Soccer: Italy mourns Boskov

Ex-Samp coach remembered for wit, wisdom

(ANSA) - Rome, April 28 - Italian soccer on Monday recalled the gentle wit and wisdom of Vujadin Boskov, the former Sampdoria coach who has died at the age of 82 in his native Serbia. La Gazzetta dello Sport ran a full-page story on The Great Boskov, who led Samp to a scudetto with 'goal twins' Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli in 1991, before they narrowly failed to beat Barcelona in the 1992 European Cup Final at Wembley. "He coached Real (Madrid) too, he liked things his way, but not too much," a headline read over a piece celebrating Boskov's achievements as a player with Yugoslavia, Vojvodina, Samp (1961-62) and Young Boys as well as his coaching triumphs with Real (two league titles, two Copas del Rey), Samp (a league title, two Italian cups, an Italian super cup), Ascoli (promotion to Serie A), Roma, Napoli and Perugia, plus the Yugoslav national team.

La Gazzetta highlighted that Roma talisman Francesco Totti - who got his break from Boskov in 1993 - was "distraught". Totti was quoted as saying: "He was a great man, a winner, with a great sense of humour". Examples of that droll voice, in grammatically stilted but trenchant Italian, flanked the article, such as his dry reflections on the vagaries of the coach's job: "There's a law in soccer: players win and managers lose," and "coaches are like skirts, one year minis are in fashion, the next year you mothball them". On the different hats a manager had to wear, Boskov once observed: "(A) coach must be teacher, friend and policeman".

His overall view of life on the bench was summed up by a favourite saying: "After rain comes sun". The fatalistic truisms with which Boskov dodged questions about questionable refereeing decisions were also highlighted: "It's penalty (sic) when ref blows" and "ball goes in when God wants". Another oft-repeated phrase was "if we win we're winners, if we lose we're losers." Boskov was also capable of lyrical flights when describing both opponents ("Gullit like stag coming out of forest") and his own players, such as the forever young and busy bald winger Attilio Lombardo: "he's like a bullet train hurtling out of a tunnel".

On the qualities that made a player stand out, Boskov said: "A great player sees motorways where others only see narrow paths" and "a good player uses two eyes to trap the ball and the other two to watch his opponent". Though generally indulgent of journalists' failings, he once told a particularly insistent Naples one: "I think your head only good for wearing a hat". And he also, albeit rarely, chided opposing players, saying of one highly workmanlike Uruguayan midfielder playing for Samp's city rivals Genoa: "If I take my dog off the leash he plays better than (José) Perdomo". Criticised about this, Boskov as usual had the final word: "I didn't say Perdomo plays like my dog. I say he able play football only on my villa's lawn with my dog".