Tatanka recounts his life between benches, grandchildren, and nostalgia. From his debut at San Siro against Inter to his regret for the national team: “Seeing who’s there today, I deserved at least one friendly match.”

Dario Hübner needed only two things to be happy: his family and a soccer ball. “Sometimes I should do as Dario Hübner does,” sings Calcutta in a song dedicated to him, because “Tatanka,” or “Bisonte” as everyone called him, turned down the Premier League and a million-dollar contract in 2001 in order to stay close to his wife and children. “It would have changed my life, but I was happy in Romagna and didn’t want to upset my family,” he says. So he chose Piacenza, the team closest to his home in Crema. It was there that, at the age of 35, he became the top scorer in Serie A in 2001-02 alongside David Trezeguet, setting a record that he still shares only with Igor Protti: being the top scorer in all Italian professional categories. Today, he lives as he did then: with his grandchildren, in the woods looking for mushrooms, and on the bench with Zeta Milano.

How is life as a coach?

“I’m enjoying it. We’re in Second Division and with the guys I have, I’m relatively committed. I don’t even know if I’d be able to coach at the top level. I see myself more as an assistant.“

Who would you like to be an assistant to?

”I like Chivu’s Inter, but I think it would also be a great experience with Gasperini or Allegri, who has his own way of coaching. There are good coaches in Italian soccer, which is why I follow it closely. I also watch Serie B and Serie C… sometimes they’re less boring than Serie A.“

This year saw a record low number of goals scored in a single matchday…

”Teams have realized that points count right from the start. In the early days, matches would end 3-1 or 4-2, and then you’d pay for those points lost in October in May. Now they pay more attention to defense, and the smaller teams play without taking risks: if you don’t win, at least you don’t lose. The problem is more related to the game… sometimes I see too much ball movement: 15 passes to get past the halfway line, then in the last three minutes, down by a goal, long passes as if the game would never end. I don’t like that.”

Don’t you think there’s a lack of strikers?

“We should bring back the level of the 1990s: in Serie A there were phenomenal players, but even in Serie B there were very strong strikers: Paci at Lucchese, Cobra Tovalieri, Marulla at Cosenza… Wherever you went, you found a striker who could play in Serie A, but there were phenomenal players there, and you couldn’t find a place. Today, the pure center forward, the one who scores no matter what, is slowly disappearing.”

We had one, and he went to Saudi Arabia.

“Retegui made a life choice that I would never have made. Better 4 million for ten years in Italy than 20 for two in Saudi Arabia, especially at 26.”

Modric, on the other hand, arrived in our league at 40…

“Luka is impressive. He shows us that not everything has to be about physicality and running. He doesn’t run 100 meters in 10 seconds, but he thinks 100 times better than anyone else because he already knows what to do when he gets the ball. I played with Pirlo: he wasn’t lightning fast, but mentally he was a second ahead of everyone else.“

Where would Dario Hübner be playing today?

”As a fan, I’d say Inter, I could see myself there. At one point in my career, I even came close: it was the summer of ’95, the year Moratti arrived. I was playing for Cesena and they wanted me as a third striker. The idea was that Marco Delvecchio would move from Venezia to Cesena, while I would go to Milan. But Roma got involved in the negotiations and Delvecchio chose the Giallorossi. So I stayed in Cesena, he went to Roma, and Inter ended up signing Branca. Today, as then, I would have struggled to find space: in the hierarchy, I would have been behind Pio Esposito (smiles, ed.).“

It was against Inter that he made his Serie A debut.

”The night before the game (August 31, 1997), at midnight, in my room, I turned on the TV: Lady Diana’s accident. I stayed glued to the television until three in the morning. The next day, I was calm, almost unreal: at 20, I was playing in the First Division, at 35, I was in Serie A. I worked hard, without any gifts or agents to help me jump five divisions. I entered San Siro at 1:30 p.m., in front of 85,000 people, and scored the 1-0. I didn’t realize it on the field; after the shower, before getting on the bus, I lit a cigarette and said to myself, ‘Well done, Dario, after 15 years you’ve scored in Serie A.’ In reality, what made my evening less memorable was Recoba’s double. Because of him, we lost 2-1. Every time I see him, to tease him, I say, ‘In ten years at Inter, you played three games, one of which was against me. Couldn’t you have stayed on the bench?’”

The same game that marked the debut of Ronaldo, “Il Fenomeno”…

“I’ve known many great players, arguably the best ever, but only one phenomenon: Ronaldo. Only once in 90 minutes did I try to press him: I saw that he hadn’t controlled the ball well and went to steal it from him. As soon as I moved my leg, he was already a meter and a half ahead. I can’t explain how strong he was, but he was also incredible as a person. After the game, he gave me his jersey and I asked him for a photo. By the way… Can I tell you an anecdote?”

Ronaldo, a phenomenon. Once I tried to press him: he hadn’t controlled the ball well, as soon as I moved my leg to steal it, he was already a meter and a half ahead.

Dario Hubner

Please.

“Brescia-Milan: Paolo Maldini arrives in the underpass. ‘Dario, would you please give me your jersey?’. I thought he was joking. At the end of the first half, he was there waiting for me. Maybe he gave it to a friend (laughs, ed.), but if Maldini asks you for your jersey, it’s like scoring a hat trick in Serie A. I have to admit that before I met great players, I met great men: Ferrara, Montero, Zidane, Maldini, Costacurta, Baggio… humble, down-to-earth people. At the time, anyone who misbehaved was immediately put in their place by the big names in the dressing room. No one dared to show off.“

Have you ever put anyone in their place?

”Ambrosini, back in my Cesena days. I was always telling him off. I was 25, he was 19, he came with the first team from Bolchi. He was phenomenal with his head, but when he kicked… scandalous (laughs, ed.). He made me lose in the game, so I gave him a few ‘pappina’.”

Who was it that “scolded” you?

“I wouldn’t say he scolded me, but tactically, Baggio and I just didn’t fit together. It was both lucky and unlucky to have played with him: he wanted a striker who would play as a target man, while I loved to go deep. So Luca Toni came in to replace me. Beyond that, however, Roberto is a wonderful, humble person. We were the Brescia of the workers, and when he arrived—someone you had only seen on TV until the day before—it was impressive. He had an extraordinary humility and fit into the group as if he had been there for ten years. Being close to him was like training alongside your idol: he intimidated you, you were afraid of making a mistake, but he taught you without speaking.”

That Brescia was Carlo Mazzone’s Brescia…

“Carletto was unique. He gave you everything you needed, but in return he always demanded one thing: your best on the field. Once we had to go to Perugia to play and the club wanted to leave on Friday by bus, sleep in Cesena, and then leave again. Calori, Baggio, Bisoli, and I asked, ‘ Can’t we fly on Saturday morning?‘ Carlo went to Corioni and suggested it to him. At the end of training, he came into the dressing room and said, ‘Guys, no more buses, we’re flying on Saturday. But remember: I’m giving you this bonus, but on Sunday I want to see eleven lions on the pitch.’ We drew 2-2, but luckily I scored two goals.”

Do you regret not playing for the national team?

“At first, I would have said no, because I had players like Baggio, Inzaghi, Vieri, and Totti ahead of me. Take Montella, for example: he scored 15-20 goals in Serie A every year, yet he played very little for the national team. Today, however, I say: they could have at least let me play in a friendly match… I hoped Trapattoni would call me when Vieri got injured, but nothing. I’m sorry because in the last 10 years I’ve seen players with 5-6 appearances and some even called up before making their Serie A debut, like Zaniolo. In the 1990s, if you didn’t have 200 appearances in Serie A, you didn’t even make the national team. So the problem was choosing between playing Totti or Del Piero… Today we have to naturalize strikers because we don’t have any anymore.”

Is this the responsibility of the youth sectors?

“Yes. I remember Cesena: 25 players from Romagna and Marche in the squad. In Brescia, there were players from Brescia, Lombardy, and Milan. We had many strong Italian players. Every year, 5-6 players came out of the Primavera ready to play: goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, strikers. Today, there are too many foreigners in the Serie A Primavera teams. And then we wonder why we don’t win European Championships or World Cups: it’s a contradiction. Italy is also losing its goalkeepers: we have Donnarumma, and then what? Once upon a time, we had Peruzzi, Buffon, Toldo… we had the best in the world.”

The attack is bringing a lot of joy and hope for the future of the Azzurri.

“Pio Esposito is very strong but young. You really evaluate a striker at 25. He needs to grow and improve over the next five years. I remember Cutrone perfectly: in September, he was supposed to be Italy’s center forward, but by January, no one was talking about him anymore. In my day, Paolo Maldini, at 18, already had two seasons as a starter and people said, ‘He’s a good player.’ Young players need to play and make mistakes. Camarda? I hope he plays a lot at Lecce, because otherwise it’s useless. At that age, you have to cut your teeth. I would have gone to Serie B: 38 games, against defenders who beat you up, you get physical and score goals, then you move up. In Serie A, you can’t prove anything in 20 minutes. He should look at Pio’s career: first the grind, then the leap.“

At this point, it’s impossible not to ask you about the World Cup…

”I’m optimistic because Gattuso has the special gift of making people love the jersey, the element that has been most lacking so far. In recent years, I’ve seen too many players called up return home because of ‘little problems’. If Trapattoni had called me up injured, I would have played anyway and then been out for a month. The national team is the national team.”