Buenos Aires, 1981: Inter plays the first World Cup in history against Barcelona, Real Madrid and other big names and fields a boy who doesn’t make a mark, Ottolenghi. Everyone talks about it, but he is not the real Ottolenghi…
His name is Massimo Pellegrini, he’s fifteen and he has a problem. He is a year older than those foreseen by the regulations of the Under 14 Mundialito in Buenos Aires. We are in February 1981 and that tournament with the name that evokes South American novels – “Primer Campeonato Internacional de Fútbol Infantil Organizado por el Club Atlético River Plate” – has global resonance. According to the regulations, Pellegrini cannot play. But regulations are made to be dribbled. And in fact: don’t worry, they tell him before leaving for Argentina. And what’s the problem? We’ll think about it. They’ll take care of it.