ROMA Communard Nicholas (pictured with Gigi Riva)died of illness at the hospital in Pistoia at the age of 77, He was one of the great protagonists of Cagliari’s 1970 championship but his name will remain engraved in the history of football as the “king of own goals”. Not that he holds a record with his six own goals: Riccardo Ferri and Franco Baresi, for example, have scored eight and the Irishman Richard Dunne had reached 10 with Manchester City and QPR at the beginning of the 2000s, often decisive and in the final minutes. Niccolai’s, however, were truly sensational for the dynamics or for the importance of the match.to the point of becoming proverbial, seemed almost the fruit of a dark destiny. Niccolai was originally from Uzzano, in the province of Pistoia, (the name Comunardo was a tribute from his anti-fascist father and former Livorno goalkeeper to the Paris commune): he made his debut in Montecatini but established himself as a tough stopper in Sardinia, first with Torres and then at Cagliari, where he arrived in 1964 immediately after the promotion of the rossoblù to Serie A. The most famous own goal remains the one in Juventus-Cagliari on 15 March 1970a top-ranking match with six games to go in the championship. The Sardinians were fighting for the title for the first time and were challenging the Old Lady on a rainy day: on a cross from Furino, Niccolai headed ahead of his goalkeeper, Albertosi, and sent the ball into his own net. It ended 2-2, with two goals from Gigi Riva for Cagliari, and that draw contributed to the first, historic title for the islanders. The most sensational episode, however, remains an “almost own goal” against the Catanzarotwo seasons later, in 1971/1972. It was the 300th match refereed by Concetto Lo Bello: at the 90th minute Cagliari was winning 2-1 when Alberto Spelta, a winger for the Calabrians, is brought down in the penalty area by Cagliari defender Giuseppe Tomasini. The ball ends up at the feet of Niccolai who hears a whistle from the stands and mistakenly thinks that a penalty has been awarded: so he kicks with a gesture of annoyance towards his goal. Defender Mario Brugnera, Niccolai’s teammate, dives and deflects the ball with his hands. At that point the penalty is inevitable, converted by Spelta for the final 2-2.
Niccolai is also remembered for his unfortunate time in the national team: called up by Italy for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, which they finished in second place, but he left the field after just over half an hour of his first match against Sweden due to injury. Even after his retirement in 1978, following his experiences at Perugia and Prato, the name of the Tuscan defender remained linked to his own goals. To the point that he himself joked about it: “Thanks Kaladze, now people won’t just talk about me when there’s an own goal”, he said in 2009 after Milan defender Kakhaber Kaladze scored two own goals in a match between Italy and Georgia. (Agi)
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