25.04.2010 FIFTEEN YEARS LATER
Andrea Fortunato passed away 15 years ago. I didn’t play with him for a long time, just one season. I was thinking about this in the last days: so much time has passed.
Seems to be unbelievable to think that the one who is in his teen years today, by that time wasn’t even born yet. Talking about Andrea Fortunato, it could be that some of the teenagers would get curious enough to find out who he was and why he remained in the memories of a lot of people. Probably trying to google him they would come across this article from “Repubblica” of 11.07.1991. The headline is “Del Piero or Fortunato, unknown to bet on”.
Here is the report of soccer market that was held in Cernobbio. I want to quote the following: “They don’t have any title. Nobody knows them, sometimes not even the Bible of the ball, the unfailing Panini. And still it is happening : Juve or Milan or Torino end up squabbling for these Vialle in embryo, ready to make of it the matter of principle, eager to bet, up to nine zeros numbers, on the fact that these tadpoles won’t grow up to be frogs but will turn into white knights. They are twenty and they still have to make known their names.”
“Juve and Milan are fighting for the Padova centre forward. Alessandro Del Piero, still a child at his 16, is already worth 1,5 billion: he’s not afraid of penalty kicks, 38 goals scored, even if scored into the goal of Allievi, can be considered a serious promise. He was already one of the Juventus, but when black and white managers told Aggradi that they would dictate the rules, the player’s registration card went back into the briefcase. Milan is ready to pay all this money, but Juventus has the advantage, they sold Bonaiuti to Padova. But if in some days, Juventus society doesn’t write the check, baby-bomber will belong to Berlusconi.”
“The red-blue team has also bought the best C1 wing-back Andrea Fortunato, 20 years old, from Como: Atalanta was after him as well, so he came expensive. Left-handed, excellent winger to play on the flank, cross expert, able to score and to play on the right wing, he is good as a strike ras well.
Summer 1991. Two years later we met in Juventus, Boniperti bought both, having bet on the fact that those “tadpoles won’t grow up to be the frogs, but will turn into white knights”..
Now, 15 years later, thinking back to our stories, I feel really impressed.
Alessandro
http://www.alessandrodelpiero.com/en/news/11380
..***..