The great Dino: “Today I parry old age. Juve? With Vlahovic they can win the Scudetto”
On the occasion of the eighty years of Dino Zoff, Bruno Longhi interviewed for Sportmediaset.it the most iconic goalkeeper in the history of Italian football, a great sportsman, first on the pitch and then as coach, manager, technical commissioner of the national team. Loved by all fans for his class and elegance, certainly not only by the fans of his teams (Napoli and Juventus, first of all), Zoff united an entire country with his paradesforever becoming the emblem of Italy world champion in Spain in 1982.
-Dino, first of all, best wishes for your first 80 years …
“Thank you, thank you, unfortunately they have arrived. It’s a goal… unfortunately ”.
-Once upon a time it was said: life begins at 40. But for you at 40, exactly in the middle of your journey, a fairy tale had become reality. Indeed: a reality already supported by so many results had become a fairy tale …
“Indeed, yes, because the World Cup was truly a fairy tale, from the beginning with difficulty, then more and more overwhelming, until the last victorious act of the Bernabeu. Yes, truly a fairy tale “.
-The World Cup could be the equivalent of an Oscar for cinema. And you had armored that cup precisely because someone named Oscar had crossed your destiny …
“It’s true, I often see that save on Oscar at the end of the match against Brazil in front of my eyes. And he sees it again, he revealed it to me during a radio link. Yes, that parade had allowed us to move forward. But a world championship, given that it is played every 4 years, is worth much more than a cinema Oscar. “
-Rethinking 40 years later of that Spanish mundial also means remembering who is no longer there today …
“Many faces that come knocking on the door of my memories, of my affections. Gaetano Scirea, the inseparable friend even in everyday life, Bearzot, Pertini, Paolo Rossi. Destiny is destiny, it follows his course. “
-Buffling on the cake you will also be forced to make a round of applause metaphorically: your story could be ideal for a best-seller …
What has been done remains. Forever. And my hope is to be able to talk about it for a long time ”.
-Today you are 80, Sepp Mayer goalkeeper of the Germany World Champion of ’74, is 2 less. Among other things, on the 28th, but in January, Gigi Buffon was also birthday: do you believe in the power of numbers taking into account that 28 is also the opposite of 82, the year of the Spanish triumph?
“I didn’t know about Sepp Mayer, and I had never noticed these things before. These are coincidences that perhaps can say something. But I’m not superstitious, not even superstitious. But this story of 28 and 82 is at least curious. One could believe it ”.
– Many goalkeepers have revealed that they have chosen this role inspired by Dino Zoff. But did the boy Dino Zoff have a champion he wanted to look like?
“Unfortunately, I was born at a time when television rarely broadcast matches and there weren’t even football players. I was a goalkeeper by vocation. Without having a role model like today’s kids can have. I liked being a goalkeeper. goalkeeper and I did it “.
-You were born in wartime, and now here we go again. In light of the strong stances of Sweden and Poland, do you think that sport can send messages strong enough to stop this madness?
“Sport can raise awareness, it can play its part. But since I was born in a time of war, I know what a tragedy it is. And so I don’t believe in the strength of the messages. They can be useful and there must be. But it’s up to others to say and do something more important. “
-I found out that your not very Italian surname, which has become one of the symbols of our country, in German means brawl, quarrel: words that don’t suit you …
“To tell the truth, I’ve never been a quarrel. So at 80 it might be time for me to become one, at least a little bit. I chew German, but this meaning of my surname honestly escaped me. Also because I think the origin is even Bulgarian. “
–Dino, the world has changed since 1982. Has football adapted or does it always remain true to itself?
“Football is that of 90 minutes, of the best one to win, of competitiveness. Not of what is around it. The field counts even if technology plays an increasingly decisive role. In some cases it is useful, in others it only feeds controversy. “
-To conclude, I ask you about the Lady, I mean Juventus. Where can he go with this decisive Vlahovic? “Juventus have been on the road to recovery for some time, even before Vlahovic arrived. With him, who is very strong, it certainly becomes easier to try to reach the goal. In front, we know, there are strong teams and among them Inter which is the favorite, Milan who does not give up and Napoli who confirmed their success by winning at the Olimpico with Lazio. But the three points allow for runs, even the apparently difficult ones. “
-If life begins at 40, with what perspective does your second life as an eighty year old start again?
“The perspective is only that of old age. To hold on, to keep going as much as possible. Not to let her score. “
-And then Dino, still many, many good wishes
“Thank you with all my heart. And see you next time… “.
