Copparoni and the save from Diego’s penalty

“Boy, where do you think you’re going! Get out of here!” The Amsicora groundsman’s shout still stings. Renato Copparoni is sixteen: “I remember it like a slap in the face!” Fortunately, Mario Martiradonna recognises him. “He’s one of ours,” says the full-back to the man at the turnstile of the Cagliari stadium. “It was my first call-up to the first team. Albertosi was injured, Tampucci was out of contract, so Scopigno called me up.” “Coppa”, as his former teammates call him, plays in the Second Division with his home town team, San Gavino Monreale. In the small town 50 kilometres from Cagliari, Renato is still the goalkeeper who saved everything. Dives and glove saves that reek of fear, sweat and exhaustion.

Straightforward and no stranger to the darker sides of everyday life, Copparoni is remembered in the record books for being the first in Europe to save a penalty from Diego Maradona. The incident brings a smile to his face. But it is his time at Cagliari during their Scudetto-winning season that he particularly enjoys looking back on. “They were the Italian champions. I met Gigi Riva at the Corallo restaurant, a Rossoblù haunt just a stone’s throw from the harbour. I was nervous; I addressed him formally and called him ‘Mr Riva’. He replied that ‘the Lord’ was in heaven and he was just ‘Gigi’.” The whirlwind of sport. Capable of breaking down barriers, fostering development and growth. The man and the professional. “I never took myself too seriously. I knew where I’d come from.” Wearing the shirts of Cagliari, Torino and Verona, he travelled far and wide. “I shared the changing room with champions like Albertosi, Tomasini, Riva, Claudio Sala, Zaccarelli, Pulici and Graziani, Elkjar, Di Gennaro and Verza.” His voice cracks. Half a century has passed. “I made my debut as a centre-forward. In 1964, we played Monreale in the Giovanissimi final against Santos Pirri. I scored with my right foot. In the return leg, our goalkeeper wasn’t there; I was the tallest, so I ended up between the posts. It all came easily to me. The club officials and the manager, Giovanni Zucca, spoke to my father: I’d be a first-team regular in the Second Division.” The opportunity to join Cagliari came soon after. “We were playing in Sarroch, the home town of Mario Tiddia, a former defender and coach of the Allievi side. He saw me in goal; I did well in the trial. Longo, Greatti and Nené were there. Monreale asked for a million lire. Nanni Puddu, head of the youth academy, offered one hundred thousand lire. There was a stalemate. Tiddia said that if Cagliari didn’t sign me, he’d take me to Silvestri’s Brescia. I signed for the Rossoblù for seven hundred thousand lire.” Renato speaks thoughtfully. Born in ’52, he made his Serie A debut in ’73 – Cagliari v Torino 1–0 – and, with a degree in Political Science, would end up at Torino. “When Albertosi moved to Milan, I found myself with Vecchi. I wouldn’t have moved, but Gigi Riva, during the summer transfer window, called me: ‘Renato, we have to say goodbye to Radice at the Capo Boi hotel.’ He’d won the Scudetto with Torino. At Cagliari, we’d been without a salary for five months; Riva was the club’s director alongside President Delogu. In the car on the way to Villasimius, he reminded me that the manager had asked for me two years earlier too. But Andrea Arrica had said no. After lunch, Radice said that, following Castellini’s departure, he needed me. I didn’t say a word. But I asked for a bit of time to think it over. On our return, Gigi was clear: “For you, it’s an opportunity to play alongside great champions; for us, it’s 400 million lire. Money we need.” I replied that I’d turned down Juventus. He retorted with a laugh, “He’s Riva and I’m Copparoni!”

A black-and-white past. Emotions in colour. “My idol? Albertosi, ever since his time at Fiorentina. He had style and personality. I like Donnarumma, Carnesecchi and Caprile.” We look back at Torino. “A memory? Eraldo Pecci: a joker and a card player who challenged chairman Orfeo Pianelli. And I’ll never forget Graziani: I brought ‘file’e ferru’, the Sardinian brandy, from Orgosolo. Ciccio tasted it before the match: a brace!” Endless passions. “The Torino atmosphere is special. A family, close-knit friends. At the Filadelfia, we could sense the moods of giants like Valentino Mazzola and the others from the great Torino side. Unforgettable.” The sporting director was Luciano Moggi. “After the matches, we’d have dinner at ‘Il Pirata’. There was a small band; after the meal, there’d be dancing and singing. Luciano would perform Franco Califano’s hits. Years later, he called me to Napoli. But Ottavio Bianchi, who’d coached me at Cagliari under Chiappella, wanted Paradisi. Moggi didn’t buy him for him!”

And so we come to the penalty on 2 March 1986. “I saw the highlights of Verona v Napoli on *Domenica Sportiva*. Giuliani was facing Maradona from the spot. He moved first, and Diego sent it the other way. I thought: we’re in Naples on Sunday; if it comes to that, I’ll stay put. That’s exactly what happened: Maradona struck the ball at a slight angle to my right, and I tipped it away. I remember the silence of the fifty thousand at the San Paolo very well.” Copparoni, a lifetime spent behind the first-team players. From Terraneo to Martina and Lorieri: the loneliness of the number 12. “True. You train as if you were playing. And you have to make sure you’re always ready.” Like against Tirol Innsbruck, when he started for Torino at the age of 35 in the UEFA Cup. “I did well. Hansi Müller scored a fantastic goal against me.” Retirement? In 1998. Then, on the bench. As goalkeeping coach for Lazio, Verona and Foggia. Renato was Mimmo Caso’s assistant, again at Lazio. “Good times. By the way, I also saved penalties from Pruzzo, Vialli and Rigamonti, the Como goalkeeper.”