Paolo Mazza was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 football manager

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

. He was co-manager of the Italy national football team

Italy national football team

The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

 at the 1962 FIFA World Cup

1962 FIFA World Cup

The 1962 FIFA World Cup, the seventh staging of the World Cup, was held in Chile from 30 May to 17 June. It was won by Brazil, who retained the championship by beating Czechoslovakia 3–1 in the final...

, together with Giovanni Ferrari

Giovanni Ferrari

Giovanni Ferrari was an Italian football player. He played 125 times for Juventus F.C and scored 35 goals for the club...

.

Mazza career as a footballer was served entirely in the lower divisions, he became first manager and then sporting director of SPAL, the main club in Ferrara

Ferrara

Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...

.

In 1946, he became President of the club and pioneered the idea of training centres at youth level, opening the Centro Giovanile di Addestramento. Nicknamed Il Rabdomante (the Diviner) by journalist Gianni Brera

Gianni Brera

Giovanni Luigi "Gianni" Brera was an Italian sports journalist and novelist.-Biography:Brera was born in San Zenone al Po, near Pavia, the son of Carlo, a tailor, and Marietta Ghisoni...

 due to his skill for talent-spotting, he helped SPAL reach Serie A

Serie A

Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

, well above the level expected from such a small club.

In 1962, despite being out of management and coaching for nearly 25 years, the Italian FA asked him to act as Assistant Manager of the 1962 World Cup squad in Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

. Italy was knocked out at the first round stage. However, just a few days after his return, he made one of his most notable signings when picking up Fabio Capello

Fabio Capello

Fabio Capello is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the manager of the England national football team.Capello has the distinction of winning the domestic league title with every club he has coached throughout his career...

 from Pieris

Pieris

Pieris can refer to:Organisms* Pieris is the andromeda or fetterbush genus in the plant family Ericaceae* Pieris , described by Franz Paula von Schrank in 1801, is the garden white genus in the butterfly family Pieridae...

for two million Lira (around £500).