The former Perugia defender on the goal scored in the pouring rain in 2000: “Collina didn’t know what to do, everyone was waiting in the tunnel. Now I’m a coach, but those who sell themselves better are rewarded more.” On his relationship with Guardiola: “A beautiful friendship.”
There are deeds destined to remain in time, actions that take on a different significance and change the course of history. Alessandro Calori, match winner of that Perugia-Juventus game in 2000, knows something about this. An absurd game, played in the pouring rain, which made him immortal. “It was a historic goal. People still stop me and remind me of that day.“
Calori, it’s impossible not to start with that May 14. The downpour, Collina having to decide whether or not to let the game go on. A championship finale straight out of a movie.
”I remember every detail, Collina not knowing what to do, all of us waiting in the tunnel. It rained absurdly for fifteen minutes. It was very strange, an hour and a quarter suspension between the first and second half. Today, something like that probably wouldn’t happen.“
In the end, the game was played. Minute 50: Conte made a short clearance, you stopped it with your chest and volleyed it past Van Der Sar. The Scudetto went to Lazio.
”People still stop me and remind me of that day. Every now and then I look back at the lineups: they had Zidane, Del Piero, Inzaghi, and company. A great team. We had nothing left to ask for. But when they conceded the goal, they realized they had fallen under a curse with no way out.”
Yet Calori was a center back by profession. Not exactly a striker.
“That year, however, I scored five goals in total. Among other things, I scored a very nice one against Buffon’s Parma. And in defense there were Cannavaro, Thuram, and Sensini, not exactly newcomers.”
Some people even said that you professed to be a Juventus fan after the goal to feel less responsible.
“People say a lot of things… often nonsense. I used to go to the stadium with my dad Mario and I’ve always been a Juve fan. I grew up idolizing Scirea. Scoring against Juve was a bizarre twist of fate.”
A few months earlier, Famiglia Cristiana published a letter from an anonymous player confessing to having sold a match. You were dragged into it…
“It’s a nasty story, a fabrication that hurt me. I sued everyone, including newspapers and TV stations, and I won every case. I’m not a disgraceful person, nor am I a repentant one. I never understood why my name came up. I suffered a lot, but today I’ve moved on.“
Let’s take a step back. You were captain of Udinese for seven years. Any flashbacks?
”Those were incredible seasons. I remember that at the end of training, I would stay behind with Bierhoff and challenge him to a header contest. He would win, but I held my own…“
There were many coaches at Udinese. Let’s start with Zaccheroni.
”Zac and I have a very close relationship; we still see each other today. When he was ill, I called his family almost every day to get updates. I was his captain, and with him on the bench, we finished third: reaching Europe with Udinese was my dream.“
Then there were Galeone and Guidolin.
”Two masters. Each in their own way. Galeone once came into the locker room wearing ski boots to make us laugh and ease the tension. He always knew how to lighten the mood. I consider Guidolin a visionary. When we lost, he would show up in camouflage to make us understand that we had to go to war.”
In Perugia and Brescia, on the other hand, Mazzone was on the bench.
“Carletto was like a father to us. After the victory against Juventus, he told us, ‘It took a Roma player to make Lazio win.’ Meanwhile, before taking the field, Gaucci revealed to reporters that he would send us to China for a month if we lost. After the final whistle, Mazzone made another joke. ‘We weren’t going anywhere.’ He was one of a kind. I was also on the pitch on the day of the race against Atalanta. Another crazy scene.”
What a team that Brescia was. There were champions like Baggio and Guardiola, a young Pirlo.
“Our strength was the dressing room. Corioni had done things in a big way, we finished seventh in a very tough championship. Baggio was from another planet, he played like a god even though his knees were destroyed. At the end of the game, he would bend over and massage them, then he needed two days to get back to training. But every time he stepped onto the field… all hell broke loose. Mazzone told us: ‘You are you, he is Roberto Baggio’. But for the pleasure of playing with such a champion, it was also nice to protect him and run an extra mile.”
He formed a close friendship with Guardiola.
“Pep is a genuine, warm-hearted person. After the Champions League final, won in Rome in 2009, he took us all out to dinner. When he arrived in Brescia, he had been accused of doping, but we always stood by him, believing in his innocence. And he hasn’t forgotten that.“
As a group, you also faced the death of a teammate, Vittorio Mero. A tragic accident took him away.
”We were playing in the Coppa Italia, and Vittorio was suspended. It was a tragedy, one of those things you can’t explain. At the end of the year, we secured our place in the league and dedicated it to him.”
Today, Calori is a coach, with Lazio’s Primavera team being his latest experience in 2021-22. What does he expect from the future?
“I would like an opportunity, but today it’s those who sell themselves best who stand out rather than those who have competence. You have to be brought in by someone; friendships matter. It’s not a healthy system.”
