Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – September 15, 1982. The setting for this story is Milan's Giuseppe Meazza Stadium. The protagonist, Evaristo Beccalossi, Inter Milan's star, passed away today, Wednesday, May 6th. A loss that saddens the entire football world. On the football pitch, Beccalossi was an imaginative and entertaining number ten, capable of brightening matches with memorable plays.
A footballer from another era, remembered by fans also for an episode that, in its own way, has gone down in history. An eight-minute affair involving a night in the Cup, two missed penalties, a minor injury, a broken goal, and a theatrical spectacle. Genius and unpredictability.
The first leg of the round of 32 of the old Cup Winners' Cup, a knockout tournament abolished in 1999, reserved for the European teams that won their respective national cups, will be played at San Siro.
Inter entered thanks to the Coppa Italia they had won a few months earlier: Rino Marchesi was on the bench, facing Czechoslovakian side Slovan Bratislava. The Nerazzurri's superiority, on paper and on the pitch, was evident. The Nerazzurri playmaker, on yet another run, was brought down in the penalty area by opposing midfielder Jan Hlavaty. It wasn't the VAR era yet, but Portuguese referee Viriato Graca Oliva was fairly confident in his observations.
The home team awarded a penalty, and Beccalossi stepped up to take it. He ran up, shot, and the ball went out. "I kicked a ball like a mozzarella and it went out," he would say years later in several interviews, "but I continued playing as if nothing had happened."
Seven minutes later, fate offered a second chance: a cross from the right and a handball in the Czechoslovak penalty area. “I had some doubts. 'Should I shoot or pass it to someone else?' I went to Altobelli, who was the second penalty taker, and said, 'Spillo, you take it!' He said no. Then Lele Oriali arrived. He patted me on the shoulder and told me to take it. I put the ball on the spot again and shot to the goalkeeper's left. He dived and blocked it. I ran to the rebound and fired with my right foot. Another save.” The Slovan goalkeeper was a certain Milan Mana, who disappeared from the radar after that day.
Inter still managed to win that match 2-0, with goals from Altobelli and Sabato. Beccalossi said he had sustained an injury after his second penalty miss due to "overly tense muscles" and "nervousness." The coach substituted him, and Evaristo, entering the locker room, broke down two doors in anger: "There was no way to calm down." Then, at the end of the match, his teammates consoled him with a few ritual words and numerous pats on the back. President Ivanoe Fraizzoli also entered the locker room to tell him not to worry.
The funny thing is that the evening, often remembered with a smile by Beccalossi and his teammates, became years later a monologue by Paolo Rossi, comedian, actor, and avid Inter fan: "He looked the entire stadium in the eyes and said, 'I'll take it...' and I thought, along with the entire stadium, 'These are the real men.' He took the ball and placed it on the penalty spot. He did it with the confidence of a man who would never, ever miss. And he missed. And I thought: for me, he's still a man. But when five minutes later—and anyone who watched that match knows I'm not lying—they gave a penalty back to Inter, for those who understand football, but at this point even for those who don't, it's easy to understand how difficult it is for a player who has just missed a penalty to take responsibility for retaking it."
And again, amid laughter: “He looked the whole stadium in the eyes. And the whole stadium said: 'No, pu… Eva…'. 'I'll take it.' And he placed the ball on the penalty spot with the confidence of a man who wouldn't miss again. And he missed again. And I thought: for me, he's still a man. A bit of a loser, but still a man.” (by Michele Antonelli)
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