Giacinto and Armando

Giacinto Facchetti was born in Treviglio, in the so-called working class Lombardy, on 18 July 1942. At that time over in Livorno, Armando Picchi had just turned seven years old a month earlier. Obviously neither of them knew what fate would have in store for them.

Football for the Nerazzurri was the common denominator: they became two Inter icons who played together and reached the top of the world as part of the side everyone knows as “La Grande Inter”.

Picchi the captain, Facchetti the goalscoring defender. People say Armando was like a proper coach on the pitch, occasionally to the detriment of Helenio “Il Mago” Herrera’s instructions.

We know all about Giacinto, how he used to power forward towards the opposition goal, revolutionising his position. He would never have knowingly done anything to the detriment of “Il Mago”, in fact HH’s exercise books ended up in his possession.

Armando passed away very young in 1971. It was 27 May, when Scudettos and trophies were being won, and the Nerazzurri world was left incredulous by the news. Giacinto was there, he was still playing, and he even won the Scudetto. He’d play on for another seven years, before becoming a director and finally president. He died in 2006. Two unforgettable legends.