SanLuca Pagliuca

Forza Bologna! magazine, 12/1999

We meet the goalkeeper at his'lair'on the Bologna hills.When you meet him, don't forget to put 'Sir' or 'Commodore' before 'Gianluca Pagliuca'. These are just two of the curious facts we learned when we visited the home of the awesome goalkeeper, a villa on the hills of Bologna. This place is absolutely indispensable in talking about Gianluca. In fact, his mother has made an artful collection of all newspaper clippings concerning Gianluca from the time he was 16 years old, displaying them like precious relics in a type of a museum, where you can look over his entire splendid career. I have no intention of talking about the past, Gianluca tells us while we walk through the hallways full of trophies, I intend to end my career at Bologna, playing at least four or five years at this level. It is a sort of a Christmas gift, or rather a millennial gift that I would like to be able to give to all the fans. He starts his story from the end, from his wishes for the future. But the interesting things he has to tell us concern the past. Starting with his arrival at Bologna:
-When all is said and done, Moratti behaved like a gentleman. The coach told him inequivocally: he did not want me at Inter. I still had a contract, and the only alternative I would accept was Bologna. I must say that many people urged me to find a more significant team, but for me there were no other possibilities. I wanted to come back to Bologna, otherwise I would have missed a year. As I said, the president of Inter, who could have sent me abroad, reaping a nice sum, agreed to my request and promptly made the deal with Gazzoni.
-And the motivation, still the same?
- When I first arrived, Buso and Cinquini gave me the ultimate compliment, telling me that after such a long career, they would not expect to see someone so charged.
-And the fans? The rapport was not immediately harmonious?
-In fact at Sestola I felt rather bad when one morning, during practice, a group of Ultras started throwing insults at me. At night the fans met with Buso and the following morning they came to visit me at the hotel. They told me about an episode that I really couldn't remember, that started their dislike for me, which continued growing. The meeting at Sestola, however, cleared all this up and I'm happy to have returned to their good graces.
Let's talk about something that has nothing to do with soccer: Pagliuca at home.
-I consider my house a kind of den. Since I'm always travelling, when I have a calm moment I stretch out on the sofa, turn on the stereo and the TV and cuddle with Tommy, my husky.
-What TV programs do you like the most?
-I watch a little of everything, from movies to sports, from newsmagazines to news reports. If I'm at home, I never miss ‘Verissimo', a program that I simply love. To keep my spirits up, I always watch 'Striscia la notizia' and 'Scherzi a parte'.
-How do you like your dog?
-He reminds me of the first years at Sampdoria. I remember that I got him in December of 1989, after practice at Savona. I had another dog before, which died, and as soon as I saw this one, I fell in love.
-You live at home with your mother, how do you get along?
-She is more than a mother, she is a real friend. She was separated when I was 17, and she has devoted her life to me. I like being with her, when I come home we spend a lot of time together. From here to Casteldebole, it's only about a 10 minute drive.
-What do you like the most about your house?
-From the time I bought it, in the early nineties, I have always seen it as a dream house. From spring to autumn, every day I get up and jump in the pool, and then lay out in the sun. I open my bedroom window and I see the green of the golf courses. I go downstairs, and I see all the trophies of my career. This place is priceless.
-Let's get into a more private sphere. You are one of the best-researched subjects of the gossip columns. Is it a choice or a necessity?
-A choice, of course. Also because I'm very seriously involved with Aurora, and so far I'm happy with the way things are. As soon as I decide it's the right moment to get married, I'll ask her, and I'm sure she will be happy. She is fantastic, and I must say that she has made a lot of sacrifices to stay with me, an effort that I appreciate very much.
-When you decide to take this important step, where do you think you're going to go to live?
-I think in a nice comfortable house in the center, leaving this villa for the week-end and vacation.
-Speaking about relaxing: what would be your ideal vacation?
-A maximum of 15 or 20 days, someplace not far from Italy. I hate flying, so I prefer countries that are nearby, like Greece or Spain. Once there, I'll spend at least five or six ours a day lying out in the sun, like a lizard. Then if I find someone to play with, I like to play mini-soccer or beach volley, but only after relaxing a good while.
-How did your life change when you came back to Bologna?
-Bologna is so different! Milan, even if I liked it, is a chaotic city. Since I've been here, I've forgotten not only its bad points, but even the good.
-But Milan is an important city, where you can meet many people.
-The most important person that I met was in Rome and it was the Pope. I have had the opportunity to meet him twice, and both times I felt very moved.
-Continuing the list of characters: let's talk about journalists.
-I've always had a great relationship with them. I've always made myself available. I won't deny that with some, I've had moments of tension, but nothing too important.
-And friends?
-I have few friends in the world of soccer. Besides, when you go to another team and don't see them anymore, it's difficult to maintain a friendship. My real friends are those whom I have known since the time I was a boy and with whom we still get together a couple of times a week, like Alessandro, Alfiero, Davide, Andrea, Marco and Ermanno. Before, the only day we could see each other was Monday, when I came home. Now things are easier and so our friendship has been revived.
-Between games, friends and your mother, there's no room for your girlfriend, is there?
-No, not quite like that, but as I said, she has made a lot of sacrifices. Besides, she lives in Mantua, where she works as a beautician, so it's not easy to see each other often.
While we're talking about all this, Maria Rosa comes home. She is like a volcano, you can tell that she has devoted her life to her son, she speaks of him with a pride only a mother could feel.'Look here', she sais, bending over infinite rows of boxes with newspaper clippings,'I have saved all the newspapers about Gianluca. This is a complete collection, from the beginning of his career until now'. She is the real queen of the house. She keeps it in the immaculate order in which we find it, and we're sure that one could not find a better manager. Gianluca also likes all the trophies in his cabinets, but, he says, -There is not a single one that I like more than others. Every time you get a prize or an honor, it is good. Besides, I'm not a fanatic, even if I like keeping them in a certain order.
-Gianluca, tell us something never before told about Pagliuca...
We tried, but he will not succumb to the provocation .
-You know, up until now the path of my life has been rather straight. From a professional perspective, the only new thing has been the last year with Inter, which was a complete disaster.
It's time to say goodbye. It is almost time for lunch and the afternoon practice. The parting joke is about the dream that Gianluca has already lived 39 times.
-Given your present physical condition and the not-so-great play by Buffon and Toldo, don't you think you could be in the European Cup next summer?
-Unfortunately, I think I'll have to plan myself a good vacation. That may be, but many people had prophecied a good vacation for Baggio before the World Cup of '98. You never know what the air of Bologna can do...

By Matteo Fogacci, Forza Bologna
Translated by Julia Tarasova