The difficult 1979-1980 season had left more than a mark on Italian football. The scandal linked to Totonero led to the absence from the top championship of two championships such as Lazio and Milan, as well as the penalization of three teams, Avellino, Bologna and Perugia. But the 1980-81 season however, it was the one about the ransom and it is the one that was told to TMW Radio in Football Stories.
Redemption because after several difficult years, here is the move that started an epochal change for Italian football: the reopening of the borders, or the possibility for each club to return to signing a non-Italian player. All the protagonists made a lot of moves on the market, starting with the reigning champions Inter, still in the hands of Eugenio Bersellini, who brought home the Austrian Prohaska. Giovanni Trapattoni’s Juventus and Nils Liedholm’s Roma also made moves, aiming respectively for the Irishman Brady and the Brazilian Falcao, while Napoli aimed for the Dutchman Krol.
AND It was Juventus and Roma who competed for that title, with the Bianconeri coming out on top against the Giallorossi at the last minute.. The direct comparison was decisive, with Turone’s famous goal disallowed which still remains in the memory of Roma fans today. And the former Juventus player told some anecdotes from that year Domenico Marocchino: “Perhaps Inter were the favourites, because the previous year they had won the championship. But Napoli were also in the running in that year, which was very good. The entry of foreigners? Easy. It also depends on the player who arrives We had Brady, who took very little time to fit in. But in general, high-level players arrived, who immediately made it clear what types of characters they were.”
While about his Juve he said: “Who was crucial? Me (laughs, ed.). It’s an excess, but it’s the truth. I won two Scudettos in a photo finish and who made the two decisive assists? I. Against Fiorentina I did it for Cabrini, against Catanzaro instead I procured the penalty that Fanna scored. Because I was an atypical player, I was physically strong and for at least a while, because I was the most replaced player in history, I could put anyone in difficulty if I was having a good day. It was an exciting head-to-head match with Roma. That Turone goal? According to insiders it was irregular, but that year was special. There were other episodes, like the goal in Perugia where it wasn’t clear whether he was in or out. Against Roma it was decisive and we played without Tardelli and Bettega. It was a strange match, but with that victory we kept Roma at a distance. Brady? It was like a waltz, he danced in the middle of the pitch and made your opponent doze off but then he fooled them“.