This is a tribute to Mario Ferrero, reflecting on his time as a valued teammate. Felice Borel, writing in “Hurrà Juventus” in May 1964, added his heartfelt personal memories to the official commemoration. His recollection of Ferrero is part of a flood of wonderful memories from the most unforgettable period of his playing career – an era when great champions played beautiful football and made Juventus truly great.
Borel remembers Ferrero with touching fondness, seeing him as a strong and loyal athlete, an intelligent player who consistently performed at a high level. But above all, he remembers and will always remember him with affectionate esteem for his serious and modest temperament. These fundamental virtues always earn the “truly best” a spontaneous and lasting current of sympathy and admiration.
Ferrero was a remarkable “reserve” for champions who achieved greater fame in Italian and even world football history. However, for those like Borel who knew and appreciated him closely, he remains etched in memory as a figure of an athlete and a man worthy of deep, convinced, and ever-present esteem.
Summarizing the competitive activity of Mario Ferrero, the strong athlete from 1924-1934, is not an easy task. Perhaps it is better that way, as Ferrero was a sober player of few words and would never have wanted unnecessary rhetorical phrases spent on him. A true Turin native, born in 1903, he dedicated himself to football from a very young age immediately after the First World War. He quickly established himself as a valuable player for Pastore, a now-defunct Turin team that participated in Serie A in the first post-war championship of 1919-20, won by Internazionale. Ferrero joined Juventus at the start of the 1925-26 season.
Initially playing as a center-forward and inside-left for a significant period, Ferrero was a reliable attacking player. He first became an Italian champion with Juventus in 1925-26, as part of the team featuring Combi, Rosetta, Allemandi, Barale, Meneghetti, Viola, Munerati, Vojak, Hirzer, and Torriani.
A disciplined player with constant performance, he eventually established himself as an ambidextrous full-back. For six years, he served as the consistent reserve for Rosetta and Caligaris – a reserve who, whenever called upon, never made the absence of the great starters regretted. He excelled in aerial duels with formidable jumping ability, and technically benefited from having been an attacker in his youth. His play was always measured and effective, though perhaps less flashy or spectacular, and he avoided reckless challenges.
During the “Quinquennio” (the five-year period of dominance) from 1930 to 1934, Mario Ferrero made 35 first-team appearances across four championship seasons, winning four Scudetti. His appearances in the championship-winning Juventus teams were: 6 appearances in 1930-31 (replacing Rosetta); 21 appearances in 1931-32 (20 for Caligaris, 1 for Rosetta); 5 appearances in 1932-33 (2 for Caligaris, 3 for Rosetta); and 3 appearances in 1933-34. Clearly, Mario Ferrero was the “luxury reserve” for the national team pairing of Rosetta and Caligaris. Had he chosen to change clubs, he could have become a starter in any national team.
Only at the end of his career, in the 1934-35 season, did he decide to transfer to Sampierdarenese. Mario Ferrero will be remembered fondly by all Juventini as a taciturn and sober athlete. A serious professional who made his mark on his era.