PINZOLO – "I was from Tuscany like him and, although I was younger and still in the Primavera side, Armando wanted to meet me straight away. He was an example to the whole team and he inspired his team-mates on the pitch with his intelligence and his leadership skills." On the stage at the PalaDolomiti in Pinzolo, Mauro Bellugi, one of the youngest players in the squad when Inter conquered Europe and the world in the 1960s, spoke about Armando Picchi on a special evening dedicated entirely to the Nerazzurri captain of the Great Inter side, 40 years after his passing. With Roberto Scarpini as the host, Pierluigi Arcidiacono, author of the book Armando Picchi - Un nome già scritto Lassù (Armando Picchi – a name already written Above, available from www.ilmelograno.net), and Massimo Ferrari, director of the docu-film Armando Picchi – Diario di bordo del Capitano (Armando Picchi – Captain's Log, on sale with Corriere dello Sport from 11 June), described what led them to study, become passionate about and then love all that Picchi represents.
Ferrari explained that "the documentary is the story of the sporting and human path taken by the Inter champion, told through the testimonies of Corso, Suarez, Mazzola, other Great Inter players but also ordinary people from his home town Livorno who knew or played against Picchi on the small football pitches at Bagni Fiume. It's a story of an intense life," concluded Ferrari, "that president Massimo Moratti summed up in the best possible way when he said that 'we are honoured to have had him as our captain, as our leader, because his values represent those of Inter.'"
Arcidiacono continued: "This is a book that wrote itself. The only thing that I added, being a devout Catholic, is the spirit of the Gospel, but Picchi was himself testimony of how that spirit can be integrated with everyday life. It is also a book written by Inter, and thanks to everyone's contribution: from president Massimo Moratti to the young lad who took the envelope with a copy of the book to the Picchi family, who provided me with pages and pages of diaries, letters and photos of Armando. Thanks everyone."
