The final resting place and incredible legacy of Helenio Herrera…
Over recent months, I’ve been lucky enough to have been provided with some unique football snippets from the collection of legendary Celtic author and historian Pat Woods, some of which we have published as articles on The Celtic Star, so that they get the wider audience they deserve. The links are included throughout this article for those who haven’t seen these articles.
READ THIS…Matt Corr with Pat Woods: When Jock Stein met Helenio Herrera – The Invitation
That included a fascinating series of articles published in the Scottish Daily Express back in the winter of 1963, where young Dunfermline Athletic manager Jock Stein accepted an invitation to talk all things football with the man considered at that time as the world’s greatest coach, Inter Milan’s Helenio Herrera.
No-one could possibly have foreseen the events which would pan out in Lisbon less than four years later, as the two men fought for European football’s greatest prize in a match which will never be forgotten. The night the Lisbon Lions were born.
READ THIS…When Jock Stein met Helenio Herrera. Part Two: The Meeting
What a lovely surprise this morning to receive some photographs from The Celtic Star Editor which show the final resting place of the great Herrera, on San Michele, an island near Venice. These were shown on the Facebook page of Celtic supporter Lawrence Monaghan, who was visiting the area.
“On the way back from Murano we stopped off for a look around the beautiful cemetery on the island of San Michele in Venice. It is the final resting place of several famous people, such as Stravinsky but I was drawn to a quiet corner where are the remains of the legendary Argentinian football coach Helenio Herrera .“Among his great successes were the back-to-back European Cups in 64-65. He was gracious in defeat to my team, Celtic in the 1967 final in Lisbon. It is good to see he is fondly remembered by Inter Milan supporters. I like how in his funeral urn they have added the handles of the famous cup, as it was pre-67. Respect and RIP,” Lawrence Monaghan
Lawrence posted supporting images showing the plaque illustrating Herrera’s incredible record of service across several countries, a lovely dedication from Inter supporters and what might be a funeral urn reconfigured to look like the original European Cup, won, of course, by Herrera’s ‘Grande Inter’ in both 1964 and 1965.
READ THIS…When Jock Stein met Helenio Herrera – Meanwhile, Back in Scotland
They added the World Club Championship in both of those seasons also, which must have been of great satisfaction to their Argentinian-born manager. Their efforts to add a third – and brand new – European Cup were of course thwarted by Jock Stein’s wonderful team in Lisbon in 1967, and it would be 2010, ironically under the guidance of a Portuguese coach – Jose Mourinho – before they would add the trophy we recognise today as the European Cup or Champions League to their collection.
READ THIS…When Jock Stein met Helenio Herrera – How our protagonists fared, Willie Waddell
The beautiful headstone is engraved with the landmarks of Helenio’s life, from his birth in Buenos Aires on 10 April 1910 to his death in Venice on 9 November 1997, aged 87.
Herrera’s family moved to Casablanca, Morocco when he was 10 years old, and it would be in that city he would begin a football career which took him to France, Spain, Portugal and Italy. The headstone lists those clubs and countries for which he played or coached as follows.
Casablanca Roches Noires
Racing Paris Club Francais
Stade Francais
Red Star
Olympique Charleville
Roubaix
Valladolid
Malaga
La Coruna
Atletico Madrid
Sevilla
Belenenses Lisbon
Barcelona
Inter Milan
AS Roma
Rimini
National teams of France, Italy and Spain
READ THIS…When Stein met Herrera – How our protagonists fared, Helenio Herrera
Quite an impressive collection and legacy that is, but what immediately caught my eye was a tribute which would appear to have been added just a few years ago, together with scarves in the distinctive nerazzurri colours of Inter.
READ THIS…When Stein met Herrera – How our protagonists fared, Jock Stein
The message is written, of course, in Italian, and translates as follows. You may be aware that Herrera was known as Il Mago, the Magician or Wizard.
Hi Magician,
Thanks for making us great.
Our gratitude is immense.
Thanks to you, Inter will be great forever.
Thanks very much for sharing those images, Lawrence. I’m sure Pat will love those.
Hail Hail!
Matt Corr
Follow Matt on Twitter/X @Boola_vogue
