Jan. 26, 2019, would have been Torino legend Valentino Mazzola’s 100th birthday. As it was, this supremely talented forward lived to the age of just 30, having captained the “Il Grande Torino” side that perished in the Superga air disaster on May 4, 1949.

More of that story can be found in this previous column, and this historic club took the chance to mark this momentous occasion with a typically classy ceremony. Present was Mazzola’s son Sandro, himself having completed a superstar career with 417 appearances for Inter and 70 for the Italy national team between 1960 and 1977.

By his side at the newly-rebuilt Stadio Filadelfia was an 11-year-old boy, also named Valentino, named after his great-grandfather. The Torino supporters—who had been allowed into the 4,000 seater stadium for free—saw the great man’s young relative and namesake score on the pitch in which the legendary side used to play.

“When I was a kid, I would grab hold of his hand when we arrived [at the Filadelfia],” Sandro explained to Sky Italia. “All the people outside the stadium wanted an autograph: I was scared. Then while the team were getting changed, I stood outside the locker room and played football. And then I went out onto the pitch holding my father’s hand.”

These beautiful stamps were issued last weekend via @PosteNews for what would’ve been the 100th birthday of former @TorinoFC_1906 Captain and Superga victim Valentino Mazzola. pic.twitter.com/dyjig2c3ai

— Chloe Beresford (@ChloeJBeresford) February 2, 2019

It was an understandably poignant and emotional event for all concerned, with Sandro confessing the belief that “someone from above” is teaching his grandson, the young boy with the special name, to play football. 

Back in 1949, more than half a million people took to the streets of Turin to watch the funeral of those who perished at Superga, and the continual inclusion of their families in events at the Filadelfia ensures that their legacy lives on. Valentino Mazzola was a supremely talented man that died too soon, but he now has a namesake great-grandson who has kicked a ball in the very place where he enjoyed so much success, a special stadium that had sat derelict for far too long.

With this ceremony, Torino have once again proven that they will never forget their simultaneously glorious and tragic past, one which now looks to a more promising future. 

Chloe Beresford specializes in Serie A for a number of outlets and can be found on Twitter and on Facebook via her page CalcioByChloe.