Long and touching letter from Luigi Martini to Mario Frustalupi. The former full-back of Lazio Italian champion of 1974 wrote to his partner in that historic feat, who died in 1990. In particular he told him the emotions experienced during the Olimpico festival before the match against Empoli and recalled some anecdotes experienced together by footballers. Below is the text.
“Dear Mario but where are you? Here there was a great celebration for the anniversary of the victory of the first championship, a victory of which you are the main architect but as usual you stay aside, always in the second row, discreet and reserved. When tension rose between the two changing rooms you were already on the pitch and when, during the famous matches between us, the brawl began you were already in the shower. I know Mario, you didn’t need to participate in that collective madness which was ultimately about Chinaglia and Wilson against Martini and Re Cecconi. You didn’t understand why risk your legs. I remember one day, after particularly violent clashes, you asked me why all this, for what? There’s no point in arriving on Sunday to play the match against real opponents with legs injured by teammates, there’s no reason you told me.
Dear Mario, at the time I didn’t have an answer to give you, I didn’t really understand why I was doing it, I felt that it had to be done, that I shouldn’t give up, I felt that it was my revenge against a past world that I no longer wanted. You know Mario, only when the Maestro left did I understand that Giorgio was fighting for the same reason. Without his guidance anymore Giorgio showed his suffering and I understood that he was fighting not against me but against what he didn’t want to return. Dear Mario, you were the first to understand that without the Maestro everything would have ended and you left one day without telling anyone. So I couldn’t give you an answer, but it doesn’t matter, also because you were right then, but only then it didn’t make sense!!”
