The former Milan and Napoli striker talks about his political commitments, university, and oil mill: “In politics, you can concede goals to those wearing the same jersey as you… At my house, I dedicated an avenue to Diego.”
For Liedholm and Castagner, it was a pleasure to watch him play, but for Maradona, he was more than just a strike partner. Beppe Incocciati from Fiuggi was someone who never held back when it came to playing well, and that’s still the case today, at 61. His story is one of sacrifice and bus journeys: “As a child in Fiuggi, I was already training with the adults in Promozione, then they advised me to go to Palestrina, the only real youth sector in the area. Every day I would get up, take the bus to Anagni, go to school, have a sandwich made by my mother, take the bus to Palestrina, train, take another bus, and not return home before 10 p.m. That’s how it was until that day in Ascoli…”
What happened in Ascoli?
“It was a tournament with the most important youth teams in Italy, and I was the top scorer and best player. Zagatti, a great full-back from the 1950s and coach of Milan’s Primavera team, signed me on the spot. I was 15 years old, they put me on a plane and I found myself in Milan. Lots of tears, homesickness, but I was living a dream and I held on to it, and within two years I made my debut in Serie A.”
Those were the years of the Mundialito: there was Milan, Inter, the foreign teams…
“Yes, Leo Junior and Leandro’s Flamengo came to San Siro, as did Cruijff’s Ajax. Then Johan returned to Milan on trial, but they didn’t take him because of a knee problem.”
You started to shine right there.
“They told me I was elegant, and I became convinced of it. My former teammates still tell me that today. Van Basten was at Ajax, a kid like me, and he asked me for my jersey. Then Marco and I became friends. We share a passion for golf and often meet on the course. One day he said to me, ‘Did you know I still have the jersey you gave me at the Mundialito at home?’”
Then my time at Milan came to an end.
“They sent me on loan to Ascoli, where Vincenzi, Barbuti, and I scored a ton of goals and won Serie B. Berlusconi arrived at Milan and wanted Donadoni at all costs, so Atalanta got me, Icardi, and Piotti in exchange. In Bergamo, we reached the semifinals of the Cup Winners’ Cup, then Pisa, extraordinary years. The presidents and the people liked me, I scored goals, but I was also one of those who would nutmeg you, lob you… How many beautiful individual plays do you see today?”
Tell us about Maradona.
“I had already met Diego in Milan. I scored my first goal in Serie A against his Napoli team, and we won 2-1. Then I went out to celebrate, and while I was at a club, he walked in. We ended up having dinner together, laughing, getting to know each other. We are the same sign, both Scorpios, a perfect match. In Naples, our families were friends, we were always together. Except at night, he went out and I didn’t.“
Viale Diego Armando Maradona.
”I did it myself, at my house, to feel him close to me again. I loved him very much. I speak as a grandfather and not as a former soccer player: Maradona leaves us with two big lessons.“
Which ones?
”The first: Diego was born in a slum and became number one in the world, so never think that life doesn’t offer you opportunities. The second: Maradona’s career was cut short because of drugs, so stay away from them, because it only takes a moment to ruin your life.”
Thanks to you, Diego reconciled with his son. His father came to see me in Fiuggi, I took him to the golf course and introduced him to Diego. I left them alone, watching them from a distance as they sat talking for over an hour, and I smiled. Maradona was a gentleman; he would have had every right not to care. Instead, he recognized his son, who is now a happy man.”
Maradona also inspired his most beautiful goal.
“In Budapest, in the European Cup. Diego launched from midfield, I backheeled it to Careca, he returned it, I controlled it and shot it into the net with my left foot. We understood each other instantly. It’s nice to think that I spoke the same language as Maradona and Careca.”
The dreams of that Napoli team, 1990-91, crumbled against Spartak Moscow.
“It was a cursed match, I hit the crossbar in the first leg and the post in the second, Francini hit another post. If we had gone through, we would have faced Real Madrid, who were in crisis. We had everything we needed to reach the top. But that’s when Diego’s problems began to emerge, along with his instability. We left for Moscow without him, he joined us on a private flight, he argued with Bigon, who didn’t let him play, Moggi took the side of the club…”
Today, he is an advisor to Minister Tajani on youth and sports issues. Which is tougher, politics or soccer?
“In soccer, you have a team wearing the same jersey, everyone defends the same goal and tries to score in the other team’s goal. In politics, too, everyone wears the same jersey, but then someone turns around and scores in your goal… I also teach at Tor Vergata, in the faculty of motor sciences. The other day, I examined about forty future sports professionals. Seeing the satisfaction in their eyes is a wonderful feeling.”
Incocciati, the oil that smells like goals.
“It was my son’s idea. He’s an agronomist and married a girl who owns an oil mill. I put a soccer ball in place of the O in the logo. It’s a very high-quality product.”
Have you ever seen another Incocciati?
“No, but times have changed. With Liedholm, we used to do 40-50 minutes of individual technique before every training session. Nobody does that today, then you see strikers arriving in the attacking third, not taking responsibility, and the ball coming back. In my day, even defenders like Baresi, Maldera, and Collovati were comfortable with the ball and could dribble past players. The last products of that school won the 2006 World Cup, but what have we created since then? Players with great physiques but little technique and a national team that has missed two World Cups and is in danger of missing a third. I see many football scholars but few people who teach it…”
