A total of 283 games (with 14 goals) in Serie A, 46 (and 2 goals) in Serie B and 58 games (3 goals) in Serie C: this is the CV of Antonio Sabatomidfielder of the seventies and eighties, protagonist of Football Stories to TMW Radio. He began playing for Inter, with whom he made his Serie A debut on 7 November 1976 against Torino. After his experience at Forlì, in 1979-80 he made his debut in Serie B with the Sambenedettese shirt, and then moved to Catanzaro in Serie A. For two years he was an unmovable starter and deserved the new call to Inter, where he was placed light from Marchesi, Radice and Castagner. In 1985-86 he moved to Torino, against whom he had made his Serie A debut, because he was incompatible with Liam Brady. He remained in Piedmont for four seasons, before moving to Ascoli, which he accompanied in their return to Serie B after the glories of the 1980s, before ending his career with Alessandria in Serie C.
“I would definitely be a player who could adapt to modern football – he confessed -. I knew how to do a bit of everything, a coast-to-coast footballer, a bit like Barella and Frattesi. Gigi Radice was the most important coachwhich shaped me. I had two fabulous years at Catanzaro, where many young players flourished. The stadium was always full, there was great enthusiasm and a special atmosphere. I have good memories of that period. Ranieri? He was the team’s trade unionist, an exceptional person, full of lots of advice. I imagined he would become a great coach. Palanca was incredible with those goals from a corner, he had a magical foot, a small one among other things because he wore a 36. The goalkeepers were always anxious, even when he took free kicks. At Inter Ferri, Bergomi, Baresi, Zenga are the ones I was closest to in that period. The best memory was the victory against Real Madrid at home, I took revenge against those who thought I was in decline. Regret Juve? When I played for Torino there was the anniversary for Superga and while we were going there I found myself behind Boniperti, who told me that he wanted to take me after the Catanzaro experience, and I told him that it was a great compliment for me. I didn’t go because I was co-owned by Inter and Catanzaro, they went to the envelopes and Catanzaro offered 656 million, Inter 656.1 million and there was controversy over this. In the end I didn’t go to Juventus for this reason. The biggest regret was when, as a kid, Milan didn’t take me but Inter didbecause at the time a gentleman from the country was a Milan fan and took me to San Siro to watch the matches. I wasn’t a fan, but I went to watch the matches and in that period I liked Rivera a lot. And Nils Liedholm wanted me too. I got angry with Castagner because I didn’t want to be Tardelli’s bench, I wanted to at least play for my place.”