“Cobra. Life of a street center forward” is not a film but almost, it is the title of the book by Sandro Tovalieri written together with Susanna Marcellini. An attacker who played in the ranks of Roma, Pescara, Arezzo, Avellino, Ancona and for three seasons in what he defined as his Bari, Atalanta, Reggiana, Cagliari, Sampdoria, Perugia and for a few weeks Ternana, with this last promising opponent of the Apulians this evening. He had been at Ternana for a very short time together with his friend, Taglialatela, with whom he moved to Bari in ’92.
Speaking of his friend Pino, he revealed: «He was certainly one of the promoters of this nickname which I have always carried throughout my career, born in Bari. I followed the final at the Mapei Stadium, as a second voice for RaiSport, last year it was atrocious to lose the top flight in the last 100 seconds, now it’s time to redeem yourself. I’ll be in the corner with the ultras and for those who know me, they know that it’s nothing new because that’s how I’ve always been defined as ‘a street attacker’. I want to sing and enjoy it with the boys who have given me so much and I have given them emotions on the pitch.”
If he has any advice to give to Captain Di Cesare’s Bari: «He is a gladiator and a great captain, he demonstrated it on the pitch. His tears are those of many people from Bari who suffered last season and this year. I understand him and I am sure that he will be able to drag the whole team to safety which in any case would be the minimum goal for a city and square that deserves other stages. Not only was the attack lacking, but everything and when you change three coaches, before arriving at Giampaolo you have to analyze in detail what didn’t work. Personally, in my career it happened that many technicians changed, as many as three, and then with the arrival of Ilario Castagner we united and the spark that led us to promotion was sparked. To this Bari, who if I could I would take the field, I say to put your heart and soul into fighting until the end against a Ternana team who are much more dangerous away from home than when they play at the “Liberati”.
There are some in particular about the best goal of the 40 scored between ’92 and ’95, even if some fans have not forgotten the one scored by the opponent, wearing the Atalanta shirt and the goal, when he was embraced by his teammates , he was moved and didn’t want to rejoice: «I was coming from a period of abstinence, of difficulty settling in and that I would never have wanted to leave Bari and where did I score? At Bari and I burst into tears like a child. Among the red and white goals to which I am linked are those in the derbies, with Taranto, with Foggia, the brace against Ternana which were my first goals, with Milan on 28 May 1995 my last goal, but overall every time scoring for this group of fans was unique.”
