MILAN - "The Nerazzurri shirt is like a second skin." That was how goalkeeper Luciano Castellini described his relationship with the club he worked for at the end of the 1980s in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport in 2015.
However, the "Jaguar", as everyone called him, never actually wore the Nerazzurri colours. At least during his playing career. Indeed, in a 15-year career in Serie A spanning more than 400 appearances, Castellini only turned out for Torino and Napoli. He won the Coppa Italia in 1971 and a league title with the Granata in 1976, before representing the Azzurri between 1978 and 1985, setting a Serie A record without conceding at home. His 1,188-minute run still stands to this day and he was also voted the best goalkeeper in Napoli history.
Yet, while Luciano never played for Inter, the Nerazzurri always had a place in his heart. He was born in Milan in 1945 but grew up in Menaggio where he served the local Inter Club as vice-president while still a young man. He also played in local tournaments in the Lake Como area for a team that bore the same name as Inter.
Despite playing against the Nerazzurri for many years, his lasting love affair with the club culminated in a request from the management in 1988 to become Inter's goalkeeping coach. From that day forward, he split his time between Appiano Gentile and Interello. He lent his experience and technical expertise (his ability to scout potential goalkeepers was second to none) to both the kids in the academy and the stars of the first team. But the keepers at the club benefited above all from his wonderful people skills.
Castellini was coach who could teach and educate players on how to work hard for one another, an attribute which had made him a fans' favourite during his playing days. A number of superb keepers worked with Luciano, including Walter Zenga (who Castellini considered his protege), Francesco Toldo, Gianluca Pagliuca, Sebastien Frey and Julio Cesar. The Brazilian "dream catcher" in actual fact never trained with Luciano but the latter did have a crucial role in the Nerazzurri signing him. Giacinto Facchetti sent Castellini to Brazil to scout him and the coach wrote a very encouraging report.
Castellini was an important colleague for all of the Nerazzurri coaching staff and he was also asked to take charge of the first team on two occasions. First, in 1997 when coach Roy Hodgson resigned after a bad defeat to Schalke 04 in the UEFA Cup and the president asked the Jaguar to take the reins. The former keeper collected four points from two games, with his first match - in a twist of fate - ending in a 3-2 victory over his former club Napoli to keep Inter's hold on third place.
The second time came in March 1999, when Castellini was installed as caretaker boss for four matches following the dismissal of Mircea Lucescu, before Hogson eventually returned. Castellini ended with a pair of wins, draws and losses from his half a dozen games in charge across two short spells, before returning to his usual post coaching the youth and first-team keepers.
He then took on a scouting role, which he still holds to this day, unearthing - besides Julio Cesar - Vid Belec, currently at Carpi and part of the Slovenia squad and Ionut Radu, a promising young keeper, 19. The Romanian is just the latest talent discovered for the Nerazzurri by the Jaguar who, despite never representing Inter on the pitch, has always loved the club. A proper Inter man.
Roberto Brambilla
