- Our compliments to you: as you wished, you will play two more years at Bologna.

"It's true that I have a very good chance of staying, but I want to assure you, I have not yet signed anything" [Later, 4.10.2002 it was announced that Pagliuca signed his renewed two-year contract.]

- Why don't you give up acting coy and admit the truth?

"The truth is that I have not yet put my name down in ink."

- Alright, let's ask the question another way: where do you want to be next season.

"Here, at Bologna. I want to travel all over Europe again."

- Understood. Moving on, then: what are Bologna's chances of reaching this goal?

"We've got a chance, we've got a chance, but..."

- But…?

"I'm still a little scared after what happened at the end of last season. When we were losing 3-2 on Sunday, a lot of bad thoughts were going through my mind. And I was afraid. I'm glad it ended well."

- Don't you think you're exaggerating? Today's Bologna is not even remotely like the team of yesteryear.

"Yes, that's true, but we're still not there, we don't have anything in hand. You also have to take into account that our upcoming schedule is pretty terrible, and, given that, we should be realistic."

- Will you admit that Milan's schedule is pretty hard, too?

"I'm only looking at ours, I don't care about the other teams' schedules. Milan is very much in the running, with the players they have. Bologna does not have their resources, unfortunately. Take last Sunday's game with Lecce: after slackening a bit, we were about to lose to a team that is almost out of the top league."

- That's all true, but we still don't think your fears are fully justified.

"It's a question of your point of view. To me, it's pretty scare to see that there are teams right on our heels, that Chievo is winning again, that Lazio could also win all its games from now until May 5. Really, until the math is on our side, I won't feel safe."

- To listen to you, it would seem that it's easier to be the pursuer than the pursued.

"No, you got that wrong, I prefer to be ahead rather than behind. But this does not mean that Bologna should be feeling invulnerable."

- Before Bologna-Milan you hinted that Milan's political power could influence the outcome of this championship: now, what do you think about the penalty given to Inzaghi on Sunday?

"It makes me think that they will not hurt Milan."

- Would you say that Bologna has suffered from the referees' blunders?

"We can't complain, aside from the so-so refereeing at San Siro against Inter."

- Do you give credence to Roma's complaints after the loss to Inter on Sunday?

"They have complained, it's true, but they shouldn't try to hide behind that. However, I think that they complained more about the yellow cards than about the actual events, even though Totti could have gotten a penalty."

- It's true, those yellow cards will cost them…

"I almost called the one on Cafu, when I was watching TV I was hoping that sooner or later he would get a yellow. Cafu is extraordinary, it's best not to have to go against him on the field."

- Roma will also be missing Delvecchio.

"Delvecchio won't be playing, but Batistuta will be there. He always scores on me when we meet. A pretty good streak, don't you think?"

- Have you heard what Guidolin, Signori and Pecchia said?

"Are you talking about playing differently than in Turin with Juventus? Well, I agree with them. That Sunday ought to have taught us a lesson, we must be more incisive in attack, we must try to score more. In part because with certain teams, if you don't score, you will inevitably lose. A draw would be great for us. It would keep us high enough in the standings and it would mean a calm Easter holiday for us. Christmas was nice, after the draw in Rome with Lazio, and I hope Rome will prove lucky for us again. Even though I have always let in goals at the Olympic Stadium in my time with Bologna."

- What do you expect Roma to be like on Saturday?

"Determined, mean, its mind made up to do anything to win. Capello's team to the core, to put it another way."

- Which means a lot of trouble for Bologna.

"If we don't get some points between Roma and the game with Torino, the pursuers will really catch up. That's why Bologna will have to do its best this Saturday and next week. Guidolin is right when he says that if we make the same mistakes at the Olympic Stadium as we made with Lecce, we'll end up having 10 goals scored against us. It's true that we're playing Roma at a difficult moment for it, but it's also true that Roma is angry and even more dangerous."

- You will see Lima again.

"I saw him with Galatasaray, pretty mad. But who was he so angry at, when there were only policemen around?"

- We saw a familiar picture when Signori gave you the captain's armband.

"Beppe was exausted, and I gave him a kiss on the cheek as a gesture of friendship and gratitude."

- You Bologna guys like to kiss each other on the field.

"But I kissed Beppe on the cheek, not on the lips like those two." (Bellucci and Nervo).

- Why did you start wearing that armband with the American flag?

"Alfiero, a friend of mine, gave it to me after September 11, then I kept on wearing it for good luck. Beppe had another one, but when he asked me for that one, I lent it to him gladly. I hope he returns the favor with a goal against Roma."

- Speaking of Signori: Beppe did not like Trappatoni's joke.

"I understand Beppe, but you know how Trap is. I'm sure that he did not want to offend him talking about Garibaldi."

- Do you feel like you are the Italian Seaman?

"Why do you want to make me older than I am? Seaman is 39 years old, I am 35, and I could still play in the World Cup in 2006. In Serie A, there are goalkeepers who are older than me: Pinato, Marchegiani, Sebastiano Rossi, Ferron, Taffarel."

- So it's like this: the older the keeper, the better he gets?

"It's good to have a lot of experience. I'm more coolheaded than I used to be. Whether it's because I'm going to have a son soon, or because Bologna is doing well, I seem to have changed even compared to last season. And not just last season: when I was playing in Milan, I was always yelling, I was made at everybody every time I let in a goal, but now I'm more reserved, I always stay cool. And that's important for a goalkeeper."

- You are a big fan of Virtus: will the Black V's take it to the line this year, too?

"It will be difficult. If Virtus plays like they did on Sunday against Fortitudo, they will be the favorites for the championship, but Benetton and Fortitudo will be there to make life difficult for them."

- You are the only Bologna player who has participated in Champions League.

"I played in it twice. The first time, with Sampdoria, we lost it in the final with Barcelona. I will not forget that goal Ronald Koeman scored on a free kick, not in a thousand years. The second time, with Inter, we went out in the quarterfinals after 2-0 with Manchester. Those were amazing times, I would give a lot to relive them."

- In the hope of doing that, and staying at Bologna, you have even accepted a notable reduction in your salary.

"It was not a question of money for me. I will admit that I could have gone elsewhere, I had other proposals. But I'm fine here, I'm in my city, and I'm playing for a team I've always loved, and I don't see why I would leave this paradise. Money is not everything, I am very happy the way things are."

- What are your hopes for Bologna?

"The ideal would be to be playing in the Europian competitions. If those games were on Tuesday or Wednesday [Champions League], that would be fantastic, but I would be content to run around on Thursdays as well [UEFA Cup].

- So you would be content with a spot in the UEFA Cup?

"At this point, the objective is simply Europe. We have two big goals at the moment. The first is to get as many points as possible in the remaining six games, the second is to get into the European competitions."

- Have you already talked among yourselves in the locker room about what you would do if you got into Europe?
"We'll vote on it. I don't know… We could all dye our hair blond or go by foot to Milano Marittima. Maybe the first option would be better, given that I felt dead tired after we went there by bicyle, but for Europe, the sacrifice would be worth it."