A little less than 6 months after the passing of Gigi Riva, Cagliari fans and the entire football world are mourning the loss of another hero of the rossoblù championship with the death of Comunardo Niccolai. The former defender died at the age of 77 in hospital after a sudden illness. He became famous for his famous “spectacular” own goals even if in the end there were only six in his career but enough to fuel an eternal legend.
Why was he called Communard?
He was not Sardinian, having been born in Uzzano in the province of Pistoia, but he had become one through action: with the Cagliari jersey 228 appearances (in 12 seasons) seasoned with 4 goals to which must be added the 3 tokens with the national team, among which the presence at Mexico 1970 stands out. Comunardo was called this because his father who had passed on to him the passion for football, having been a goalkeeper for Livorno was a convinced anti-fascist. Hence the reference to the Paris Commune, or the socialist-inspired government who settled in the transalpine capital in 1871. His mother, a Christian Democrat and Catholic, never digested that name and for this reason she always called her son Silviano.
Niccolai and the legend of own goals
In the collective imagination, Niccolai was, is and will remain “the one of the own goals” but he only scored 6 and therefore 2 less than Ferri and Baresi to name two. It was the spectacular nature of the own goals that made him famous. Like the one in a Juve-Cagliari in 1970, when he anticipated Zigoni, transforming a cross from Furino into an unfortunate situation for the Sardinians. A true and rough defender, Niccolai, who in an interview reported by the AIC declared: “I remember the own goals, one in Catanzaro in the 300th match refereed by Concetto Lo Belloone in Perugia, one against Roma and one in Florence. At Franchi I wasn’t to blame because the goalkeeper, instead of saving, lowered his arm and the ball bounced back at me. On the other hand, my interventions were often a bit reckless and it happened that I arrived at the ball uncoordinated. It seemed that I scored 10 a season… Luckily I also scored 4 real goals. I would like to be remembered for the ’70 World Cup, for the championship in Cagliari or for my career as a coach, but in the end the important thing is to be remembered”
Niccolai’s most beautiful own goal
“The most beautiful own goal – Niccolai said – is the one I didn’t score. It happened in Catanzaro in 1972, referee Lo Bello. At the 90th minute I heard a whistle and thought: “It’s a foul or the game is over”. I kicked hard with the intention of throwing the ball into the curve. A shot came out, “saved” by Brugnera, my teammate from Cagliari. Lo Bello awarded the penalty and we conceded the 2-2.
The relationship with Scopigno
The bond with the Cagliari coach of the time, the “philosopher” Manlio Scopigno, was solid: “Scopigno used to say that “the blame for my unfortunate headers was the particular fold of my seven, very long hair…”. His Cagliari teammates they called it “Agony”: “I was very thin,” he revealed to Corriere Fiorentino, “my face was gaunt, my hair was plastered to my head. I always looked like I was about to kick the bucket.” “I started my career as a center forward, then I was a midfielder. And I also scored beautiful goals against opponents, you know? A 40-meter bomb against Varese, then I slipped past Bologna, dribbling past two defenders. I only scored beautiful goals, in my own goal and in the other team’s. I joke about it now. In Bologna I stayed outside the locker room for an hour, crying in despair. After every own goal I didn’t leave the house for days. When their team lost, the opposing fans would shout at me: Niccolai, you take care of it… Once a teammate said to me: how’s it going, Comunardo? You’re carrying on, I replied. And Dr. Franzi, the team doctor: it seems to me that you’re holding back…. I ennobled the own goal, making it an artistic masterpiece. And the own goals gave me in return a popularity that I would not have had. No one made them as beautiful as mine, not even Baresi and Ferri who have almost double my own goals”.
Niccolai’s career
Niccolai was a top-level defender: in addition to Cagliari, he also played with Torres, Chicago Mustangs, Perugia and Prato).
Niccolai’s last interview
His last interview dates back to 6 months ago, when Riva died. He told Corriere della Sera: «I knew he wasn’t well, but the news came to me from TV. Of course, that’s life. But I’m so sorry. About our images, the time that has passed. The great bomber is gone. But I don’t cry for the player, I cry for my friend. Sardinia has always been Italy. With that scudetto we reminded everyone. We were a team of friends. I was the dam in defense. And up front there was the greatest».
«Riva as a footballer, well, you’ve seen him. An unrepeatable striker, a champion. Today he would score fifty goals a season. Strength, technique, leadership. I’ve always maintained that he was a god, our god. Winning a championship in Cagliari means winning five in Milan or Turin. If they hadn’t broken his leg twice, we would have won a lot more. Behind the scenes he was a simple, easy-going guy, not a star. And yes, he could afford it… We’d always known each other. We’d even done our military service together, at Cecchignola in Rome. How many things we got up to. The best years of our lives. Today no one would make the choice he made, saying no to glory and money in exchange for happiness.. But the truth is that even then it was a choice against the current. A choice of a noble rebel.”
