«I cried for Van Basten»- Corriere.it

He was born in a small fraction of Rosignano, a stone’s throw from Livorno, and now lives among the skyscrapers of Shanghai. He started playing football in the church courtyard, then scored at the Bernabeu. Graziano Mannariformer striker of Milan from 1987 to 1989, today he is 54 years old and eight months ago he became a father for the third time. Merit of little Mia, had by his second wife: “Compared to me she is 20 years younger, it was right that she could experience the joy of being a mother”, she tells us. Since 2012 he has been touring Asia, from Japan to China, in fact: «I was the technical manager of the Ac Milan Soccer school Singapore. Then, when Berlusconi sold the club, many of those with whom I had a certain relationship within the club left. So I seized the opportunity to accept a new challenge that had been proposed to me: teach football and sport psychology to coaches and school teachers».

Not bad to have a European champion teacher with Milan.

«In 1989 I was young, I was 19 years old. We won that Champions Cup in the round of 16, in the double confrontation with Red Star. They were very strong, they had Savicévic, Prosinecki, Stojkovic. At San Siro it ended 1-1, in the return they scored in the second half. From the dugout we couldn’t see anything because of the fog. We were one step away from elimination, but the referee found himself forced to postpone the match until the next day. Returning to the locker room, Sacchi notices Virdis has already changed. “What are you doing here?”; “Mister, I was expelled”. No one noticed anything.”

And the next day she goes on the field. Paired with Van Basten.

«Costacurta comes close in the warm-up. “Today I don’t see you snappy”. I was white with fear. In the graphics at the start of the match my name turns into Grazziano… more than a few fans in Italy must have wondered who I was. Everything happened, Marco’s advantage, Stoijkovic’s draw, the unallocated ghost goal on Vasilijevic’s free kick. It goes to penalties, Cappellini comes in for me, better than me from the penalty spot. He had to shoot the decisive one, he was terrified. Rijkaard prevailed. “No mister, I’ll kick it. I’m not a penalty taker but I’m 30 years old. If I’m wrong, I have broad shoulders.’

The Milan of the three Dutch lived.
“On retreat I shared a room with Gullit. Sacchi decided couples based on roles, he thought that this way we would increase our compatibility. The first few times, Ruud carried around a huge stereo, pumping out loud music. “Football is fun,” he told me. With Van Basten I shared a year of physiotherapy. I broke my tibia and fibula just three days after my debut with Milan. They told my father that I risked never going back to playing. Marco, on the other hand, was struggling with his ankle. We worked together every day, he hated the light in the room, even the LED on the TV bothered him. He returned to the field before me and immediately scored against Empoli. I cried together with the doctor who had followed us. “Then I can do it too”, I said to myself».

And she did too.
“Physically I was ready, but I still limped. Matter of mind: «Stop and go on vacation for a bit», they told me. The best thing I could do. I go back and sign to Campobasso. Three days later we went to Madrid for the Bernabeu trophy: “Warm up, now come in,” Sacchi warned me. I do it together with Baresi, in front of 90,000 people. Virdis finds me on the edge of the area, not even the time to block the ball that the goalkeeper is on me: «Next time I’ll discard everyone», I whisper, pissed off, to myself. Ten seconds go by, another pass — this time from Rijkaard — and I start dribbling. Goal, we win 3-0».

Is it better to score one goal at the Bernabeu or two at Juve?

«Those against Juventus were my first goals in Serie A. March 1989, we won 4-0. San Siro said “olè” at every pass, but I never touched the ball. In the end here it is, I try the diving header. I fall, I hear the roar, the ground shakes: “Come on, it’s impossible that I scored”, I repeated to myself. Then the comrades who came to meet me, the board with my name…”.

He has had many nicknames

«Carlo Pellegatti called me “lupetto”, which with a surname like mine – Mannari – sounded perfect. The funny thing is, when I scored, he would start howling on the commentary. For Gullit I was “Speedy Gonzalez” or the “mosquito”, because I ran fast and never stopped. Finally, for some fans, I was Pier Silvio Berlusconi. A good boy, he often trained with us at Milanello. We looked alike.”

Whose father and its president, Silvio, chose her for a commercial against violence in stadiums.
«In December 1987 at San Siro, Roma goalkeeper Franco Tancredi was hit on the head by two firecrackers that rained down from the stands, which cost Milan the defeat at the table. So Berlusconi decides to make a commercial to raise awareness of the issue, he needed someone with a clean face. I hadn’t made my debut in the first team yet, but we from the Primavera team also took part in the casting. “Who are you? How old are you?”. All very fast. They choose me, I had to go down from the grandstand to the field and remove a lit fuse under a ball. Berlusconi pampered us. “You are good but never forget that you are also lucky”, he reminded us ».

How many injuries though…

«Before the 1989-90 season Braida speaks to me clearly. “Go on loan to Como”. He had just taken Marco Simone, I had to step aside and I couldn’t oppose it. I had a contract, then there was no going against the club. The following year I moved to Parma and broke my crusader. I’m out for a year and a half, then various loans including the one to Ravenna, where the knee cracks again. I played one game, then I was out for 20 days. I was 26 and basically already a former footballer. I was sad, angry. It didn’t feel right to have to stop already. I went home and opened a baby store with my ex-wife. The love for football only came back to me later. And today I’m teaching it on the other side of the world».