular visitor to Inter's headquarters and training grounds after leaving the club.
Mazzola was also a TV sports commentator, including the 1982 World Cup final and the 2006 edition, both won by Italy.
Among the tributes, AC Milan called Mazzola “a historic and loyal rival, a legend of Inter and the national team, a protagonist in the history of Italian soccer.”
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni paid tribute to Mazzola on social media.
“With the passing of Sandro Mazzola, we lose a great champion and one of the most beloved figures in the history of Italian soccer,” she wrote.
"Legend of Inter and the Azzurri, European champions in 1968, he brought joy and passion to generations of Italians, leaving an indelible mark on our nation ... To his family, to all his loved ones, and to the fans, my most heartfelt condolences."
Mazzola's funeral will take place on Monday, at the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, the same church where the funeral of Milan and Italy soccer star Franco Baresi took place last month.
Inter ended its statement by describing how Mazzola wished to be remembered.
“The star with the moustache shone on the pitch, and still does today,” Inter said. "As he often said, he had one final wish: “To be remembered as a good man, someone who keeps fighting even when winning is impossible, like in that 9-1.”
“We will, Sandro.”
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FILE - Inter Milan's former players Sandro Mazzola, second left, with Jair of Brazil, left, Mario Corso and Luis Suarez, right, prior to the start of the Champions League first knockout round, second leg soccer match between Inter and Ajax at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, March 14, 2006. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
Saudi Arabia warned of a “hostile aerial threat” and issued a string of emergency alerts across the kingdom, including in its capital, late Friday and early Saturday.
Also Saturday, Iran’s state TV reported that a man was executed after being convicted on charges of spying for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Saturday. Full coverage is available here.
Saudi Arabia warned of a “hostile aerial threat” after issuing emergency alerts, and at least one explosion was heard in Riyadh.
The alert in Riyadh was the first for the Saudi capital since the latest escalation with Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
No casualties or damage were reported after the alerts were lifted. Saudi authorities didn't say what prompted the alerts or the cause of the audible explosions, but they previously reported intercepting incoming Houthi missiles and drones.
The U.N.’s most powerful body said late Friday that the Houthis' military escalation, attacks and threats “risk further expanding the conflict, threatening maritime security and international trade,” while undermining regional and international efforts to secure peace in Yemen.
It warned that continued escalation would exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in the country.
The council's 15 members called for “practical cooperation” to prevent the Iran-backed Houthis from acquiring arms, military training, financing and other military-related assistance needed to carry out their attacks. They stressed that all countries must enforce the U.N. arms embargo against the rebel group.
Iran's state TV reported on Saturday that a man identified as Hossein Pedram was executed after being convicted on charges of spying for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad.
The report said Pedram passed on to Israel classified information on “sensitive military sites” in Iran's Isfahan province. It didn't say how he accessed the classified information.
Pedram was reportedly arrested after those sites, which included missile bases, were targeted in the 12-day air war by the U.S. and Israel against Iran in June last year.
A recent surge of executions in Iran prompted an international outcry by human rights groups.
Gaza’s Health Ministry and Shifa Hospital officials said one man was killed in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City. Another man, identified as the son of the ministry's director general, was killed as he walked in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes.
The heaviest fighting between Israel and Hamas has subsided since a ceasefire took effect last October, but Israeli fire has killed more than 13,780 Palestinians in Gaza since then, according to health officials in the territory.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar discussed uninterrupted energy supplies and safe passage for commercial ships during a telephone call Saturday with his Iranian counterpart Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Dar underscored the importance of ensuring that ships pass safely and quickly, citing the potential effects of disruptions on developing countries and global supply chains. The statement did not provide details of Araghchi’s response.
Pakistan has faced rising energy prices as the tensions spiked, increasing pressure on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government. An Islamist party has threatened to march on the capital, Islamabad, unless the government lowers fuel prices.
Iran’s state TV reported Saturday that the Tehran prosecutor’s office filed charges against race organizers after women participated without covering their hair because “legal and Islamic Sharia” wasn’t observed.
The country's ruling theocracy requires women to wear scarves that cover their hair and loose-fitting clothes that hide their entire bodies.
Footage circulated online showing many women running the 10-kilometer (6-mile) race without the mandatory hair covering. Habib Sotoudehnejad, head of Tehran’s sports department, said Saturday that about 5% of participants violated race rules.
The race was run separately for men and women.
Hard liners in Iran seek harsh penalties against women who appear in public without covering their hair.
Turkey's banking watchdog, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, revoked the operating license for the Istanbul branch of Iran's Bank Mellat.
The agency said Saturday that it made the decision to protect depositors or the stability of the Turkey's financial system.
The announcement comes as the United States is demanding other countries tighten economic measures against Iran.
Bank Mellat has been subject to Western sanctions for years and was named in 2019 as having links to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Corps. The U.S. Treasury Department earlier this month imposed sanctions on a Turkish investment bank and two subsidiaries over alleged ties to Iran.
This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
Supporters of Yemen's Houthi rebels raise their rifles during a rally in support of the group and to protest Saudi Arabia's accusation that the Houthis targeted Islam's holiest site of Mecca, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
A supporter of Yemen’s Houthi rebels wears a poster showing the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque, tucked into a decorative sash above a dagger, during a rally to protest Saudi Arabia's accusation that the Houthis targeted Islam's holiest site, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. Arabic reads, "Our souls are sacrificed for it". (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
A soldier from Yemen's Houthi rebels stands in front of a giant banner of the Kaaba, during a rally to protest Saudi Arabia's accusation that the Houthis targeted Islam's holiest site in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
