The coach behind the historic promotion to Serie A: “Today’s team is a good one. It needs to maintain this consistency and has many strong strikers.”
Twenty-three years, a generation, have passed since the Longobarda to the yellow tank. Modena looks at its team today and feels younger. Andrea Sottil is in the lead after a start identical to that of Gianni De Biasi, who arrived on a roll after promotion to Serie B and went straight to Serie A. The same number of wins, draws, losses, and goals conceded: the only difference is in the goals scored, with the atomic attack of 2001-02 scoring three more (22 to 19) than the current one. Will it end the same way? De Biasi watches from afar, studies the situation, and lends himself to comparison. And he too feels young again.
Have you seen this Modena team?
“Several times on TV, never live. I’ll go soon, I promise.”
What’s your impression?
“They’re a good team. They need to maintain this consistency and they have a lot of strong forwards: their rotation will be crucial. Chichizola is a guarantee, he hasn’t won championships by chance: he’s 35, but I had Ballotta…“
Sottil plays 3-5-2, while you played 3-4-1-2. Not much difference…
”Two teams in the same division, fairly young, which are similar. We played that way because everyone else played 4-4-2: that way, we created numerical superiority by bringing up one of the central defenders, who are now called wing-backs.“
You had an attacking midfielder.
”Rubens Pasino was good at finding space in the attacking midfield, making assists and opening up the wings, which pushed forward a lot. Today, Modena perhaps has less imagination, but it is very organized, solid, and exploits individuality.”
Any other differences?
“The opponents. We played Preziosi’s Como, who finished first, then Napoli, Cagliari, Genoa, and Sampdoria, teams that played important football.”
When did you realize you could get promoted to Serie A?
“The 4-1 win over Napoli on the third day, in the evening, our third win in a row: great football and beautiful goals. The team had personality.“
Your first defeat came on the 11th matchday, Modena’s current one on the 10th in the derby in Reggio.
”Against Empoli, Di Natale’s goal: a cursed game, it was drizzling. The defeat against Reggiana, on the other hand, made me angry…“
Why?
”Because there is a latent pessimism in Modena. It was the same with us, even though we won Serie C. After the derby, I heard fans expressing their disappointment: I understand that they cared about Reggiana, but negativity doesn’t help.”
May 12, 2002, 0-0 at Genoa and Modena in Serie A.
“The draw suited everyone. That day, the nickname Longobarda became public: it had become a ritual to watch Lino Banfi’s film on the bus.”
What could Modena’s nickname be today? “I don’t know, they’ll have to come up with something. But ‘yellow tank’ would work.”
When you were there, Modena went from Montagnani to Amadei, and today there’s Rivetti.
“All important owners. I met Rivetti, he’s very smart and competent, he surrounded himself with valuable collaborators, that was his great merit.“
Then, as now, Modena trained on the small field behind the stands. But at least now a sports center is being built…
”Yes, it’s essential in modern soccer. You can’t work in that situation anymore. Among other things, that field is now well maintained: with us, wet or dry, it was always fine.“ In recent days, he was in Palermo for the club’s 125th anniversary. ”I will be very happy if Modena and Palermo go to Serie A, also for my friend Carlo Osti.”
