The former Italian national team goalkeeper: “I still wake up thinking about that trophy just a meter away from me. Vialli was a true leader; Boskov would tell me and Lanna, ‘Be professional right up until the game.’”

If Gianluca Pagliuca could draw the triangle of his life, the first of the three vertices would be Genoa, where he won titles with Sampdoria and established himself as a world-class goalkeeper. “Those were seven wonderful years. We won a historic Scudetto and lost a final that still hurts a lot. It’s a wound that will never heal.” The other two sides would connect to Milan—five seasons at Inter with Ronaldo and Vieri—and Bologna, his home. He’s speaking to us from there. “I’m proud to have played for the team of my dreams.” The conversation then drifts among memories, victories, and regrets, above all the match in Pasadena lost on penalty kicks to Brazil in ’94.

Pagliuca, let’s start with Sampdoria. That Scudetto-winning season was extraordinary.

“People only talk about the Scudetto season and the European Cup final, but we had many top-tier seasons. We were a stellar group.”

Boskov was on the bench. They say Mancini and Vialli were the ones picking the lineup instead of him…

“Let’s throw Vierchowod in there too: they were his trusted advisors. But let’s be clear—they weren’t the ones calling the shots. They would discuss things, but Boskov always made the final decisions.”

We’ve talked about Vialli. What memories do you have of Gianluca?

“He was an incredible man, someone who would tell you things straight to your face. That’s also why we never argued. I got to know a genuine person—he knew how to be a leader on the field and the life of the party in the evening.”

In Genoa back then, people said you were a club-goer too…

“It’s true, I won’t deny it. I’ve always liked to party. I’ve been with a lot of women. I didn’t really like drinking, but I knew how to have fun…”

Who were your friends at the clubs?

“Lots of them, I have to say. In the year we won the Scudetto with Sampdoria, there was this routine: I’d go to Bologna on Monday, party all night, and by Tuesday I’d be in Bogliasco training. Oh, we won every game on the field. I remember one time I ran into Vialli in Bologna—he’d sprung a surprise on me. ‘You’ve got to put up with me even here,’ he shouted as he hugged me.”

Did Boskov know about that?

“On Fridays, he’d remind me and Marco Lanna to stay professional right up until game day. ‘Turn off the taps,’ he’d tell us. And we’d burst out laughing.”

You were a very close-knit group. Is it true that you still have an active WhatsApp chat?

“Yes! We use it often. I have to say that, in the midst of this tragedy, Gianluca’s death has brought us even closer together. He used to message us all the time, too—he was very active in the group.“

Would a victory over Barcelona in the final have been the perfect way to come full circle?

”Absolutely. We would have deserved it. It remains a wound that will never heal.”

Speaking of lost finals, two years later came the defeat in Pasadena. Many of your teammates have described it as a nightmare that’s been going on for thirty years. Is that how you feel, too?

“I still can’t sleep because of it. I sometimes wake up at night and rewatch the penalty kick videos. I wake up and tell myself, ‘Dive to the right!’ But they beat me three times. I saved one, but it wasn’t enough. There’s one image I can’t get out of my head: me walking past the trophy, just a meter away. I could have touched it—it was right there…”

That was the World Cup where Baggio told Sacchi, “This is crazy.” You were the one who caused that substitution…

“Yeah, I got sent off and Marchegiani came in. Robi and I met in the locker room, and there was half an hour of absolute silence. A single glance was enough for us to understand each other.“

That summer you moved to Moratti’s Inter. In five years, you won only one UEFA Cup in Paris. Did you deserve more?

”Yes, absolutely. In 1998, we were repeatedly robbed. Juve was a great team, but we were stronger and deserved it. Iuliano’s foul on Ronaldo remains an indelible stain. They took a Scudetto away from us. It was a scandal… and every time I think about it, I get pissed off.”

Is it true that you were close to joining Manchester United?

“Ferguson wanted me, but Inter had just signed Ronaldo and I had no intention of leaving: I was on the same team as ‘Il Fenomeno,’ the best player I’ve ever seen in my entire career. Plus, Moratti didn’t want to let me go. The Premier League had less appeal than Serie A back then; today I’d probably make a different choice. Back then, all the best players came to play for us.“

Were there any other opportunities?

”When I was at Sampdoria, Mazzone called me. Roma had just been bought by Sensi, and they wanted to rebuild the team. But I was happy in Genoa, so I turned it down.”

During your time at Sampdoria, you were involved in a car accident. Your Porsche was totaled, but you survived thanks to the airbags. Was there any friction with the media over the misreporting of information?

“No friction, exactly, but the news reports did exaggerate a bit. I was mostly worried about my mom: she’d heard I was in serious condition and got scared. It was a serious accident, but I got away with a compound fracture of my collarbone.”

Until a few seasons ago, you were the goalkeeper coach for Bologna’s Primavera team. Before that, for a year, he coached the Rossoblù’s national youth team: what kind of coach is Pagliuca?

“I’d say strict. In the locker room, I’d scold the kids for wearing earrings and having mohawks: ‘I’m not coaching Native Americans,’ I’d tell them. I like teaching them not to give up and to look beyond the obstacle. That’s how you reach the top.”