Pagliuca: SanLuca stops time

"Stadio", 18.05.2001.
Interviewer: Claudio Beneforti
- Pagliuca, Juventus is next. Some say that this is the team you would most like to beat.
- No, that's not entirely true, my great adversary has always been Milan. And not just because I played at Inter for five years. When I was little, all my friends were Milan fans, I was the only one who loved Bologna. You can imagine how often they teased me about that. However, after what happened that year, have a grudge against Juve: I wouldn't forget even in three lifetimes that they stole the championship from me and Inter.
- And to think that it could have been your team.
- That's true. When I was at Sampdoria, for a while there was talk of swapping me for Tacconi, but in the end it didn't happen.
- You have never beaten Juventus with Bologna, and it doesn't look like it will happen this time.
- Who can say that for sure? We've always played pretty well against the big teams. There is an explanation: like many other teams, Bologna is better at following someone else's lead, at coming back, rather than making their own game. Juve wants to win, and they must win, but we cannot lose. We should be prepared to die just to spoil their Sunday.
- Who are you afraid of more: Zidane or Del Piero?
- Right now Zidane seems more dangerous to me. When he is in good shape, you can't take any chances against him, even on the shots from far out.
- Zidane invents and creates, Van der Sar destroys his work.
- Let's not exaggerate, that's not right, that's not true. Van der Sar is a good goalkeeper. It's true, he hasn't had a very good season, but he's also been blamed for far too much.
- How long can you stiill hope to reach the European competitions?
- We have a good chance, we believe in ourselves. It's important to get the points every Sunday, starting with the game against Juventus. We are in fine shape physically, we could get the 7-8 points that separate us from the UEFA Cup.
- Bologna is a victim of things that have not happened: look at the passport scandal.
- We've known that for a while and for now we have to accept the rules of this game. Gazzoni is right when he says that if Bologna were caught in a similar situation, a lot of points would come off. But I continue to believe in justice in the sport and I'm sure that something will happen before the end of the championship.
- How much has Bologna grown in the past year?
- We now have 7 more points than last year at this time, and the numbers always tell the story. We have become more of a Guidolin team, now we play more the way he wants us to. If we leave out the black month of December, we haven't made errors in many games, we have been more continuous. And you have to remember that we were a new team, that we didn't know each other.
- You and Bologna: you were like smoke in the eyes of the people here, now everyone calls you SanLuca.
- Do you remember what I said the day I came here? I said that I wanted to become a prophet in my own land. And that's how it has been. I have gained the fans' trust with hard work, with professionalism. I did pretty well last year, and I think I did even better this season.
- Gianluca Pagliuca, professional goalkeeper.
- Of course, I'm partial, but I think it's the most fascinating position, a place that gives you great joys and great regrets. For better or worse, the goalkeeper always plays an important role. It has changed so much as time went on, at first it was enough to know how to catch the ball, now it's essential to play well with your feet, too, to see the game well. Today's goalkeeper is a player in all ways. Do you remember how it was in the times when Zoff was playing? The goalkeeper could take the ball, bounce it on the ground, pick it up again. You can't do that anymore. I have played with the old rules as well as with the new, and I felt fine then as I do now. There is a different problem: every Sunday we go at it with a different ball. Play Fiorentina and they have one type of ball, go to Milan and they have a different one, and here at Bologna we have our own type, too. If it were up to me, I would make them play all the games with the same type of ball, like they do at the European Championships, or at the World Cup. Many of the goalkeepers' mistakes are due to that: there are balls that change their trajectory, ones that come straight at you, ones that go fast and ones that just crawl. So you don't know anymore what's happening, every Sunday it's different.
- When did you decide to become a goalkeeper?
- When I was little, I couldn't decide, sometimes I played in goal, sometimes in midfield, sometimes in attack. It depended on the team we played that day. Then one day I decided that my life was between the posts. And I'm still happy with that choice.
- Cosmi has said that goalkeepers are all crazy.
- I have heard his words, and I think he was just joking. To tell you the truth, when I was younger, perhaps I was crazy, too, but I have changed a lot with the years. Really, many coaches like to make fun of the goalkeepers. I remember that Ancelotti, in his time with the national team, laughed at me and Marchegiani saying that we looked like two policemen.
- Buffon and Toldo are the hottest names in the market.
- Five, six years ago my name was in all the deals. On the one hand, it's nice when everybody wants you, but on the other hand the insecurity can be tiring. When you don't know where you future is, it can have a negative impact on you.
- How far is Pagliuca today from Buffon and Toldo.
- I wouldn't trade places with anyone, the only thing that stops me now is age. At the moment, my first objective is to get into the UEFA Cup, the second - to do well next season. One thing is certain: I'm sure that I can play at a certain level another 2, 3 years.
- As long as Moratti pays part of your salary, it's not a problem, but you will have to reduce it eventually to stay at Bologna.
- Obviously. And I'm ready.
- Is it true that Vialli has asked you recently to join him in England?
- Yes, but I told him that my intention was to finish my career in Italy and if possible at Bologna. But of course I'll have to rethink this if they don't want me here.
- How important is it for a goalkeeper to have big hands?
- My hands are small, probably have always been the smallest in Serie A, and I think I've had a very good career. You don't need hands the size of tennis racquets, it's important to have hands that are intelligent and quick.
- What does a goalkeeper think about when the ball is far away?
- About the game, always. You hope that your team will score a goal, you hope that you don't let one in, you think how great Monday will be if you win and how terrible the whole week will be if you lose. All your thoughts are about football, certainly not about what you can do once the game is over or Sunday night.
- Anything you would like to say at the end?
- I would like to be SanLuca in the remaining 4 games and take my team and my city through to Europe.

Translated by Julia Tarasova