Go ahead and judge him as the mood takes you. Clown and genius, buffoon and ascetic, rogue and model father, sultan and faithful husband, swaggering fool and quiet achiever, delinquent and competent, megalomaniac and health fanatic. Herrera is all of the above and more, as we perhaps all are at some point. I met a wizard and discovered a child, following him – with you – across seas and continents. In all honesty, I have no idea how he managed to show you all his faces, all his sides. The main thing for me is he is never fake, even when he forces himself. Helenio Herrera is always real, if not always to our liking.

So here’s the thing: who is the real HH??

Gianni Brera, from Herrera, Longanesi 1966