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He's won it other places (with Sampdoria), but never there.
Five years with Inter and one trophy - the UEFA cup, but no
championships. Gianluca Pagliuca, born 1966, Ascoli's goalkeeper,
shattered Zoff's appearance record, and is aiming for 600 games
in Serie A. In the last 20 years, he has worn Inter's black
and blue uniform longer than anybody without that tri-color
shield that puts you above all others. Now Inter has one championship,
and is about to win another. Gianluca had barely missed it.
Pagliuca,
what's the first thing that comes to mind?
"Contentment for all Inter fans, so for me as well."
Always an Inter fan, it is said.
"When I was little, at Ceretolo, all my friends were AC
Milan fans, plus some Juventus fans. So I was always fighting
with everybody because I pulled for Bologna and liked Inter
very much. I've never liked Juve and Milan, ever. Here you are:
now, after fulfilling my dream of playing for the two teams
I loved, I can finally applaud Inter's championship. And another."
It is said that Inter has won it in Juve's absence and with
other teams heavily penalized.
"Answer: they would have won it just the same. Finally
it was an honest championship, without any irregularities. And
then, even without penalties Milan would have been behind..."
Is it possible to reach 100 points?
"As an Inter fan, I am content with the championship."
Who would you give the Oscar to?
"To Materazzi: I saw him, and I said that he is part of
the team inside, in his heart. He loves the uniform, and I think
he's a very positive influence in the locker room, keeping the
team united."
Some have called this championship a cardboard trophy.
"No, it was honestly won. And that's fair. Obviously, this
latest one is even better, but since in sports, as everywhere,
cheating is not fair, those who cheated had to pay..."
And the painful memories of 1998.
"I'll say this first: that year we screwed it up a bit
ourselves, because we lost at home against Bologna and Bari,
giving away those 6 points of gold. That said, there was a series
of strange episodes, the collision between Iuliano and Ronaldo
being one, blatant and incredible, but I can't forget other
episodes that Juventus was involved in, for example the game
against Empoli, then against Udinese, who did score a goal (Bierhoff),
then a clear penalty that was not given to Roma. And about that
collision..."
Tell me.
"I read a recent interview with Ceccarini: he's still saying
that there should not have been a penalty according to him.
But how can that be? It's crazy."
Your all-star Inter?
"That year's team, with Simoni, defense solid as a rock,
and one guy ahead who we just have to pass the ball to..."
Ronaldo. You don't want to name his name anymore?
"Even if he went to Juve I would have been offended like
all Inter fans, but to go to Milan, that's just the worst of
the worst! I would never have gone there, he did not make a
good choice; apparently he was not a part of Inter at heart..."
These two championships could have been yours also: two years
ago in January Inter asked you to return to Appiano.
"That's true, I did have an offer, but I chose to stay
at Bologna."
An hypothetical question: if you had to continue playing and
they asked you to be second string at Inter, what would you
say?
"Who knows, maybe I'd do it. I love playing, and I've said
that I'll keep on as long as I can and as long as I have fun,
I don't like watching from the sidelines and I don't know if
next year I'll be on the field or not, even if I do want to
reach the goal of 600 games in Serie A. The fact remains that
for Inter, yes, I would think about it."
Here: what would you give to be with the current Inter team?
"I would like very much to be there, as much as I was upset
to have to leave, even though I was returning to Bologna. Did
I talk to Lippi more, about those choices? We have met, but
we never touched on this subject, he decided that way and that's
that. The only thing that annoyed me is that Bergomi, Simeone,
and I were depicted as locker room tyrants, and that was not
true."
Mancini's Inter is the strongest. Why?
"Because it is, because it's been the most continuous program,
and because Mancini has done well: he has created a team that
knows what it wants, it is like Capello's Juventus. Moreover,
he has made intelligent additions: Vieira, and above all Ibrahimovic."
Will Ibra get the Golden Ball?
"If they had not been eliminated from Champions League,
his chances would have been good, but Ibra will win it sooner
or later."
Give us the 11 best from today's Inter and your days.
"Pagliuca; Maicon, Bergomi, Materazzi, Roberto Carlos;
Figo (Zanetti), Cambiasso, Vieira, Stankovic; Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic."
But Ronaldo's in there...
"Adriano would be fine, too. Yes, Adriano..."
© Gazzetta dello Sport
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