Antonio Di Gennaro remembered Osvaldo Bagnoli, who passed away at the age of 91 and was the architect of the historic Scudetto won by Verona, speaking on the Maracanà program on TMW radio. The former footballer retraced the seven years spent together with the coach, highlighting the human values that distinguished him.
“He used to say at the time that we all deserved it. He put the ‘we’ before the ‘I’. Seven wonderful years with him,” said Di Gennaro. “We all remember the coach, I remember two years before I left Verona, I separated from my wife and he was there for me. And for me that was even more important, he was a man with great values and principles. He never wanted to sell me, I had some offers but I stayed.”
The former midfielder then highlighted the coach’s technical and human qualities: “I have so many memories with him. I remember 6-7 years ago, I called him to wish him happy birthday and I addressed him informally… A true legend. His best quality was always telling us what we wanted to know. He explained the squad, never talked about reserves, those who didn’t play he still considered and trained himself. Managing the group is increasingly important.”
Di Gennaro also touched on the experience at Inter: “He was disappointed after being dismissed by Inter, he couldn’t stand large squads and when he said enough, that was it. With him there was Mascetti, they were truly one and the same. Today, if only there were such a relationship between coach and sporting director…”
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