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CASTELDEBOLE, February 6, 2003 – “How beautiful that ugly Bologna was. The end didn’t look so pretty, I agree, and the coach was not happy, but maybe we did get more points. This is not a positive moment, I wouldn’t call it a crisis, we have to come back up as soon as possible, with Atalanta.”
Gianluca Pagliuca talks about the hot issues: 2 points in the last 5 games and Guidolin’s Bologna a step away from a half-crisis, given that Sunday night (“I’d play them all at 3 pm, I’m a stickler for tradition”) Atalanta arrives, having obtained six consecutive positive
results.
“Fortunately,” smiles the keeper, “Because we’re number one at reviving other teams. Jokes aside, we’re in a period when things aren’t going well, we are paying for distractions and errors like the ones at Roma, for example my mistake on the cross from the right that ruined a good game.”
He’s mad at those who come into the penalty area during the penalty (“The next day, the referees were watching, we made our point.”)
Now he zooms in on the Bergamo team. “Winning against them would mean pushing them back to 13 points, and coming close to the level required to avoid relegation, which has risen quite a bit. I think that the trouble we’re in now will inspire us, or at least I hope for that, given that in the recent years we’ve usually suffered badly in times like this and lost sight of our goals.”
Closing cynically: “With Atalanta I would like to win even playing badly. Even a 1-0 on an own goal would do: the important thing is to get three points.”
Gazzetta dello Sport
“Il Resto del Carlino” version:
Advice from Pagliuca to Trap.
The guardian of Bologna’s light always gets his hands into it, and sometimes, even his face.
“Excuse me,” said Pagliuca after letting in a goal from Cassano that made it 3-1 at the Olympic stadium in Rome, “with that screw-up, I closed the game.” Then the discussions started, because Delvecchio scored a goal against the rules.
“It’s true. At least in ‘Controcampo’ they showed that episode. After punching away Totti’s penalty, I went after Zaccardo for allowing Delvecchio to get to the ball. Then I realized that it was more the referee’s mistake. He should have blown the whistle on Delvecchio’s position, but apparently nobody saw it.”
Or nobody had the courage to see it. In one case and another, Bologna lost. That is to say that the difference between a nice draw at the Olympic Stadium and a little crisis is really slim, like the margin of error that now remains to Guidolin’s team. Pagliuca suggests:
“We’re certainly good at reviving teams in a crisis. Now we’ll try to beat Atalanta. Pushing them back to 13 points will mean solving our problem.”
He quickly comes back to the problem mentioned:
“Crisis is a big word, excessive here. The start of 2003 has been negative, but things can change to better very quickly.”
Pagliuca returns to calm analisis:
“Juve, too, had gotten one point in three games, then started winning. That is to say that even the best team can be out of sorts.”
Guidolin insists that the long vacation has contributed to the team’s unsettled state. Pagliuca talks about his vacation:
“I played tennis and basketball a lot, and all were given homework for vacation. I think Bologna is guilty of slackening the pace, or, if you want, of slowing down.”
A little, but visibly: from September to December of 2002, Bologna had the second best defense in Serie A, and in 2003, with an average of two goals let in each game, it has the most beaten defense.
“That means that it was wrong to criticize the ugly Bologna that did not let anyone pass. We are in trouble, there is no doubt, but we’re not alone: Milan, Lazio, Chievo, and so many others – more teams have lost luster than found it anew. It often happens in the middle of winter.”
An here is how bad news can open the door to achievement:
“We’re sure the trouble of this period will be the last and that we won’t run into more problems in the spring.”
And out of season the Italians’ passion for Baggio has burst into bloom.
“I beg you, I can’t take it anymore. Enough about Baggio.”
And it really is a torturous decision, but it really does seem illogical for our National team to fly the flag of Argentina and leave its own banner behind.
“Everyone is free to see the Camoranesi affair from the angle they prefer. Certainly, if Trappatoni called him and left Nervo and Castellini at home, I would be angry. Our Marcello is now in better shape than Nesta and Cannavaro. Nervo has only one problem: not being a pin-up boy.”
Gianluca Pagliuca is a real part of the team: to combat pessimism, the goalkeeper took the entire team out to dinner. From ugly to well fed, hope it goes well for them.
di Stefano Biondi.
Translated by Jilia Tarasova
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