Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Archie on September 07, 2014, 09:40:32 AM
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Maybe someone of you guys will remember that in occasion of the Latin Lions meeting of last year we reproduced the goal of the EEC final 1982, with me that made Tony Morley and Peter Withe that made Peter Withe.
www.heroesandvillains.info/forumv3/index.php?topic=49508.msg2307390#msg2307390
Considered the circumstances, it was not exagerrated ti say that it was almost impossible to go beyond that level.
But this year we imoroved that level.
Infact, we went to Bologna to meet Gianluca Pagliuca, that we had found out is a Villa fan, and we brought with us the famous musician Spizz, really a fantastic guy and a longlife Villa fan.
(http://i.imgur.com/gOgmAZGl.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/vf5r2DOl.jpg)
Spizz told Pagliuca: "prepare because I am going to score a penalty to you".
Pagliuca laughed genuinely and made him notice that with his boots he would probably not even hit the ball.
And actually, if I had to gamble I wouldn't have given one penny to Spizz. . .
(http://i.imgur.com/ZvsdCncl.jpg)
But Spizz got his boots out (we sang: get you boots out, get your boots out, get your boots out for the lads) and look what he did.
Fair play to him.
In one word: chapeau!
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Buon lavoro!
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As good a laugh as it appears that you have had do you feel cool speaking Italian? It must be the coolest language known to man.
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Splendido!
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Marvellissimo.
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Cornetto.
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Spag Bol.
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ee aye addio.
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As good a laugh as it appears that you have had do you feel cool speaking Italian? It must be the coolest language known to man.
I'm guessing Italians feel the same about those with Brummie accents...
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Supercortimaggiore!!
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Spizz, a true legend, graced us with a fantastic and unexpected performance in the restaurant where we met.
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(http://i62.tinypic.com/1427hu0.jpg)
(http://i57.tinypic.com/2cxj09i.jpg)
(http://i62.tinypic.com/2gy4wv5.jpg)
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Wasn't Spizz also known as Spizz Energy for a while? I had his single 'Where's Captain Kirk'.
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Energi, Athletico Spizz 80, Spizz Oil, Spizzles etc etc
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Gianluca Pagliuca will be special guest at VP for the next Sunderland and Palace games.
He will be in The Lions Club alongside his colleagues Jimmy Rimmer & Nigel Spink for pre match and will be interviewed by AVTV.
He will be in The Lions Club on New year’s Day also, and there will be also Tony Morley as he is Gianluca's childhood hero!
Gianluca is a true Villa fan and a fantastic guy, very humble and familiar despite of his brilliant carreer as a footballer.
So, if someone of you guys want to meet him before the game for photographs or autographs, this is the occasion and he anticipated to me that he'll be more than happy to chat with the other Villa fans (he doesn't speak english but his girlfriend and son do and can help in translation).
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Great stuff Archie.
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Bring him up The Bartons, Archie.
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The Sun Never Sets on Aston Villa..... bloody marvellous song.
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Brilliant stuff Archie!
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Let's hope we don't disappoint him.
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Pagliuca was a great keeper, didn't he play in the World cup 94 final?
Get him on the pitch! (At half time I mean).
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He played in two World Cups, 1994 and 1998, and in 1994 became the first keeper ever to save a penalty in the final!
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great stuff. Well done, that stadium looks amazing.
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Yesterday Gianluca rang me up after the Swansea game and told me: "we would have deserved at least a draw, but Fabianski made two super saves. When he played at Arsenal the so said pundits and the fans thought he was crap, but I knew that he would become a strong, classy, reliable keeper".
"How did you know that"? - I asked him.
"Because in an interview he declared that when he was kid his hero and inspiring keeper was Gianluca Pagliuca" - he said laughing! ;)
And he'll be on tomorrow's program:http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~4382577,00.html
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Pagliuca was a great keeper, didn't he play in the World cup 94 final?
Get him on the pitch! (At half time I mean).
Yes, Ray Houghton pwn'd him twice in two months, once for Ireland v Italy, once for Villa v Inter, both 1-0's.
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Pagliuca was a great keeper, didn't he play in the World cup 94 final?
Get him on the pitch! (At half time I mean).
Yes, Ray Houghton pwn'd him twice in two months, once for Ireland v Italy, once for Villa v Inter, both 1-0's.
The San Siro leg of that tie though I remember as being one of the best goalkeeping performances I'd ever seen (or have seen since). But it might just be remembering it from the eyes of a ten year old.
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What a great opening sentence to any post..."Gianluca rang me..."
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Bring him up The Bartons, Archie.
Of course mate, our great friend Frank will accompany him after the game!
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Bring him up The Bartons, Archie.
Of course mate, our great friend Frank will accompany him after the game!
Nah, The Ruskin Hall.
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Let's hope that the three lions from Italy operate as a lucky charm for these two games!
(http://i.imgur.com/FTAFgXml.jpg) (http://imgur.com/FTAFgXm)
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Well, that was well worth coming over from Italy for.
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Italian goalkeeping legend Gianluca Pagliuca paid an emotional visit to Villa Park this past week.
Pagliuca made a return to B6 for the first time in 20 years.
The last time he was at Villa Park was a rather more sombre affair for the stopping sensation.
That day he was on the losing side as Inter Milan lost to Villa on penalties in the UEFA Cup, Phil King slamming the vital spot-kick past him at a jam-packed Villa Park.
Little did the thousands of spectators realise that day that Pagliuca was already a giant claret and blue fanatic.
Pagliuca, one of Italy's finest goalkeepers, has followed Villa's fortunes since our title-winning campaign of 1980-81, when he was just 14.
He was captivated by the team that swept to glory under Ron Saunders and to a European Cup triumph under Tony Barton 12 months later - and his love for the club has never diminished.
Pagliuca played for Sampdoria, Inter Milan, Bologna and Ascoli during a glittering career which spanned 20 years and more than 600 league games.
He also played 39 times for his country and was the first goalkeeper to make a save in a World Cup final penalty shoot-out when Italy lost to Brazil in the USA in 1994.
Pagliuca was delighted to finally arrive in B6 as a supporter to watch the Sunderland game from the Doug Ellis Stand after admitting he had been unable to do so before due to other football commitments.
It may not have been the win he craved but he was thrilled to be 'home.'
He spent time with Nigel Spink and Jimmer Rimmer in the Lions Lounge before the match and ensured he had photos taken with his family in the new dugouts - and also in goal!
Discussing his early recollections of following Villa, he said: "I remember that the first private TV channels started to broadcast English football in Italy - and I became keen on the big challenge for the title with Ipswich Town.
"It was a truly memorable season, even if the results did not arrive to me in real time like they do now!
"I also fell in love with the shirt, which is both beautiful and unique. But the big history of the club also fascinated me."
Recalling the night in Rotterdam, he continued: "I remember the moment Jimmy Rimmer got injured very well. I held him in high esteem. He was obviously first-choice keeper.
"When I saw him injured I was very frightened because I was a young fan and had never seen Nigel Spink play - but he was brilliant."
On playing against Villa in 1994, he added: "I was happy when I saw the draw because it meant I was able to play at Villa Park.
"But it was also very strange to face the team that I supported.
"The second leg in that beautiful stadium was emotional.
"I remember that we were ahead in the penalty shoot-out - and I saved from Guy Whittingham.
"But we missed our last two penalties before Phil King scored the decisive goal."
It was great to see him at Villa Park again - and here's to many more visits.
(http://www.avfc.co.uk/javaImages/ba/1d/0,,10265~13376954,00.jpg)
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Gianluca was for the beautiful welcome received by the former Villa players and by the fans, with some of them he become friend on facebook.
He said that in his long career as a footballer, he never saw a club remotely comparable with - and that oozes class like - our beloved Villa.
He met Sid Cowans and they talked in Italian about his spell in Italy!
Then he met the three keepers of the 1981-82, Nigel Spink, Jimmy Rimmer and Mark Kendall, that never actually played but was in the squad during the European Cup run.
[img width= height=]http://i.imgur.com/y2KF7zDl.jpg[/img] (http://i.imgur.com/y2KF7zD.jpg)
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We have asked members of the claret and blue family - celebrities, fans, journalists, staff - to give us their all-time hero. Here Inter Milan and Italy goalkeeping legend Gianluca Pagliuca tells us about his admiration for Nigel Spink.
We always have a winter break in Italian football, and this year I'm taking advantage of it by making a sentimental journey to Villa Park.
I've been a supporter since the age of 14 in 1980-81, the season when Villa were champions.
But my football commitments, first as a player and then as a coach, have constantly made it difficult for me to attend a live game.
But 20 years after I played at Villa Park for Inter in the UEFA Cup I came back as a spectator for the game against Sunderland on Sunday - and the one against Crystal Palace on New Year's Day.
I really enjoyed meeting the goalkeeper who helped my team to win the European Cup - and I hope to see him again on Thursday.
Nigel Spink and I chatted on the phone recently (with the help of an interpreter!) and we discussed getting together at the Sunderland game.
That was incredible to do because I've wanted to meet him for so many years.
I suppose I should have taken the opportunity when Inter played Villa in 1994 but at the time I was too focussed on the games to think about anything else.
Although Tony Morley was the player who excited me most when I was a boy, I followed Nigel's career with great interest because he is a goalkeeper.
And, like me, he is remembered by football people because of one very special moment.
In my case, it's the fact that I was the first keeper to make a save in a World Cup final penalty shoot-out.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to prevent Italy from losing to Brazil in the 1994 final in the USA, but Nigel can look back on his special moment with great affection.
Peter Withe eventually scored the winning goal but it was Nigel's succession of fine saves after he had gone on as a substitute in the ninth minute that laid the foundations for Villa's 1982 European Cup triumph.
That was a beautiful story, the sort of thing a young goalkeeper can only usually dream about.
It's like something from fiction but it actually happened. Superb!
After that I followed Nigel's career with great interest.
Like me, he played many, many games and it was just a pity that played only once for England.
He deserved more, because he was always so reliable when he played for Aston Villa.
Nigel's Rotterdam story shows that fate can often take a hand in football, and that was also the case for Brad Guzan, who might now have been playing for another club after he was released by Villa two years ago.
But Paul Lambert's decision to take him back to the club was an inspired move.
Guzan has improved so much since he replaced Shay Given and is now one of the best keepers in British football.
It would be nice to speak to him, as well, hopefully after a win over Palace to start the New Year in style!
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I hope for his sake he's sees a better game and a Villa win against Palace.
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I hope for his sake he's sees a better game and a Villa win against Palace.
Same here, although being a goalkeeper, maybe he really enjoyed the two clean sheets! ;D
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He sounds like an absolute 100% Villa fan...brilliant!
Fingers crossed for a good performance and 3 points on Thursday!
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Bring him up The Bartons, Archie.
Of course mate, our great friend Frank will accompany him after the game!
Nah, The Ruskin Hall.
Gianluca and his family enjoyed the Barton's and later had dinner there. And he had his photo taken with cheltenhamlion. He'll be in the Lions Club before the Palace game.
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Although getting his picture taken with me will obviously be the highlight of his trip.
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Pagliuca was probably (Bos and Spink aside of course) my favourite goalkeeper back in the day. I was a huge fan of his after the 94 World Cup and watching Serie A when it was on Channel 4. Exceptional shot stopper. That he only had 39 caps for the national side was a shame, but I suppose also testament to Buffon's rise during the late 90's.
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Porky Peruzzi was pretty good in those days aswell, Juve number one for quite a few years.
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Porky Peruzzi was pretty good in those days aswell, Juve number one for quite a few years.
And Lazio aswell!
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I wonder did Gianluca Pagliuca get an offer to play in English football ? Shame we didn't have him, but we David James / Mark Bosnich at the era (If I remember correctly)
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We met again Gianluca at the Latin Lions annual meeting in Bologna, where he ended his professional carreer and now coaches with success the U15.
He follows and suffers for the Villa like any other fan and was pleased to send his greetings to the users of H& V forum.
(http://i.imgur.com/AAikTSMl.jpg)
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Excellent! Maybe he could be our celebrity moderator.
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(http://i.imgur.com/DZuUuifl.jpg)