The former attacking midfielder reflects: “To Ulivieri, I was ‘Anatrone.’ I was coaching the Bianconeri’s U23 team; I made a mistake leaving for Serie B. I could have gone to Inter”
Lamberto Zauli was perhaps the first Italian prototype of a big, physical No. 10. The No. 10 was typically a technical, speedy player. Zauli introduced physicality—it’s no coincidence he was compared to Zidane. An untenable comparison, but the initial “Z” in his last name, his massive build, and his ability to hold onto the ball made it an intriguing, almost plausible comparison.
Let’s start with his date of birth: the almanacs and Wikipedia list July 19, 1971.
“But I was born on July 17. It was a mistake made when my first ID card was issued, when I was 16. The clerk wrote down ‘19,’ and that’s how it stuck.”
Born in Rome, in the Montesacro neighborhood.
“When I was two years old, my father Lorenzo, an anesthesiologist, transferred to the hospital in Grosseto, and that’s where I grew up. Dad played for Grosseto in Serie C as an attacking midfielder, just like me. We’re Roma fans. They used to take me to the Olimpico to watch Liedholm’s Roma—the 1983 Scudetto-winning team—and I dreamed of becoming Falcao or Bruno Conti.”
So many nicknames. Let’s start with the first one: “The Prince.”
“My teammates at Vicenza gave me that nickname because I wouldn’t get my hands dirty with the practical stuff. If there was a dinner to organize, I’d just show up to eat and that was it.”
Zauli, the ‘Zidane of the poor.’
“That’s not quite right. In Vicenza, they called me the ‘Zidane of the Triveneto.’ In Palermo, President Zamparini introduced me as the ‘Zidane of Serie B.’ That’s nothing. Zidane was one of a kind.”
Anatrone?
“Renzo Ulivieri came up with that nickname at Modena. I was on the Primavera team—tall and skinny—and every now and then I’d train with the first team. The coach would yell: ‘Give the ball to Anatrone because he knows how to defend it!’ I liked having the ball; I wanted it even when I was marked. I used my body and never lost control.”
Zaulik?
“Maybe at Bologna, but I’m not sure.”
Zaulì, with the accent on the “i”?
“That’s right—it came from a newspaper headline. It was a reference to Platini, who’s French like Zidane. Exaggerations.”
Francesco Guidolin was “your” coach: you played under him at Ravenna, Vicenza, Bologna, and Palermo.
“I owe him a lot. We didn’t talk much, but we understood each other. At Ravenna, I played wing because I could still run. At Vicenza, he moved me behind Pasquale Luiso, the center forward, in a 4-2-3-1 formation that featured a young Ambrosini as a midfielder. At 20, ‘Ambro’ had the maturity of a 30-year-old.”
Is it true that in your debut at San Siro, in a Milan vs. Vicenza match, you pulled off a nutmeg?
“Yes, I did it to André Cruz (a Rossoneri defender, ed.). I thought—and still think—that people go to the stadium to see flashes of creativity. So I gave it a shot.”
With Vicenza, you reached the Cup Winners’ Cup semifinals against Chelsea. And in the first leg at the Menti Stadium, you scored the winning goal, making it 1-0.
“On a pass from Viviani, I caught everyone off guard with an acrobatic control. The ball, however, drifted a bit to my right. I kept it in play, shifted it to my left foot, and slotted it into the corner with my weaker foot. In the return leg in London, we took the lead with a goal by Luiso off an assist from me. Then they disallowed a goal of ours for a non-existent offside—today, with VAR, it would have been allowed. We lost 3–1. It was Vialli and Zola’s Chelsea.”
Any anecdotes about Guidolin?
“He’d show us some crazy motivational videos. He’d show up in the locker room dressed in military camouflage to push us to fight.”
And what about Zamparini in Palermo?
“He wanted Serie A; he pulled off a sensational transfer window, but at first, not everything was going perfectly—the press was critical. One day he showed up in the locker room, and we all jumped to our feet as if the principal had walked into the school. We expected him to be Zamparini—all thunder and lightning. We were wrong. He stood with us, defended us, and we turned things around. We were promoted to Serie A. I saw a team photo from Palermo again: there were Zaccardo, Grosso, Barone, Toni, and Barzagli—2006 World Cup champions. I was the only one who didn’t go to that World Cup.”
Of that Palermo squad, I was the only one who didn’t go to the 2006 World Cup…
Lamberto Zauli
In 2006, Del Piero and Totti played in my position….
“And before them, there had been Baggio, Zola, and Mancini. An incredible wealth of talent. In the run-up to the 2002 World Cup, I’d heard rumors that Trapattoni wanted to call me up, but then in Korea, the coach took Cristiano Doni—a number 10 on my level, let’s say. Doni, however, had scored more that season.”
Were you ever close to joining a top-tier team?
“ At the end of a Vicenza-Juventus match, Lippi approached me at the entrance to the tunnel leading to the locker rooms: ‘I heard you’re going to Inter. Good for you, congratulations.’ But I never ended up going to Moratti’s Inter, and I don’t even know why. I guess it was meant to end that way.”
Zauli as a coach. Lots of provincial clubs and Juve, between the Primavera and Under-23 teams in Serie C. At Juve, he developed Fagioli, Miretti, Soulé, Iling Jr.…
“And Nicolussi Caviglia, Dragusin, De Winter, Barbieri. Miretti sees the play ten minutes before everyone else. Fagioli has absolute control of the ball. As for Soulé, many Lega Pro opponents would tell me after the game: ‘Coach, this guy’s on another level.’”
Why did you leave Juve?
“Because Südtirol called me to join their Serie B team, and I accepted the offer out of ambition—even though Manna and Cherubini, my managers at Juve and key figures in my career, asked me to stay. I dreamed of moving up, but at Südtirol, it all ended before it even began, due to misunderstandings. In hindsight, I made a mistake. In fact, I was crazy. You don’t leave Juve.”
