MILAN – Giuliano Sarti is this week's guest on Memorabilia, showing on Inter Channel at 21:00 CEST tonight.
The former Nerazzurri No.1, a member of the highly successful Grande Inter side of the 1960s, was a revolutionary goalkeeper: "When I arrived, Burgnich, Facchetti, Picchi and Guarnieri were already in the team. The defence was already complete; we just needed to find a way to understand each other, especially as I wasn't the sort who shouted all the time, but just suggested what should be done. Goalkeepers rarely came out of their goal in those years. Back in 1954, I started playing like the game is played today, adding a new dimension to the goalkeeper's role."
Instead of 'just' being the last line of defence, Sarti began to initiate attacks. Even if it did mean taking risks at times: "The risks of the trade… in 1956 Lazio’s Lo Buono scored a goal against me from 50 yards out because I was a bit out of my goal as usual, but not concentrating."
It seems strange to say this about one of the greatest Italian goalkeepers of all time - a man who won three league titles, an Italian Cup, two European Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and a Cup Winners’ Cup wearing the shirts of Inter and Fiorentina - but his first trial didn’t go well at all.
"I had my first trial at Torino, who played at the Stadio Filadelfia. I had a system of play whereby I organised my team-mates so that the opposition had few shots on goal. However, it meant I was not involved very much and the then president told me: 'I don’t know how you play, I've hardly ever seen you make a save.'"
When he joined Inter, Giuliano settled in Milan but trained at La Pinetina in Appiano Gentile, as the team does now. "We were a little isolated but the fans were really close to you at the stadium. The support they gave made it a real joy to play at San Siro – it really lifted you. I spent five years in a very serene environment, both in terms of the fans and the club itself."
It's impossible not to talk about the line-up which every Inter fan remembers by heart: "It was a team carefully put together to develop a specific style of play. We were so well organised, with Facchetti and Corso who were just marvellous. For those of us who played together, it was great being together on the pitch: we all worked for each other to get a result."
Sarti describes Helenio Herrera in a way unbeknown to most, certainly to those who only knew him only as a coach, and not away from the pitch: "They were two completely different characters. When I got into the changing room, I'd been thinking about the match for at least two hours before. I was very critical – of myself too. In training, there was a different climate. Herrera was a brilliant manager. To properly understand the man, you needed to take him away from the football pitch. He was surly on the pitch because he knew he wasn’t loved, but he was a real leader."
As for his team-mates from that great Inter side, Giuliano remembers the time he spent with Armando Picchi fondly: "He was a great man, always available. Sometimes we argued but when the season finished we would go on holiday together."
Sarti then discussed some of the highlights of his Nerazzurri career.
"I don’t have any shirts from my playing days. I've always wanted to keep my memories inside me and not hung on the walls.
"I was very calm in all the finals we played, including that amazing 3-1 victory over Real Madrid. It was such an incredible feeling. We were a family – players, coach and management – and it gave us enormous joy because we deserved to win that first European Cup."
