Goodbye Schnellinger, AC Milan panzer

Karl-Heinz Schnellinger has passed away, one of the interpreters of Italiagermaniaquattroatre, the match of the century that still excites us, the one delivered in one breath. He was 85 years old and had been ill for some time, he had been a solid full-back, he came to Italy to play for Roma and remained there until the last of his days: the Giallorossi took him over at the age of 24 in 1963 at Cologne, where he had won the championship , and then loaned to Mantua, they took him back for a season and then sold him to Milan where, in nine seasons, he wrote the best pages: a scudetto, three Italian Cups – one he had lifted in the capital -, two Cups of the Cups, a Champions Cup and an Intercontinental. They called him Panzer or Volkswagen for his sturdiness and reliability, he hardly abandoned the defensive line, that’s what Nereo Rocco wanted and he respected his orders. In eleven Italian seasons he prevented many goals – the tackle was his best weapon – and scored just 7, in the national team he celebrated once in 47 matches, in the match of the century: without his equalizer in the 90th minute, after Boninsegna’s opener, Italiagermaniaquattroatre would never have existed.