A Madrilenian Meazza

There is a corner of Madrid that was looking forward to tonight's game. It is located on Ortega y Gasset street, in the Lele de Emanuele Friggione Restaurant, interista from the cradle, headquarters of Inter Club Madrid, peña nerazzurra born in 2018. It has 68 members and a special president: Federico Jaselli Meazza. That second surname is not a curious coincidence: it is the grandson of the legendary Giuseppe, twice world champion with Italy and top scorer in Inter's history with 284 points in 409 presences.

“My wife is from Madrid and I came here for her in 2008”, he tells AS: “Inter awarded me two years later, with the final at the Bernabéu that was worth the triplet (2010)”. Federico, 51, was almost 11 when his grandfather passed away (on August 21, 1979), so he left behind many memories: “He transmitted his passion for football to me and he also tried to train me, although he made it clear to me that I better dedicate myself to studying”he says laughing. Meazza also wore the shirts of Milan and Juve, “but he was always interista”, and infected his grandson more with gestures than with words: “He gave us keyrings and badges nerazzurri all the time. When I grew up, he started taking me to the stadium. Once, in the locker room, he introduced me to Mazzola: he stopped warming up and greeted me. It was incredible”.

Mussolini and Lazio

In the field, he had his habits: “He would get angry if I made noise and was not attentive to the game, and he always wanted to leave 15 minutes before the end, to avoid traffic jams.” When he arrived and also when he left, the whole box applauded him. There I began to understand its greatness. In 2010, for the 100 years of his birth, he wrote together with the journalist Marco Pedrazzini a book, Il mio nome è Giuseppe Meazza: “He was the first true transversal idol of Italian football. Even Benito Mussolini (dictator in command of Italy between 1922 and 1945) tried to convince him to go to Lazio. However, my mother has always told me about her simplicity. The high praise even made him uncomfortable. “

On March 2, 1980, before a derby, the iconic San Siro stadium was officially dedicated to him, which Inter and Milan they want to tear down to build a more modern one together. “I understand the need to improve and grow”, says Federico, “but I hope that, among the rubble, they do not also carry my grandfather's name.”