Gazzetta Dello Sport, 04/11/2000
On Saturday Bologna's goalkeeper will play his 400th
game in Serie A : "My dream is to finish second only to Zoff."

It will be a special day tomorrow, for Bologna and for Gianluca Pagliuca. Guidolin’s team comes to Olimpico to play against the Italian champions, looking for another win to cement this auspicious beginning, while the goalkeeper marks his 400th game in Serie A. -I have always thought, even in the difficult moments, that our management has got together a good group,- says the goalkeeper, formerly of Inter,- So I am not surprised by our place in the standings and by this good stretch. Besides, it is almost natural that we, Udinese and Atalanta are the heroes of the moment. The big teams are always having problems at the outset and trying to find their distinctive touch, but with time they'll come about.

Pagliuca thanks his teammates for the fact that only four balls have gotten past him this season.
-The fact that I have not been beat many times is due to the defense, which has worked on the mechanics and the timing and has been good. But the reality check will take place now that we are starting to play with the big teams. The triumvirate of Lazio, Parma and Fiorentina is next, which will give us a better idea of our consistency in defense. Against Lazio, Bologna does not intend to choke its own game and wait for the adversary's moves.

-We cannot go against Eriksson's team trusting solely in our defense, it would be a suicide to come to Olimpico expecting a scoreless draw. Back when we played against Milan I said that in order to win against one of the "seven sisters " it is necessary to score at least one goal. We have shown that we are capable in attack, and in this game we need to be on the offensive as well.

Then it is time to speak of himself and of this goal that will put him among the keepers with the record of most games in the history of Italian soccer:

-Four hundred games in the top league are a lot, but I don't intend to stop here. I do not feel like I have "arrived" yet, otherwise I would be at Coverciano taking the courses in coaching like Mancini, who is only a couple of years older than me. For me, it is rather a stage in reaching the final goal which is even bigger. Since Signori is looking forward to his 200th goal in three years, I want to reach my 500th game. It would be nice if we could reach our goals together, still playing at Bologna. I will need two more seasons after this one, so just like Beppe I would have to extend my contract by another year - watch, another similarity between us. My dream, in essence is to finish right behind Zoff in the record book of all times, outdoing other famous keepers with long careers, like Giovanni Galli. It's too bad for Coppola, he will have to be happy with bits and pieces for now.

Translated by Julia Tarasova.