Beccalossi and the phrase “My name is Evaristo, sorry if I insist”: the story

The legend of the sports bar has it that that famous phrase “My name is Evaristo, sorry if I insist” was born on the pitch, pronounced by Beccalossi himself after a brace in a derby, as a way of teasing the AC Milan opponents (and specifically the goalkeeper Albertosi). Spolier: it’s not like that, even if Nerazzurri fans like to believe it. One of the many acts of faith that allows the ball to cross over into the customs and traditions of a people, ours, who have always been passionate about bell towers. However, it was Beccalossi himself who clarified it: “I like to joke about it, but the truth is that I have never said anything of the sort to Albertosi. Now, however, they have attributed that phrase to me and I am happy to keep it.” Also because Becca has made it a must. On the pitch and even… in advertising. In fact, someone will remember him as the protagonist of the commercial for a cured meat company, closing the scene with an author’s advice indicating a hunter…

the flash of purple Beppe

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But how was that phrase born then? It seems from a glimpse of Beppe Viola in a report for Sunday Sports. The journalist was in fact one of the main sponsors of Beccalossi’s call-up to the national team, who was instead excluded by Bearzot from the 1982 World Cup. Too individualistic, not a team player, it was said. Yet on the pitch, when he turned it on, there was none for anyone. Like in that famous derby of 28 October 1979.

double in the derby

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More than superstitious. The week before that match, Beccalossi had already understood everything: “We will win 2-0 and I will score one of the two goals”. He got into it, but he even wanted to exaggerate. A brace and, unprecedentedly, two goals, both from the right. He was the one who had arrived the year before from Brescia with his magical left foot as his calling card. A capital performance that the Gazzetta of the time had rewarded with an 8 on the report card: “On days of grace like these he has no rivals” we read. And then the headline: “Beccalossi the hero of the derby”. Inter hadn’t won one for five years. Interviewed at the end of the match, however, Becca preached calm: “Excited for the double? No, we need more to be euphoric. Let me explain, we need the championship”. Which then, incidentally, actually arrived at the end of the year. Also thanks to that brace, which was decisive for the Nerazzurri’s first escape.