Former Inter Milan and Italy striker Sandro Mazzola, a central figure in one of the club’s most successful eras, has died at the age of 83.

Inter Milan confirmed his death in a statement on Saturday, describing Mazzola as one of the greatest footballers in the history of the club and the sport.

Mazzola spent his entire 17-year professional career with Inter, becoming one of the leading figures of the side that dominated Italian and European football during the 1960s.

He made 565 appearances for the Nerazzurri, scoring 158 goals and winning four Serie A titles. He was also part of the Inter team that secured consecutive European Cup triumphs in 1964 and 1965.

One of his most memorable performances came in the 1964 European Cup final, when he scored twice as Inter defeated Real Madrid 3-1.

His display earned praise from Hungarian football great Ferenc Puskás, who presented Mazzola with his shirt after the match and told him: “I played against your father. You are worthy of him.”

Mazzola was the son of Valentino Mazzola, the legendary Torino captain who died in the 1949 Superga air disaster alongside 30 other people. The tragedy claimed the lives of 18 Torino players, including eight Italy internationals from the celebrated “Grande Torino” team.

At international level, Sandro Mazzola earned 70 caps for Italy and scored 22 goals. He was a member of the Italian team that won the 1968 European Championship after defeating Yugoslavia 2-0 in the replayed final in Rome.

He also featured in the 1970 World Cup final in Mexico, where Italy suffered a 4-1 defeat to Brazil, led by Pelé.

A year later, Mazzola finished second behind Dutch star Johan Cruyff in the Ballon d’Or voting.

He retired from professional football in 1977 and subsequently remained involved in the game, taking up an executive role at Inter before later becoming sporting director of Torino.

Inter president Giuseppe Marotta paid tribute to the club icon, saying Mazzola had been part of Inter from his youth and dedicated his entire playing career to the club.

“Today, another piece of the Nerazzurri legend leaves us. Sandro was Inter: he joined the club as a boy and chose to stay here forever, one shirt, seventeen seasons, an entire lifetime,” Marotta said.

He added that Mazzola had helped write unforgettable chapters of Inter’s history during the Helenio Herrera era, stressing that the club would continue to preserve his legacy.