he spent a few months on the ship, aboard the destroyer Confienza, and was later moved to the Compagnia del Porto. In Venice he obtained his elementary school diploma, attending night school. Valentino was a private person of few words. On 15 March 1942 he married Emilia Rinaldi, whom he had two sons, both players: Sandro - who played for Inter Milan and the Italy national team – and Ferruccio (who was named in honour of the president of Torino, Ferruccio Novo), born respectively in 1942 and 1945. In Turin he lived in a small apartment in Via Torricelli 66. He worked in Lingotto and reported as a FIAT worker essential to wartime production, to avoid participating directly in the Second World War. Although the Torino players salaries were very good, they were not considered exaggerated, compared to normal payroll. The players were not considered professionals and officially held other jobs; in the aftermath of the war, Mazzola owned a sports shop in Turin, where he sold footballs that he manufactured personally. Mazzola, who considered himself a solitary person led a secluded life, prioritising football above all. His entertainment consisted of a few games of bowls near his house. He used to write down everything, both in regard to his personal and professional life. He was very strict and meticulous and demanded the same treatment from others; this was the main reason for separation from his first wife, who was no longer willing to live with his firm discipline. He separated from his wife in autumn 1946 and remarried on 20 April 1949 to 19-year-old Giuseppina Cutrone. On 4 May 1949, just days after his second marriage, he died in the Superga air disaster, unfortunately, as he thought he would die because of war or misfortune. Club career Early career Although he started working at a young age, Mazzola continued to cultivate his passion for football; he was the leader of Tresoldi, the team of Cassano d'Adda, who observed him playing in the fields and introduced him to their youth team in 1934. He briefly moved to Fara d'Adda and then returned to Tresoldi. He played as a centre midfielder and right-sided midfielder, even though he was already a multi-purpose player. He participated in his first season with Tresoldi in 1935–36, and the following year he played for the first team, earning 10 lire per game. In 1938, the same