Italian football lost one of its most popular figures on Saturday after Carlo Mazzone died aged 86.

Matches across Italy will begin with a minute’s silence this weekend in honour of the former Roma, Napoli and Brescia manager.

“We say goodbye to a true icon of Italian football,” said Italian football federation president Gabriele Gravina.

After finishing an unglamourous playing career in the late 1960s Mazzone managed a record 792 matches in Serie A over nearly four decades, taking charge of 15 clubs and never winning a single major trophy.

But despite his lack of silverware Mazzone was a well-respected coach who had a larger-than-life presence in the dugout.

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