Almost a starter in Roma’s 1983 scudetto and an overwhelming comparison, however the former midfielder remained in the memory: “It was nice to discover that I was mentioned by Veltroni…”.
I n December 1982, Stella Pende, Panorama journalist and then partner of Marco Tardelli, interviewed Giampiero Boniperti, president of Juve, and asked him who the young promises of Italian football were. Answer: “I really liked Valigi, but Roma bought him.” Claudio Valigi is a midfielder with good feet, Nils Liedholm, Roma coach, names him Falcao’s heir. The Baron’s comparisons must be handled with care: at Milan he defined Mandressi, a young striker, as “the Rensenbrink of Brianza”. Valigi, in the first part of the 1982-83 season, that of the interview with Boniperti, played 16 games as a starter, including the championship, Italian Cup and UEFA Cup. He is part of Azeglio Vicini’s Under 21 team. Liedholm relies on him, just 21 years old, waiting for Carlo Ancelotti’s return from one of his serious injuries. Everyone imagines that Valigi has a great future…