The former striker won the 1996 Champions League with the Bianconeri: “The season with the Nerazzurri allowed me to show myself to great football, Spalletti today lacks experience and players who make you understand what it means to wear this shirt”
Michele Padovano won six trophies in two years with the Juventus shirt, some unforgettable, but many forget that the attacker made his debut in Serie A with 11 goals for Pisa, in 1990-1991. Remembering that season, the former footballer smiles: “Romeo Anconetani was an incredible character, I have amazing memories. He was very particular but very present with us, a great connoisseur. Today football needs exceptional figures like that”.
Michele Padovano
former striker
Born in 1966, he made his Serie A debut in 1991 with Pisa and in 1995 he moved to Juventus, with whom he scored 18 goals in 63 matches and won six trophies.
How was your first meeting?
“Beautiful! In his villa in Pisa. As soon as he arrived, he said to me laughing: ‘And you present yourself like this? Long hair, earring… We’ll see what you can do’. I couldn’t wait to play in Serie A because in my opinion I would have deserved it sooner, but Cosenza had always asked for unaffordable sums and so I arrived in Serie A a little late”
And what Pisa…
“Simeone, Neri, Piovanelli, Bosco, Argentesi, Calori, Gigi Simoni in goal: it was a good team. If they hadn’t sent Lucescu away, that team could have saved itself. With him we played really well, but there was a period in which the results weren’t arriving. Anconetani thought that sending him away would have solved the problem, but it was the exact opposite. With him we would have had a much better chance.”
What was the year like on a personal level?
“Wonderful, an exceptional season because it allowed me to show myself to great football, so much so that the following year I signed a three-year contract with Napoli, at that time a top team, very strong. All thanks to Pisa who gave me this opportunity.”
What effect does seeing Pisa in Serie A have on you today?
“It’s a place that deserves it, so I was amazed the years before: today if you don’t have solid ownership behind you, you struggle to build something interesting. Now it is and, even if they were relegated, the objective would be to get back up straight away because there is solidity and skills. Next time they will appear in Serie A with a team more up to par: if you win just one match in the entire championship it means that you are missing something. The team puts in a performance, but scores few goals. Pisa have nothing to envy in Como and Udinese at street level, but it is important to consolidate and structure ourselves well as a club and then transfer to the players what being in Pisa means.”
Having said that, Juve cannot approach tomorrow’s match thinking about the difficulties of their opponents…
”Absolutely. Juventus must score 12 points in the next four matches if they want to aspire to that fourth place which is of vital importance. In Rome I saw them react in an important way after the 3-1, when it seemed like a certain defeat. It won’t be easy because there are Roma and Como who are traveling at full speed and Atalanta will also be fighting.”
He talked about reaction: Juventus is the team that has scored the most in Serie A after the 90th minute and has recovered several points from disadvantaged situations. “Until the end”, right?
“In fact, I like Spalletti’s thoughts: he trusts this team, he has seen them react and regain an unexpected draw. This attitude must be confirmed: so far they have only failed in the second half against Galatasaray and against Como. Objectively, however, they concede many goals and it is an anomaly to work on.”
We, who have won so much and everything, had an Italian hard core. When you arrived at Juventus, the senators made you understand what it meant to wear this shirt
Where did the drop in February come from?
“From the head and from the body. There are structural problems and in fact next year we will see a Juventus strengthened with 4-5 players. I hope that there are also experienced players, because Juventus lacks that age group from 27 to 30 years: like Rabiot at Milan, a strong one who on the pitch gives such mastery and experience that helps others to grow.”
Do you have any names in mind?
“I continue to say that Tonali is an exceptional player and this Juventus could use him like bread to grow. He’s really very strong and he’s Italian, so he knows the history of the club. It’s not easy to sign him, but trying is mandatory.”
The importance of Italians is now a refrain among former footballers, you know?
“We, who have won so much and everything, had an Italian hard core. When you arrived at Juventus, the senators made you understand what it meant to wear this shirt. The new signing from abroad knows the club through the matches seen on television, those who already live here know what Juventus means in Italy. And even having faced them as an opponent before can make a difference. Someone like Zhegrova arrives and knows that he has to win, but it’s not enough.”
Squeezed or confident: how does Juventus emerge from this fiery February?
“He comes out of it well. In the meantime, he will no longer have the double commitment, but a complete week to train and prepare for the match: it’s very important for Spalletti. It’s clear that the mental attitude must then be the one seen in Rome: if you go on the pitch like against Como, everything becomes more complicated.”
Do you like Spalletti?
“He arrived and fixed things: objectively, compared to Tudor, it’s another thing. Then there were some ups and downs, but it’s more a lack of experience than the coach’s fault. I really liked Spalletti’s initial speech, about being in agreement with the club to see how things are going and then sitting down at the end of the year and evaluating the future together. At Juve you have to bring the results: we’ll see if they arrive. I won’t go into the decisions of the club as they live their daily lives, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Spalletti will be renewed in the next few days.”
Meanwhile, Dusan Vlahovic has started training in the group: what can he give in these last months with his contract expiring?
“In goal and in attack, this team has shown that it has significant deficiencies, so he will return to being the central pivot as he was right from the start with Spalletti. However, Vlahovic must finally demonstrate what he can do: he has scored goals, but he has always been quite apathetic. I expected 30 goals a year from someone like him, because he has them in his power.”
Once the direct clashes are over, will the problem of undermining closed defenses return?
“It’s true, he had problems in games like against Lecce, but he had created a lot and, if you make 18 shots on goal, then the goal pops up. But I make it a question of the right attitude: Juventus have to close behind their opponents from the first second, while paying attention to the counterattacks. Among the goals they conceded, they were often in possession of the ball and took incredible attacks. Even against the small teams you have to have a defensive solidity that doesn’t allow the opponents to restart.”
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