 Corso withInter | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mario Corso | ||
| Date of birth | (1941-08-25)25 August 1941 | ||
| Place of birth | Verona, Italy | ||
| Date of death | 19 June 2020(2020-06-19) (aged 78) | ||
| Place of death | Milan, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| A.C. Audace SME | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1957–1973 | Inter | 413 | (75) |
| 1973–1975 | Genoa | 26 | (3) |
| Total | 439 | (78) | |
| International career | |||
| 1961–1971 | Italy | 23 | (4) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1978–1982 | Napoli Primavera | ||
| 1982–1983 | Lecce | ||
| 1983–1984 | Catanzaro | ||
| 1984–1985 | Inter Primavera | ||
| 1985–1986 | Inter | ||
| 1987–1989 | Mantova | ||
| 1989–1990 | Barletta | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Mario Corso (Italian pronunciation:[ˈmaːrjoˈkorso]; 25 August 1941 – 19 June 2020) was an Italianfootballplayer andcoach. A famed and dynamic leftwinger, he was regarded as one of the greatest Italian players in his position, earning the nicknames "Mandrake" and "God's Left Foot", due to his skills, free kick technique and crossing ability.[2]
Corso was mostly remembered for his highly successful club career atInter, and was a key member ofHelenio Herrera'sGrande Inter side. He also represented theItaly national football team on 23 occasions. After retiring, he later served as a coach for Internazionale and other teams, winning the B group of the 1987–88Serie C2 campaign withMantova.[1][3]
Corso was an important player ofInternazionale, the team with which he played almost exclusively throughout his entire career, from 1957 to 1973, winning fourSerie A titles, twoEuropean Champions and twoIntercontinental Cups, also reaching another European Cup final, and aCoppa Italia final. Corso made his Inter debut at the age of 16, in a Coppa Italia match againstComo, which Inter won 3–0; on his debut, Corso scored the second goal of the match, becoming the youngest ever goalscorer in Inter's history. On 23 November 1957, he also made his Serie A debut, in a 5–1 win againstSampdoria, soon becoming a permanent member of the starting eleven, and later serving ascaptain of the squad. Corso had a role on the left wing inHelenio Herrera'sInter Milan team of the 1960s, which is known asLa Grande Inter, winning consecutive Serie A, European Cup, and Intercontinental Cup titles. Following his time with Inter, Corso briefly moved toGenoa in 1973, remaining there for two seasons before retiring in 1975. In total, he played 436 matches with 78 goals inSerie A.[1][3]
In total, Corso made 23 appearances for theItaly national team over ten years, scoring four goals, although he was never elected to take part in a major international tournament with Italy. He made his debut in 1961, in a 3–2 home loss againstEngland in an international friendly match. On 15 October 1961, he scored his first goals for Italy, scoring two goals againstIsrael in a1962 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, which Italy won 4–2 away from home. He also scored a goal in the return leg on 4 November, in Turin. Following an argument with managerEdmondo Fabbri, he was left out of Italy's1962 FIFA World Cup squad, which was eliminated in the first round of the tournament. He returned to the starting line-up in 1964, and on 10 May, he scored his final goal for Italy in a 3–1 victory againstSwitzerland. He would also later be excluded from Italy's squad in their similarly disappointing1966 FIFA World Cup campaign, as well as Italy's victoriousUEFA Euro 1968 squad, which won the tournament on home soil. He was once again excluded from the Italian side that would reach the final of the1970 FIFA World Cup. Corso made his final appearance for Italy on 9 October 1971, in a 3–0 victory against Sweden. Along withGiuliano Sarti,Armando Picchi,Gianfranco Bedin, andAntonio Angelillo, he is one of the most successful Italian, Inter club players to have never been called up for a World Cup. Despite his exclusion from the national side, in 1967FIFA placed him in their All-Star team for an international friendly againstSpain, in honour of goalkeeperRicardo Zamora, winning the match 3–0.[1][3]
A predominantly left-footed player, Corso was noted for his consistency, intelligence, pace on the ball, and stamina as a winger, as well as being renowned for his accurate distribution,crossing ability, creativity, vision, and wide range of passing with his stronger foot, which made him an effectiveplaymaker. He was capable of playing both on the left and right flank, due to his ability to provide crosses from the touchline on the left wing, or cut into the middle to strike on goal from the right. An atypical winger, he was notorious for his lack of tactical discipline, and often played between the lines in more of a central, free role, as a sort ofattacking midfielder; because of this, he was capable of playing both as aforward and as amidfielder. Although he was not particularly quick footed, he was gifted with tenacity and a good physique, as well as class, outstanding technical ability, close control, flair, anddribbling skills. An accuratefree-kick taker, he was known in particular for his powerful,bendingknuckleball free-kicks and shots from distance. In spite of his ability, the journalistGianni Brera accused him of being inconsistent, lacking dynamism, and having a poor defensive work-rate, something which Corso himself denied, however; as a result, Brera gave Corso the nickname "past participle of the verb "to run"", a reference to his surname, as well as the fact that, according to Brera, Corso did not run a lot during matches, preferring to make the ball move.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Corso died on 19 June 2020, at the age of 78.[7]
Inter Milan[3]
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