Herrera's Coffee, in English.
Helenio Herrera(H.H) is renowned for
many, many things – For leading Internazionale to consecutive
European Cup glory in 1964 and 65, for making 'catenaccio' a
part of every football aficionado’s vocabulary, for imposing
totalitarian methods on players' lives and introducing an
ultra-strict regime for improving fitness and psychology, for turning
Inter into 'La Grande Inter'. But there's is a little extra to
Herrera than what made him a top-class manager, who changed the way
everyone looked at a coach.
His Coffee. Yes. Coffee.
The Argentine born coach was known for
pushing his players to the limit, so much so that some players were
pushed to train till death, but would he do anything for a win? He
apparently did. Herrera was known to give his players a
pill(anphetamines) that apparently worked as a performance enhancer.
Anphetamine according to Wikipedia is a
psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class that produces
increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue
and appetite which answers why Herrera was apparently so keen on his
players consuming it.
What started as a pill soon turned into
a solute because the players used to spit out the drug when the
manager was not looking. Once Herrera figured out that his pills
were, literally, going down the drain he came up with another
formula, one which was fool proof – Coffee with the pill dissolved
in it.
Ferruccio Mazzola brother of the
legendary Sandro Mazzola, who was synonymous with La
Grande Inter, wrote
a book in 2004 highlighting Herrera's use of performance enhancing
drugs. The former Inter man also said in an interview the same year
that Herrera had his players place pills under their tongue. He went
on to add that the pills were first tried on the reserves and then
the main players.
Ferruccio believed there was Anphetamine inside those pills and once
even suffered '3 days and nights in a state of complete
hallucinations, just like an epileptic' after consuming Herrera's
coffee. Even though his brother Sandro has denied the allegations,
Ferruccio has always struck to his claims saying his brother
preferred to not wash dirty linen in public while he liked to speak
out especially for the number of players who have died or are
suffering due to Herrera's coffee. Some of Ferrucio's claims seem to
be true considering that Anphetamine can trigger side effects like
hallucinations.
According
to Ferruccio, Armando Picchi (who died aged 36 due to a cancer),
Marcello Giusti (who died of brain cancer in the 90's), Carlo Tagnin
(who died in 2000), Mauro Bicicli and Ferdinando Miniussi (who died
in 2001 and 2002 respectively) and Enea Masiero and Pino Longoni (who
are undergoing treatment)
all
suffered due to the continued consumption of the drug. We might never
know if the drug was the real cause of the death.
Picchi
and Tagnin never featured regularly in Herrera's first team plans but
Ferruccio believed that was what made them more vulnerable. The
younger Mazzola said that reserve team players were often used as
Guinea pigs, with the coffee being tested on them before being given
to the regulars. H.H, allegedly, had also tried to entice his players
at Barcelona to take the pills but was kicked out of the club after
László Kubala, their star player, refused to take them.
il
Mago (the Wizard) as
Hererra was called won a total of 7 trophies with the Nerrazuri,
including back-to-back European Cups... but it still leaves one
wondering how many of these would have been possible without the
infamous drink. The entire Ferruccio interview could also be looked
upon as a selling point for his autobiography that was released the
same year or as a way to get back to the club that gave him nothing
but his brother, god-like status. But then again, when Inter sued
Ferriccio for trying to defame his old club the former Inter man won
the the legal case in 2010, adding more authenticity to his claims.
Ferruccio himself says it was not his intention to seek publicity for
his book by bringing up details of Hererro's coffee as he could have
chosen more interesting and controversial topics like match-fixing
and bribing the referees, opening a new can of worms.
H.H
was one of the greatest managers the game has ever seen and if it
wasn't for him the likes of Jose Mourinho would have been viewed and
judged from a completely different angle. He made the Nerazzuri one
of the greatest teams of that era and deserves all the kudos for the
same. If he did it by working them to death(Giuliano Taccola) or by
drugging them may never be known, but Il
Caffè Herrera is
a part of footballing folklore that will live on for ever – fact or
fiction.
This article is not to project Herrera
in bad light, that is for you to decide. It is also not a piece that
aims to take away anything from the legendary manager. If Herrera had
the access to and could get away with giving his team Anphetamine, so
could every other club or country in top flight football.
Il Caffè Herrera, it is just a
little something everyone ought to know.
If you are not tired of reading yet,
here is the full Ferruccio Mazzola interview:
Q: What are you referring to Mr
Mazzola?
Ferruccio Mazzola: Even if just a bench player, I was part of that Inter too. I've seen with my eyes how player were treated. I saw Helenio Herrera providing pills that were to be placed under our tongues. He used to experiment on us bench players only to later give them to the first team players. Some of us would eventually spit them. It was my brother Sandro that suggested me that if I had no intention of taking them, to just run to the toilette and spit them. Eventually Herrera found out and decided to dilute them in coffee. From that day on "Il Caffè Herrera" became a habit at Inter.
Q: What was inside those pills:
A: Don't know for sure but I believe anphetamins. Once, after a Caffè Herrera, it was prior to a Como vs Inter (1967), I suffered 3 days and nights in a state of complete allucinations, just like an epilletic. Nowdays, everybody denies, even Sandro......
Q: Your brother?
A: Yes Sandro and I, since I decided to speak out, simply don't talk to eachother. He says that dirty laudry should be washed at home, on the contrarary, I believe that it's right to speak out, above all for a number of my former teamates, a number of which are either very sick or dead.
Q: To whom are you referring too:
A: The first was Armando Picchi, captain of the team, that died aged 36 due to a cancer. Then came Marcello Giusti, a reserve player, that died for a brain cancer during the 90's. Carlo Tagnin, a great player that would never refuse a pill, since he wanted to further his career as long as possible, he died in year 2000.
Mauro Bicicli and Ferdinando Miniussi have left us respectively in 2001 and 2002. Enea Masiero, with Inter from 1955 to 1964, is undertaking chemotherapy, whilst Pino Longoni is on a wheel chair.
Q: But for Picchi and Tagnin, all the other players are not that famous.
A: That's cause us bench players would take more of those damned white pills, were treated as cavies. I talked about all this in my autobiography ('Il terzo incomodo', scritto con Fabrizio Càlzia, Bradipolibri 2004), that eventually lead to the opening of athe Rome trail.
Q: Why?
A: Cause after the book was published, I was sued by Inter President Mr Facchetti. They want to go in front of a jury? Very well, the 19th of November, their will be a 2nd hearing. All the players of that team, I mean all the players that are still alive, have a choice to testify. I just want to see if they won't have the courage to say the truth under oath.
Q: Weren't you once friends with Facchetti?
A: Yes, let's just leave Facchetti out of this, I'd have to mention heavy stuff.
Q: Do you think that after the trial we will have another kind of image upon that winning Inter?
A: Frankly, I don't know and I'm not interested. If I wanted to cause real damage to Inter, within the book, I could have added a number of other episodes. I could have added details about fixed matches and bribed referees, especially in Cup ties. Never mind
Ferruccio Mazzola: Even if just a bench player, I was part of that Inter too. I've seen with my eyes how player were treated. I saw Helenio Herrera providing pills that were to be placed under our tongues. He used to experiment on us bench players only to later give them to the first team players. Some of us would eventually spit them. It was my brother Sandro that suggested me that if I had no intention of taking them, to just run to the toilette and spit them. Eventually Herrera found out and decided to dilute them in coffee. From that day on "Il Caffè Herrera" became a habit at Inter.
Q: What was inside those pills:
A: Don't know for sure but I believe anphetamins. Once, after a Caffè Herrera, it was prior to a Como vs Inter (1967), I suffered 3 days and nights in a state of complete allucinations, just like an epilletic. Nowdays, everybody denies, even Sandro......
Q: Your brother?
A: Yes Sandro and I, since I decided to speak out, simply don't talk to eachother. He says that dirty laudry should be washed at home, on the contrarary, I believe that it's right to speak out, above all for a number of my former teamates, a number of which are either very sick or dead.
Q: To whom are you referring too:
A: The first was Armando Picchi, captain of the team, that died aged 36 due to a cancer. Then came Marcello Giusti, a reserve player, that died for a brain cancer during the 90's. Carlo Tagnin, a great player that would never refuse a pill, since he wanted to further his career as long as possible, he died in year 2000.
Mauro Bicicli and Ferdinando Miniussi have left us respectively in 2001 and 2002. Enea Masiero, with Inter from 1955 to 1964, is undertaking chemotherapy, whilst Pino Longoni is on a wheel chair.
Q: But for Picchi and Tagnin, all the other players are not that famous.
A: That's cause us bench players would take more of those damned white pills, were treated as cavies. I talked about all this in my autobiography ('Il terzo incomodo', scritto con Fabrizio Càlzia, Bradipolibri 2004), that eventually lead to the opening of athe Rome trail.
Q: Why?
A: Cause after the book was published, I was sued by Inter President Mr Facchetti. They want to go in front of a jury? Very well, the 19th of November, their will be a 2nd hearing. All the players of that team, I mean all the players that are still alive, have a choice to testify. I just want to see if they won't have the courage to say the truth under oath.
Q: Weren't you once friends with Facchetti?
A: Yes, let's just leave Facchetti out of this, I'd have to mention heavy stuff.
Q: Do you think that after the trial we will have another kind of image upon that winning Inter?
A: Frankly, I don't know and I'm not interested. If I wanted to cause real damage to Inter, within the book, I could have added a number of other episodes. I could have added details about fixed matches and bribed referees, especially in Cup ties. Never mind
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