«Per un raddoppio di 120 milioni ci devi dire la sequenza completa dei rigori di Roma-Liverpool». Al quesito della vita, stretto tra le cuffie in cabina di un quiz, Chicco della serie tv I Ragazzi della Terza C non aveva dubbi: «Roma-Liverpool non l’hanno mai giocata». Come non dargli torto? Per i giallorossi l’esito della loro prima finale europea, giocata in casa, la prima della storia della Coppa dei Campioni (all’epoca accessibile solo ai primi classificati) finita ai rigori, quella partita fu un incubo.

«Il grande mercoledì è dunque arrivato» dice Bruno Pizzul in diretta Rai. Non c’è Sky, non esistono cellulari, il web è lontano. Ma il pallone è sempre uguale, è il 30 maggio del 1984, si gioca nel vecchio stadio del complesso del Foro Italico, aperto al verde della collina di Monte Mario, senza la gigantesca copertura, prima dello scempio di Italia 90. Per i tifosi della Roma, un salotto di casa. Dei 63.856 biglietti a disposizione, l’Uefa ne tiene 3550, la Roma ne avrà 43mila, 17mila il Liverpool. La gestione della vendita dei biglietti da parte della società romana è pessima: ressa, disordini, nessuna vigilanza, intervento della polizia, feriti, denunce e arresti. Il sindaco Pci Vetere e Dino Viola sono chiamati davanti a un giudice a renderne conto.

Per la A. S. Roma si tratta della prima volta. Per arrivare qui ha battuto il Dundee United, la Dinamo Berlino, il Cska Sofia, il Goteborg. Scende in campo con Tancredi, Nela, Nappi, Bonetti, Falcao, Righetti, Conti, Cereo, Pruzzo, Di Bartolomei e Graziani. Una Roma che arriva stanca nelle gambe e nella testa, perderà lo scudetto per due punti sulla Juve, inseguita da molte voci di mercato: dal migliore giocatore del mondiale spagnolo Conti al “divino” ma malconcio Falcao (un ginocchio poco generoso), persino il “barone” Liedholm è dato per partente.
Per i Reds è la quarta finale in pochi anni, hanno già vinto nel ‘77, ‘78 e ‘81. Complessivamente il calcio inglese tra il 1976 e il 1984 vince 8 volte. Il Liverpool sbarca a Fiumicino già nel ‘77 e vince contro il Borussia Mönchengladbach. Roma assiste silenziosa, non ancora protagonista. «La Roma beffata» come titoleranno i giornali nel 1984, è la beffa di un’Italia che non vince la coppa da 15 anni.

Il tifo italiano non ha ancora scelto la via all’inglese, “solo cori e sciarpe”. Ancora non sono banditi i tamburi come da prassi ultrà. Quello inglese invece è già noto per i suoi hooligan. Alla fine della partita, tra la metà della capitale delusa, ci sarà una caccia all’inglese. Ma già nel ‘77 gli inglesi si erano comportati da lanzichenecchi. «Più che farli ubriacare di alcol, ci penseranno Conti e Falcao» si dice, mentre la città vive in sospeso le ore che la dividono dalla partita.

In tribuna c’è Sandro Pertini, in veste di portafortuna. La partita è tesa, poche occasioni, ci prova due volte Graziani, una Ian Rush. Il Liverpool va in vantaggio con un gol fortunoso di Neal: lo scontro tra Whelan e Tancredi in uscita, poi la carambola su Nela finito a terra. Per i Reds comanda Souness, per i giallorossi l’ansia. Quando poi su cross di Conti il bomber Pruzzo pareggia di testa allo scadere del primo tempo, è una liberazione. Nella ripresa occasioni per Dalglish e Nicol, poi i supplementari, quindi i rigori. Fuori Pruzzo per colica e Cerezo per crampi, si consuma il gran rifiuto di Falcao, mai digerito.

In porta per i Reds c’è Bruce Grobbelaar, un africano dello Zimbabwe, ex combattente in Rodhesia, ex giocatore in Canada. Ai limiti del regolamento, Grobbelaar farà di tutto per disorientare i giocatori. Inizia Nicol e sono “bad news”: alto. Ago, il capitano, la piazza alla destra del portiere. Anche Neal spiazza alla sua sinistra Tancredi. Poi è il turno di Conti. Grobbelaar, movenze disordinate da burattino, sotto ai baffi se la ride, parla tra sé, pantaloncini verdi tirati su esageratamente, chiede l’arrivo dell’arbitro, poi si ferma. E Conti manda alle stelle. Souness fradicio di sudore mira sotto all’incrocio sinistro mentre Tancredi vola altrove. Ubaldo Righetti, il marcatore di Rush, copia Souness, e spiazza Grobbelaar.

Il rigore di Rush è l’unico rasoterra debole ma efficace. Poi arriva Ciccio Graziani, ma all’appuntamento trova la “scimmia” di Grobbelaar: barcolla da ubriaco, lingua in fuori, fa finta di cedere sulle ginocchia mentre Graziani, calzerotti tirati giù da ultima spiaggia, si affida al segno della croce. Ma è la testa quella sera che non appartiene ai giallorossi, tiro centrale che tocca la traversa e se ne va mentre Grobbelaar schizza via felice da una porta che comincia a scottare. Tocca al numero 3, Alan Kennedy. Tancredi appena si inginocchia. «È il giustiziere mancino, il suo è l’ unico rigore della serata realizzato alla destra del portiere», racconta Gianni Brera. Finisce 5 a 3, il Liverpool è campione.

Passano 12 anni. Arriva il 22 maggio del 1996 e Roma, dopo la parentesi della finale mondiale Argentina-Germania, torna ad ospitare una finalissima: Ajax contro Juventus. La prima è favorita, non solo perché è campione uscente. La sua quarta coppa campioni vinta nel ‘95 ai danni del Milan, ha dimostrato che l’Ajax già campione d’Olanda è tornato ai fasti di Cruijff. Giocando con i ragazzi del suo vivaio, Kluivert e Davids, Van Gaal ha battuto il poco coraggioso Capello e gli usurati senatori rossoneri. C’è il prezioso cannoniere finlandese Litmanen, i gemelli De Boer, i 25 anni e il metro e 97 di Van der Sar (oggi in porta col Manchester), la futura bandiera bianconera Edgar Davids, il nigeriano Kanu (poi all’Inter).

La Juventus è una squadra che cerca di vincere senza ombre la Coppa Campioni, che nel frattempo, dal 1992 è diventata Champions League, con formula rivoluzionata: entrano anche le seconde. In campionato la Juve ha lasciato lo scudetto al Milan, ma è l’unica italiana arrivata in fondo alle competizioni europee, fin qui ha battuto Borussia Dortmund, Steaua Bucarest, Glasgow Rangers, Real Madrid e Nantes. In precedenza Zoff e Trapattoni hanno messo in bacheca due Coppe Uefa ma non basta, perché Lippi nel 94 ha perso la sua prima chanche europea perdendo contro il Parma in Coppa Uefa. Ma soprattutto sono passati undici anni dalla vittoria contro il Liverpool dell’Heysel, e la ferita è ancora aperta. Nel frattempo il calcio è cambiato. Le follie dei bagarini di Roma-Liverpool sono un ricordo, ancora più speculazione, anche stavolta i biglietti finiranno in procura: per la Juve ci sono solo 19.783 biglietti, da dare in esclusiva ai club sparsi in Italia, ma molti saranno venduti con pacchetti viaggio onerosi. I club dei tifosi bianconeri arriveranno alla denuncia.

«Loro sono i pittori fiamminghi, noi i tosti piemontesi» dice l’Avvocato. La Juventus della triade Moggi-Giraudo-Bettega è una squadra molto muscolare, che aggredisce il campo, con soli tre stranieri, ma di grande esperienza internazionale: il portoghese Sousa, Jugovic, già vincitore in CL con la Stella Rossa e Deschamps, anche lui vincitore con l’Olympique Marsiglia. Il resto sono gregari alla loro grande occasione: Di Livio, preso a 27 anni dal Padova in serie B, Torricelli, prelevato dalla Carratese nel ‘92 tra i dilettanti e Pessotto. Poi ci sono i futuri senatori Ferrara e Conte, l’eterno Vierchowood, il giovane Del Piero che insieme a l’ex sampdoriano Vialli (in cerca di rivincite internazionali) e Fabrizio Ravanelli forma l’attacco a tre punte. Ma è anche la Juventus di un giovane terzino sinistro, Andrea Fortunato, 23 anni, colpito nel ‘94 dalla leucemia e morto un mese prima della partita. A lui la Juventus dedicherà una partita che rovescerà da sparring partner a protagonista, spiazzando la presunzione del professor Louis van Gaal.

Dopo 12 minuti Frank De Boer sbaglia un disimpegno da scuola calcio, Ravanelli ne approfitta e dalla linea di fondo segna il gol della vita. La partita è a senso unico, la Juventus va più volte al tiro. Il solo Musampa e un guizzo di Litmanen impensieriscono Peruzzi e alla fine del primo tempo nasce il pareggio. Poi i rigori: Davids incerto tira centrale e Peruzzi para. Poi Ferrara tira angolatissimo e forte. Litmanen capocannoniere di CL con 9 reti, spiazza Peruzzi, Pessotto ancora più angolato. Scholten segna. Idem Padovano che però rischia grosso. Ma poi Peruzzi si supera, perché il 33enne Silooy sbaglia. Jugovic no. Finisce ancora una volta 5 a 3.

La Roma, due anni dopo il Liverpool, perse di nuovo in casa una partita fondamentale, lo scudetto contro il Lecce. Dopo Roma, per la Juve arriveranno le brucianti sconfitte con Borussia, Real e Milan. Non solo per l’Ajax, arriverà nel ‘96 il primo calcio mercato dopo la sentenza Bosman. Sono passati altri 13 anni, ora tocca al nuovo calcio di Manchester e Barcellona.

Nothing blog-worthy lately… But here’s a music video of me and my friends rapping. It won Audience Choice and Best Director at our High School Film Festival in our senior year. That’s incentive…

(I Live My Life) Like a Rap Video

This morning on my way to work (yes I work on Saturdays), I was listening to the story about the sub prime lending fallout. Here is what I don’t understand, why do people feel they are entitled to own homes? I am 36 years old and will be 37 this year. I knew if I wanted to own a home, I would have to make x amount of dollars, so that I could pay the mortgage off each month. So I waited until I could afford a house. I was 34 when I bought my first house, I have never missed a mortgage payment and I am going on three years. One person I used to work with bought his house when he was 28. He got an 5 year ARM loan with a tiny teaser rate, just so he could own the home. After the five years were up, his rate went to 13% and raised his mortgage payment right out of his price range. When he went to refinance, his house was worth considerably less than what he paid for it (since he bought it at the peak of the bubble). He has since sold the house, took a huge loss and is still paying off the difference. He said the earliest he could buy another home is in 8-10 years. So here is what grinds my gears, why do people buy houses they can’t afford? I just don’t get it. I know it has nothing to do with baseball cards, but I had to vent. Let’s look at pack 16.

1. Darren Daulton – C – Phillies – 636 – Darren was one of my favorite players back in the day and this is his second card. In 1987 he was still serving as backup to Lance Parrish, only getting 128 at bats (which was down from 1986), he ended up going 0.194/3/13. It would be two more years before he got the starting nod. These numbers didn’t help his case. His fun fact was that he lettered in football, baseball and wrestling in high school.

2. Dave LaPoint – P – Padres – 754 – Dave LaSucked in 1986, he got traded to the Tigers then to the Padres. In 1987 he was signed by the Cardinals, LaSucked for them, then traded to the White Sox where he did LaGood. Overall in 1987 he went 7-4/3.56/1.328 and actaully stayed with the White Sox for most of 1988 before getting traded yet again. His fun fact was that he is a baseball card collector. So maybe he does have some redeeming qualities.

3. Checklist cards 526-660 – 654 – That’s number one if you are counting at home.

4. Randy Meyers – P – Mets – 213 – One of the Nasty Boys, but much earlier in his career. 1987 was Randall K’s rookie season and he did quite well, establishing himself as the set-up guy in NY. He went 3-6/3.96/1.21 with 6 saves. This would be enough to signal the end of the line for Roger McDowell in New York. He has no fun fact, but a lot of minor league stats.

5. Luis Salazar – 3B/OF – White Sox – 454 – He didn’t do much for the Sox in 1986 (was in the minors almost the whole season), but in 1987 he signed with the Padres and worked as a backup during the season. He went 0.254/3/17 in 189 at bats. Luis would move around a lot over the next few years. His fun fact was that he and his wife have 2 kids.

6. Jim Dwyer – OF/1B – Orioles – 246 – Jim was a career backup, but had what would be his best season in 1987. He was still with the Orioles and went 0.274/15/33 in 241 at bats. He also had one of the better nicknames in the league (Pig Pen). Jim doesn’t have a fun fact.

7. Rob Dernier – OF – Cubs – 715 – Rob was known mainly as a speedster for most of his career, but in 1987 things took a downturn for him. His speed not quite as fast and his average starting to dip. He had a backup roll in 1987 in which he went .317/8/21/16 in just 199 at bats. His fun fact is that his boyhood hero was Bert Campaneris.

8. Stave Sax – NL All Star – 596 – The card for Steve is a list of the top ten base stealers in the NL in 1986. Steve was 7th on that list with 40. He was getting by on his name in 1986, not really deserving the spot. Much like Piazza in the early part of this century.

9. Joe Cowley – P – White Sox – 27 – 1987 would be Joe’s final season in the bigs. He spent it with the Phillies and it only lasted for 5 games. His stats were 0-4/15.43/3.26, which is definitely the single worst year’s performance I have ever seen since doing card reviews. His final fun fact was that he is a fan of University of Kentucky Basketball and Football. He also enjoys boating.

10. Bruce Benedict – C – Braves – 186 – Bruce started for a few years in Atlanta, but by 1987 he was in backup mode. His stats were 0.225/0/13 in 225 at bats. His fun fact was that in the offseasons he does speaking engagements and is a high school basketball referee.

11. Greg Harris – P – Rangers – 44 – For someone who was really an awful pitcher, he had a very long career (15 years). In 1987 he was a spot starter for the Rangers and ended up going 5-10/4.86/1.51, which should have been enough to move him into the down cycle of his career, but it wasn’t and he continued to make money well into the 90s as a pitcher. His fun fact was that he enjoys back packing in his leisure time.

12. Paul Zuvella – SS – Yankees – 102 – Paul spent most of 1987 in AAA but he did get 34 at bats in the majors. His stats were 0.176/0/0. His fun facts are that he likes reading, watching movies and playing chess. He also plays the piano and drums. Me thinks he should have been spending more time in the batting cage.

13. Bruce Ruffin – P – Phillies – 499 – An elusive Topps All Rookie Team member. Ruffin had a great season in 1986, where he went 9-4/2.46/1.24, but that would be one of his best seasons. In 1987 he was still with the Phillies and went 11-14/4.5/1.41, establishing himself as a NL doormat in the way of pitching. His fun fact was that he was All-City and All-District in high school and that he was on the 1983 University of Texas National Championship Baseball team (teammate of Roger Clemens).

14. Russ Morman – 1B – White Sox – 233 – Mormon was a career backup and in 1987 he didn’t play in the majors. In 1986 he went 0.252/4/17 in 159 at bats. His fun fact was that he was an All-American at Wichita State.

15. Mel Hall – OF – Indians – 51 – I was a big fan of Mel when he was with the Yankees, but in 1987 he was still with the Indians. He went 0.280/18/76, the perfect guy as t 5th or 6th hitter in your lineup. I always thought of him as your typical blue collar get it done kind of player, who was no fantasy stud, but you wanted him on your favorite team. His fun fact was that he played little league and Babe Ruth ball.

16. Dave Righetti – P – Yankees – 40 – What’s not to like about the Ronzoni man? In 1986 he set the record for saves in a season in the AL and in 1987 he earned another trip to the All Star game. His stats were 8-6/3.51/1.46 with 31 saves. Not as good as 1986 but not bad at all. His fun fact is that he grew up a Giants and A’s fan.

17. Junior Ortiz – C – Pirates – 583 – This is the original Junior. Just kidding, he was a bcakup most of his career and rarely saw more than 200 at bats. In 1987 he went 0.271/1/22 in 192 at bats. With Spank Lavaillere as the entrentched starter, Junior never got too many at bats. His fun fact was that he and his wife have 2 children.

Overall I liked this pack it had pep if you will, maybe it’s just me who has the pep, as I am on my third cup of coffee already and it’s only 9:15am. Overall I’ll give this one a 2.0 star rating. Not quite average, but not horrible either. The checklist and the Steve sax AS card lowers the grade from average. Hope you enjoyed my caffeine fueled banter today and if anyone knows why Jim Dwyer was named Pig Pen please leave a comment.

I can’t believe I’m up to lucky pack number 13 already. I was able to dodge the doubles bullet for the second pack that I reviewed yesterday. I have come to grips that there will be many more doubles than I anticipated in these boxes. I hope that everyone is still on to pitch in when needed at the end. So far I have 27 doubles and knowing that each box has 540 cards, I think we may have close to 100 doubles when all is said and done. Dropping us down to 440 cards, certainly if this holds true then I can complete the set in two boxes, but I don’t know how that’s going work. Let’s see how this first pack of the day shapes up.

1. Mark Langston – P – Mariners – 495 – 1984 Topps trade has his rookie card, but 1985 Tops is his regular issue rookie card. I am a big fan of Mark Langston, I even got to see him pitch in the Kingdome in 1986. Since he was starting I couldn’t get his autograph, but his is definitely one of those autographs I would like to pick up. So if any of you out there has one let me know and we could trade. He may not have been the best player in the league at the time, but he threw some gas and had more K’s than Clemens in 1986 (beat him by 7 strikeouts).

2. Ozzie Guillen – SS – White Sox – 254 – How did he beat out Teddy Higuera for Rookie of the Year honors in 1985? He really had no stats to speak of, 1 HR, 0.273 batting average, 33 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. You know what Higuera put up from my review yesterday. How is that ROY material? Overall he played for 16 seasons but only amassed 1700+ hits. I guess it was the “little things” that made him a starter and a star for that matter. Or maybe it was just his top notch attitude? Either way, this is his rookie card and is worth $0.75 according to Beckett.

3. Jimmy Key – P – Blue Jays – 545 – Even in 1986 I was a big Jimmy Key fan, I was still a fan when he was shipped off to Baltimore after playing for the Yankees for four years. He was an Andy Pettite of his day. His average was 14-9 with a 3.51 ERA over his career and you just knew the Yankees had a shot every time he was on the mound for them. He was another one of those late round fantasy surprises, just because he just wasn’t flashy. He may never go down as one of the best pitchers of the 80s and early 90s but he should.

4. Craig Reynolds – SS – Astros – 298- He played for 15 seasons and let me tell you he was a 0 tool player for all of them. A starter that fit well in the 8th slot in the lineup. Didn’t much bring anything to the table except he rarely struck out. He carved out a nice career for himself, even if he didn’t deserve to play in the bigs for as long as he did.

5. Terry Harper – OF – Braves – 247 – Harper actually had a very nice 1985 season, where he had 17 homers 72 RBIs and hit 0.264. That made him the starter going into 1986, unfortunately mid season he injured himself and missed 3 months. He never really regained his starting position and retired in1988.

6. Len Dykstra – OF – Mets – 53 – I never really liked Dykstra, could have been because I hated the Mets or maybe because once at a card show when I was 15, i was in an elevator with him and I had a ball and pen, asked him to sign it. He said he didn’t have time. Meanwhile we rode up to our floors in silence, plenty of time for him to sign. I knew that he was a jerk. From that point foward I kept one card for the set and sold every other card I ever got from him. I cheered every time he got injured (which was often) and popped a cork when he retired. He couldn’t leave baseball early enough for me!

7. Rod Carew – 1B – Angels – 400 – I thought he might be in this set I couldn’t remember when he retired. He actually retired after the 1985 season, so he never played in 1986. He played for 19 seasons and was an all star in 18 of them. He has a Rookie of the Year award and also an MVP. He may not have hit a lot of homers, but for 15 consecutive years he batted over 0.300 including five seasons he hit higher than 0.350. One of the best pure hitters in the game, you can mention his name with George Brett, Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs. He was inducted into the Hall in 1991, and he deserved it.

8. Dave Righetti – P – 560 – Yankees – He was another one of those players I was a fan of. I actually never met him but I did meet his brother who lives in Arizona and he was nice enough to get a ball signed for me. It was a perfect storm, I really got into pro baseball in 1984 and he was the closer on my favorite team. One of the saddest days is when they let him go and he signed with San Francisco. 1986 was definitely his best season, he saved 46 games and finished over 60 of them.

9. Rick Miller – OF – Red Sox – 424 – Maybe what he is most famous for is being Carlton Fisk’s brother in law. He was a spot starter for Boston and California. He is another one of those guys that retired in 1985 and didn’t play in the1986 season. He was really only known for his batting average. Which wasn’t that good to begin with.

10. Brian Fisher – P – Yankees – 584 – Double which was reviewed in pack 12.

11. George Hendrick – OF – Angels – 190 – Double which was reviewed in pack 12.

12. Bob Grich – 2B – Angels – 155 – Double which was reviewed in pack 12.

13. George Foster – OF – Mets – 680 – Double which was reviewed in pack 12.

14. Teddy Higuera – P – Brewers – 347 – Double which was reviewed in pack 12.

15. Bryan Little – 2B – White Sox – 346 – Double which was reviewed in pack 12. Goes in the Steve pile!

Overall, even with the doubles, it is still a solid pack. I gave it a 4.0 stars rating. Carew, Guillen, Langston, Dykstra (even though I hate him), Foster and Higuera made this pack possibly one of the best packs I’ve seen since the 5.0 stars pack. I am getting kind of tired with this 6 doubles per pack business. I wonder how long this plagues the Topps line. I guess I will find out soon enough. I should have another review up by this afternoon.