The 1990-91 Serie A season recorded what is possibly its latest major upset as the Scudetto ended in the blue-and-circled hands of Sampdoria for the first and so far, only time.
It was an upset up to one point if truth be told. With unforgettable Vujadin Boskov at the helm, Gianluca Pagliuca between the sticks and, moreover, gemelli del goal Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini at the peak of their careers, the name of Sampdoria elicited some reverence all across Europe.
And still, seeing the championship return to Genoa 67 years after the other city club had won it for the 9th time was a remarkable event for a league that was starting to turn into a three-team affair restricted to Juventus, Milan, and Inter. Except for a short period of glory lived by Lazio and Roma across the turn of the century, Sampdoria’s triumph would be the last time the Scudetto was not captured by any of the traditional vertical-striped powerhouses.
But this is a story of Genoa – the other club of the port city. In that 1990-91 season, Osvaldo Bagnoli’s Rossoblu also had a thrilling campaign, ending fourth in the table and qualifying for the following season UEFA Cup where they would reach the Semi-Finals. It was the Genoa of veteran defender Fulvio Collovati and of poor Gianluca Signorini, who would later die of ALS; of future Milan midfielder Stefano Eranio and lethal Czechoslovakian striker Tomas Skuhravy.
Among them, was a 27-year-old Brazilian defender named Claudio Ibrahim Vaz Leal – better known as Branco. Genoa had signed him from Porto during the previous market session, but Branco was no stranger to the Italian shores as he had already had a two-year stint at Brescia in Serie B. Very few calcio followers, however, knew about his divine left-foot and his ability to take free-kicks. All the others would learn soon enough.
In that famed season, only three clubs were able to defeat Vujadin Boskov’s Sampdoria and one of them was their city rivals Genoa in the most important game of all – a Derby della Lanterna that made it to history books also because it was the first one the Grifone managed to win against the Blucerchiati since March 1977.
It was November 25, 1990, just one month before Christmas. Sampdoria were already leading the Serie A table, two points ahead of Giovanni Trapattoni’s Inter. In the 28th minute, a masterpiece by Stefano Eranio – a dribbling with his left foot and a curl with his right to chip the ball past astonished Gianluca Pagliuca – gave Genoa the lead and suggested that everything was possible on that day.
But the Blucerchiati drew level right after the half time break when Roberto Mancini caught a filtering pass into the Rossoblu area and was knocked down by Genoa’s goalkeeper Simone Braglia. His “twin” Gianluca Vialli stepped up to the spot and made no mistake despite not being in one of his best days.
Genoa went close to take the lead again and it took all of Pietro Vierchowod’s defensive prowess to stop a fast break from Carlos Aguilera, with the Italian-Russian Tsar performing a perfectly-clean tackle to prevent the Uruguayan from going one-on-one with Pagliuca.
Goalkeeper Braglia saved Genoa as he denied Gianluca Dossena from point-blank range to keep his side afloat, before blonde URSS midfielder Aleksey Mikhaylichenko would try to surprise him with a beautiful shot from a sidereal distance prompting him to save the day again.
Then it was time for Pagliuca to protect his goal as he managed to push back a set piece challenge from Aguilera. Little he could, however, a few minutes later, when a new free-kick was awarded to Genoa from a similar position and this time it was Branco to step up to the task.
What ensued is a postcard image (postcard not being a random choice of word) that the Grifone supporters will likely never forget. As referee Carlo Longhi blew his whistle, Carlos Aguilera touched the ball with his back heel and Branco rocketed it past the future Italy international with his magical left foot. It was an absolute screamer that ended its run right into Pagliuca’s top left corner and made the Grifone fans – who were standing right before the goal – burst into joy like they had not done in 14 years.
Branco used to describe his free-kick taking style as treis dedos (“three toes”) meaning that the secret to give the ball such a bizarre effect lied in hitting it right in the valve with the three outer toes of his left foot. Be it true or not, the Brazilian’s feat in the Derby della Lanterna was forever eternalized in a picture showing Pagliuca’s arm vainly outstretched and the ball trapped into the top left corner of his goal.
So happy were the Genoa supporters with the outcome of the game and the image summarizing it that they turned the iconic picture into a series of printed postcards that they sent to their Sampdoria acquaintances as a “Christmas gift.”
Branco himself, who would delight the Grifone with his free kicks for three more years, went even beyond that as he once stated in an interview that he turned the famous shot into a wall picture now hanging in his living room. He said that the goal in the derby was the most important goal to him.
He had had the treis dedos on his side on that day. And perhaps even more. In the same interview, Branco concluded: “I knew how important it was to win that derby, so I asked God to grant me a wish. So God decided that my shot had to take such an effect. I scored with the help of God.”
MATCH REPORT
November 25, 1990 – Serie A 1990-91 Round 10
SAMPDORIA-GENOA 1-2
SCORERS: 28′ Eranio (G), 49′ Vialli (S, pen.), 74′ Branco (G)
 |
SAMPDORIA: Pagliuca, Invernizzi (75′ Lanna), Katanec, Pari, Vierchowod, Pellegrini, Mikhaylichenko, Lombardo, Vialli, Mancini, Dossena (65′ Bonetti) (Nuciari, Calcagno, Branca) Coach: Boskov |
 |
GENOA: Braglia, Torrente, Branco, Eranio, Caricola, Collovati, Ruotolo, Bortolazzi, Aguilera (88′ Pacione), Skuhravy, Onorati (91′ Ferroni) (Piotti, Signorelli, Fiorin) Coach: Bagnoli |
REFEREE: Mr. Longhi from Roma
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Vierchowod (S), Branco, Eranio (G)
One comment
Comments are closed.