Pagliuca back at Bologna: "I'm here to win again"

Gazzetta dello Sport 06/07/1999

"I still consider myself one of the best Italian goalkeepers and I will
try to prove it with this team, which could turn out to be the outsider
of the season. At Inter I learned that you go for the results working in
silence."

From our correspondent Silvano Stella :

CASTELDEBOLE - The joy of finally being able to show off his talents
in his hometown. The poignancy of returning to a club that he had barely
come to know many years ago when he was discovered and taught by
Piero Battara. The melancholy feeling of having lost a spot on the
national team after the last World Cup in France. The bitterness
over the way in which Inter had "unloaded" him. The irony of the situation
spurring him to show that he is not yet in the sunset years of his
career. All understandable and legitimate feelings that Gianluca
Pagliuca explains on a hot (38 degrees C) Monday morning upon his return to
Casteldebole, after 13 long years, his mother Mariarosa and girlfriend
Aurora both present at the press conference.
«A Pisa la torre, a Venezia il mare e a Bologna Pagliuca per sognare».
("Pisa has the tower, Venice has the sea, Bologna has Pagliuca, our hope,
our dream") says the long banner put up by fans at the entrance to
Casteldebole. Gianluca considers it a good sign, especially because during
his appearances in Bologna as part of Inter he was often picked on by
the ultras fans.
"I swear that I didn't hang it myself, and I didn't even pay those who
put it up. Jokes aside, this is a very nice sign. Five years ago, when I
landed at Inter, it wasn't all roses either: the fans were faithful to
Walter Zenga. Now I have to take the place of Francesco Antonioli, who
left behind great memories which are a tricky inheritance. But I'm
not worried. First of all, because I'm returning to
my city very motivated inwardly: I have already won some things, and I
intend to continue winning. Second, because I don't consider Bologna the
gilded paradise of my career's epilogue. Third, because
I still consider myself one of the best keepers in Italy, even if Buffon
stays tops in the national team for the next ten years. Fourth, because
I will have a way to make myself noticed on the international scene, in
the UEFA Cup."
Gianluca has been a fan of Bologna since his elementary school days at
Casalecchio. This return to his roots is like a dream coming true: "Even
when I was at Samp or Inter, I had always hoped to play for Bologna one
day. If I must be sincere, however, I will say that I did not think the
opportunity would come so soon. Judging from the testimonies of
trust and affection that I have received over these days, I believe I
have made the right choice. Inter and Moratti have behaved in a gentlemanly
way.
Certainly, it affects me to think that 90 billion lira was paid for Vieri
while I was given away at zero cost. Here you see the extremes.
But you have to consider the different times and situations.
Five years ago, I cost a whole lot. Vieri is the present, which Inter
wanted to get at any cost. If I were his age, my transfer card would
also be valued a lot higher."
No hard feelings for Inter: "I was not happy to be leaving Inter after
the last, torturous season. We are all guilty of having given very
little and missed every objective of the season. However, I wish my
former team a good championship."
But what can you prove playing for a team that does not aim at the
scudetto? Pagliuca has already gotten accustomed to the new dimension:
"You go for the results working in silence, and not waving your presumed
strength about like a banner. The experience of Inter teaches a lot:
when it seemed to be poised to win everything, it did not win a thing.
In the scale of the championship you have at least five teams,
Milan, Lazio, Parma, Juve and Inter, which are superior to others.
Bologna is the classic outsider, which, depending on the situation, can
do all or nothing. Personally I still think that it has one of the most
robust and best organized defensive lines in the championship. And in
the midfield Ingesson, Marocchi and Ze Elias have good technical and
competitive qualities. In the front, Ventola represents the certainty
of the immediate future, and Signori allows me to sleep better now, because
I won't have him as an opponent anymore, and he won't score on me again.
So we're a sixth-seventh place team."

Translated by Julia Tarasova.