Gianni Roccotelli, double ex of tomorrow night’s match at the Domus Arena «I have Turin in my heart but I am a red and blue cheer. It will be tough but we can win “
CAGLIARI. With Torino he played his first games in Serie A and immediately won a Scudetto. The year after Cagliari almost got a promotion to A. And in Sardinia he found, he who with the ball traveled all over Italy, the place to live forever. Gianni Roccotelli, double ex of tomorrow’s match at Unipol Domus, has no doubts: «I have Toro in my heart – he explains – but I support Cagliari. It will be a very difficult match because Juric has given the team a particular imprint: with him Torino never stops running. And against Empoli, if he hadn’t stayed in ten, he would certainly have won. Cagliari, however, must not be afraid: they have the men to get out of this situation. But he must rest assured. The problem now is the fear of making mistakes and getting into further trouble. Mazzarri can seek the result by instilling the calm that is needed in such delicate moments. Withdrawal can be a double-edged sword: I’ve done it too. And if on the one hand you can’t wait to win to go home, on the other you create a situation that risks raising the tension. In my opinion, the best weapon is to play with joy ».
And the joy for Roccotelli is also his legendary rabona, the shot, a shot but above all an assist, with crossed feet. «Now in amateur tournaments I don’t do it anymore – he smiles – because they operated on my hip. But once Rai came to the camp for a special. And I had made him about forty in a row ». Among other things, an image with the execution of the South American shot was for years the symbol of the Roccotelli football school, the Is Arenas of Quartu. Nandez is the player who perhaps remembers most of his raids on the right: «I like him very much – he explains – he runs, he also sacrifices himself backwards. It has nice shots. Maybe I was more “Brazilian” in the games. He brings together technique and energy: a great champion ».
But what is missing in this Cagliari to get away from the last places? We certainly need a playmaker, we have a lot of potential forward, but we are unable to transfer clean balls up front and often Joao Pedro is forced to retreat his range. I see Pavoletti better than Keita, it being understood that Keita is also an excellent player ».
And Roccotelli knows about great players: «At Turin there was Claudio Sala, one who played perfectly with the right and left, I started well and also played in the Uefa Cup. Then an injury stopped me. And at the same time, Patrizio Sala played on the right like me. Root wanted to confirm me. But I wanted to play. And I chose Cagliari ». Narrow promotion: «I was out due to a clash with the coach Toneatto during a bull: the injury cut me off from the last phase of the season and from the play-offs. Toneatto then said to me: you would have been very useful to us ».
At the end of his career another champion alongside, Gianfranco Zola. Alla Torres, 1987-’88 season: «An exceptional and humble boy. When they said to me: but you play with Zola, then he would intervene and say: no, I’m playing with Roccotelli. He was 23, I was 38: they mistook me for the uncle of someone who played with Avellino. But it was always me. Too bad, that year we could have won the championship. And instead we only gained access to the Italian Cup, after an excellent season. I’m happy that things at Torres are starting to work again, he deserves other categories. But many important teams went down to D or more before going back up ».
Football different from that of his times: «Once you could dribble more or at least give more space to the imagination, now there is too much tactics. And if a boy stops him to play two touches, when will a new Cassano ever be born? That’s why I’ve always said it in my football school: freedom to dribble after midfield. Football is joy: let’s not stifle the nice gesture. When I was at Cesena we played against Sacchi, the king of tactics who made the offside high up to almost midfield: me and Schachner, someone who ran the 100 meters in almost 10 seconds, always slipped them with speed ».