Farewell Osvaldo Bagnoli, the coach of the legendary Verona championship. Italian football mourns the “wizard of Bovisa“, who passed away in Milan at the age of 91. As a player, he took his first steps in the youth teams of Milan, as a midfielder, in the mid-1950s. His career was long: he played with Verona, Udinese, Catanzaro, Spal and Verbania, before hanging up his boots in 1973. From that moment began his second professional adventure, by far the richest in successes and recognitions.
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On the bench, he coached Solbiatese, Como, Rimini, Fano and Cesena. From Romagna, the leap to Verona which in his hands transformed into a small “great” of our football in the 1980s. From promotion to Serie A to the climb to the top part of the standings, very quickly. Within a couple of seasons, with his “praetorians” on the field such as goalkeeper Garella, defenders Fontolan and Marangon, playmaker Di Gennaro, the lively winger Fanna, the pocket-sized striker Galderisi and the two legendary foreigners, the prolific Danish striker Larsen Elkjaer and the German tank Briegel, Bagnoli led Hellas to the first and unforgettable scudetto in 1985. The following year was the European Cup, with elimination suffered against Juventus with much-criticized refereeing: a sharp remark of his to a couple of carabinieri met at the end of the match, “if you are looking for the thieves, they are in the other locker room”.
The Verona dream lasted only a few more years, until the sad relegation in 1990. At that point, another adventure began destined to leave its mark: Osvaldo went to Genoa and with the goal pair Aguilera and Skuhravy (Genoa’s answer to the Doria duo Vialli and Mancini) took the rossoblu to Europe, in the UEFA Cup. The following year, while Sampdoria reached the European Cup final, Genoa eliminated Liverpool (with a historic 2-1 victory at Anfield) and stopped only in the semifinals against the very strong Ajax of Bergkamp and Van Gaal.
At 58, Bagnoli was ready for a big club, albeit one seeking a revival, like Inter: in 1992/93 he came close to the scudetto, with a comeback nearly achieved in the second half of the season against the formidable Milan of Fabio Capello. The following year, in the league Inter struggled to the point of risking relegation, saved only in the last days, while in the UEFA Cup they soared: they would triumph in a two-legged final against the Austrians from Salzburg. But Bagnoli was no longer there, dismissed in February after a loss against Lazio. The second sacking in 20 years of career.
That would be his last match, because despite other offers Osvaldo “the grump”, the man of few words, the defensive-minded coach who loved zonal marking, retired early. In the last 30 years, a few interviews and much love from his former players, who regularly went to visit him at home.
