[3][4] Under new coach Emiliano Mondonico and the transfer outlay by owner Gian Mauro Borsano to acquire Rafael Martín Vázquez to compliment a team containing Lentini and other academy products Luca Marchegiani and Giorgio Bresciani, Torino won the Mitropa Cup in 1991 and finished in fifth place.
[5] In the following year, following the arrivals of Enzo Scifo and Walter Casagrande, Torino reached the 1992 UEFA Cup Final (with Lentini integral in the semi-final second leg victory over Real Madrid) and finish in third-place in Serie A;[6] he also extended his contract until June 1995.
[5] Lentini (whose car suffered a puncture that was replaced by a service station attendant with skinnier wheel not able to exceed 50 mph) was dragged from the wreckage seconds before it caught fire and was placed in an induced coma for two days;[5] he fractured his skull and damaged an eye socket.
[6] Lentini initially made two appearances with the Italy national under-21 football team between 1987 and 1990, making his debut on 29 November 1989; he was a member of the squad that reached the semi-finals of the 1990 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, under manager Cesare Maldini, eventually finishing the tournament in third place.
Whilst at Torino, he gained his first senior cap for the Italy national football team, in an international friendly in Terni against Belgium on 13 February 1991, which ended in a 0–0 draw.
He later become a regular member of Arrigo Sacchi's Italy side during the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, although he would miss out on the final tournament due to his inconsistent performances following his serious car crash in August 1993.