The bench record holder, veteran of technicians, 'adoptive father' of many footballers. The image of the unbridled race of Charles Mazzone under the opposing curve after a draw in Brescia-Atalanta, to vent his anger at the insults received, he chased him despite a straight-backed career, poor in sensational results but rich in personal recognition.
But with Mazzone's death, the king of provincial coaches is gone, where province means the heart of Italian football. Where passion reigns, beyond the palmares or the money spent. Mazzone was the record holder for appearances on the benches of the Serie A, with 795, as well as a veteran of the technicians in activity before retiring to be a grandfather in 'his' Ascoli.
'Sor Magara' – an epithet earned from his Roman way of distorting the exclamation, multiplying it infinitely – was not only a football coach but also, for many of the boys who worked with him, a second father. It is no coincidence that a film about him in October 2022 was titled just like that, “Like a father”. Because everyone knows the coach, but few have truly known the man behind it and how important he was for the careers and lives of people like Totti, Baggio, Guardiola (who dedicated the 2009 Champions League victory to him), Materazzi, Toni, Pirlo and many others.
Mazzone certainly did not win like his other illustrious colleagues, but he achieved the greatest success: having remained in the hearts of everyone, ordinary people and insiders, regardless of their fan base and the color of their shirts. Baggio had a clause included in his contract with Brescia that provided for the interruption of the agreement with the Lombards if the Roman coach was fired. And it was his goal for the 3-3 in the derby with Atalanta that triggered the furious coach's rush, he later explained, “for the offenses made to my mother, in Rome those words are a very serious thing”.
In a school, the Italian one of coaches, which is one of the best in the world, with people like Rocco, Trapattoni, Sacchi, Lippi, Capello, Ranieri, Ancelotti, Conte and Allegri, he 'Roman from Rome', and from Trastevere, is the symbol of provincial coaches, a term that did not make him feel less than others, on the contrary because that Italy that was not on the front page has always been his strength. Mazzone had understood this since he was a footballer and Roma sent him to Ascoli to 'learn the ropes' and he, instead, decided to stay there not only to play but also to live.
And his name will forever be linked to Ascoli, because it was he, as a coach, who gave the first historic promotion to Serie A to the team from the Marche, one of the first in Italy to play total 'Dutch' football, as was fashionable in those 70s. As president he had Costantino Rozzi, another unforgettable icon of 'true' football.
On the bench Mazzone was passion and determination, a symbol of a true and genuine sport, without many schemes, restarts and tactical alchemy of 'professors', but based mainly on the culture of work, the desire to go on the field and give joy and entertainment to the fans. His coaching career lasted almost 40 years, on the benches of Ascoli, Fiorentina, Catanzaro, Bologna, Lecce, Pescara, Cagliari, Roma (coaching them was a dream come true for him), Napoli, Perugia, Brescia and Livorno, with whom he set the record for benches in the history of Italian football, with 1.278 officials. But numbers don't tell the whole story, especially in the case of Mazzone, the record holder for appearances, even in the hearts of the people.
Article published on 19 August 2023 - 17:00
