Ginulfi: The man who coached Maradona and saved a penalty from Pele

A man with a rare double claim to fame...

Everyone knows of Alberto Ginulfi as the goalkeeper who saved a penalty from Pele in Roma’s 1972 friendly with Santos, but not many people know that he also worked with Diego Maradona at Napoli, under Ottavio Bianchi and Alberto Bigon.

“I was the goalkeeping coach initially and then assistant coach,” he explains.

Ginulfi, who turns 79 on 30 November, was Roma’s goalkeeper for 11 seasons in the ‘60s and ‘70s, making 201 appearances for the club. He was between the sticks for Roma in ’68 – a time of revolution and change – and starred in Roma’s 1969 Coppa Italia triumph, the second of nine.

His career, both as a player and a coach, was anything but banal and he witnessed the beautiful game first hand – as an opponent of O Rey and a coach of El Diez.

“To say I ‘coached’ Diego is a bit much,” Ginulfi says. “He was the greatest of all time – there really wasn’t much to teach him!"

What were Pele and Maradona like as players?

“Pele was a world-beater: no one could keep up with him. Diego was the finest exponent of a different football, very physical and difficult. He always had one or two defenders on him and never had it easy, but they could never catch him.

"Pele might have found it difficult if he’d come to play in Europe. I’m sure he would still have won games single-handedly, but football is different here. Maradona was the greatest. That’s written on a photo I have of him with a dedication in my home.”

What was it like working with him on a daily basis?

“Actually, he wasn’t always on the pitch with us! Joking aside, we all know the sort of thing he did in matches – all those fabulous goals and assists. On matchday he put the team before his own performances. And of course he was always head and shoulders above the rest.

"Watching him in training every day was a sight to behold. The things Diego and Careca did were remarkable. It was all one or two touch.”

Is there a personal story you can tell us about?

“Sometimes he’d ask me to stay on with him at the end of training because he wanted to practise overhead kicks or volleys from crosses, especially when it was raining and the ground was muddy. He loved that.

"He’d look at me and say, ‘Oh Gino, we’re going to have some fun today.’ He used to call me Gino. How could you say no to him? He was phenomenal – the goals he scored on that waterlogged pitch…”

What was he like as a person?

“A good, generous man. I can give you an example if you like…”

Go on...

“One day we all got to the training ground in the afternoon but the pitch was closed because a groundsman, who had the keys to the whole facility, turned up a couple of hours late. The reason was that he had this Fiat 500 which had died on him and he then had to dump. So Diego went and bought him a new car. That’s the sort of person he was. Lots of people depended on him.”

What about on the pitch? Besides his natural ability of course.

“He was a leader, a real team player. I never saw him shout at a team-mate; he encouraged them. Just having him there made them perform better. It’s no coincidence Napoli won two Scudetti – their only two – while he was there.”

Earlier you mentioned that he didn’t always turn up for training.

“Sometimes you didn’t see him there. People know that. But in the year of Napoli’s second Scudetto [1989-90] from March onwards he didn’t miss a single day. There was a league title to be won – which they did – and the Italia ’90 World Cup to get ready for with Argentina. We remember that well…”

What was he like as an athlete?

“He had an exceptional physique. He would get kicked to pieces but he never reacted, even though he was often targeted. He won games single-handedly. Obviously there was a whole team supporting him, but he was on another planet.”

How did you end up at Napoli?

“I got a call from Giorgio Perinetti, who was Napoli sporting director at the time. They needed a goalkeeping coach to join Bianchi’s backroom team. Then I stayed on with Bigon and became assistant. They were great years.”

How did you react to Maradona’s death?

“I was very sad because he was still young. You know we’re all going to die sooner or later but I didn’t think he would go so soon. He’d recently come through an operation and it seemed as though everything was going fine.”

Did you ever meet him again after your time together at Napoli?

“No, I never saw him again. The two or three times he did come back to Italy, he had loads of people around him and it was hard to get close. I’d have liked to say hello to him.”

What sort of match are you expecting between Napoli and Roma on Sunday?

“It will be a huge battle for lots of reasons. Napoli can’t afford to lose and they’ll need to compete physically and be on the ball mentally. They’ll pull out all the stops.

"But they’ll be up against a Roma side in good shape and we have a great chance. I support Roma, passionately. And that’s no secret!”

"Napoli-Roma sarà una gara complicata, per tanti motivi"

- Alberto Ginulfi