Ferruccio grew up in Internazionale youth team (1963–64); at the time, his older brother, Sandro, was playing in the senior side under legendary manager Helenio Herrera, which, due to its success, has come to be known as La Grande Inter.

He played for long periods with Venezia (1965–67), following his father's footsteps, and also Lazio (1968–74), where he won an Italian Championship during the 1973–74 season, also captaining the squad for a time.

[3] Despite being a talented young footballer, he had a difficult career, partially due to his strong character, and was unable to achieve the success of his father and older brother.

[5] In 2004, in a book (Il terzo incomodo[1][5][6]) and in an interview with L'espresso[7] Mazzola spoke out against the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport made by Internazionale, Lazio and Fiorentina during the 1960s and the 1970s.

[12][13] Luna Herrera, Helenio's daughter, pointed out that her father was a committed health enthusiast, and that he would only give his players cachets of acetylsalicylic acid, which were taken with coffee as stimulants.