Richard Hough, author of Verona Campione, the Miracle of 1985, reflects on yet another premature exit from the Coppa Italia for Hellas Verona.
There was a time when Hellas Verona were serious contenders in the Coppa Italia, the Italian league cup. Sadly, that was some 40 years ago, when Hellas were beaten finalists two years in a row. More recently, the Coppa Italia is little more than pre-season side show, or an opportunity to give fringe players a run out, with a prolonged cup run generally being regarded as an unwelcome distraction from the serious business of survival in the top tier.
And so it proved against Venezia last Wednesday evening when a dire goalless draw played out under torrential rain at the Bentegodi. As the match went to penalties it was Verona’s Cameroonian defender Enzo Ebosse who missed while Venezia made no mistakes netting five from five against Verona’s reserve goalkeeper Simone Perilli. While it’s disappointing to lose to a second-tier local rival, most fans just seemed relieved that the ordeal was over for another year.
Another Early Exit
In recent years, Hellas fans have grown accustomed to exiting early from the Italian league cup. Last season it was a 2-1 home defeat against Cesena while most of us were still on the beach. The year before that it was a 2-0 defeat at Bologna in the second round. The one before that was an even more humiliating 4-1 home defeat against Bari in the first round played in the sweltering heat of the Italian summer.
In fact, the last time Hellas Verona made the “Ottavi di finale” (the last 16) was way back in the 2014/15 season, and even that ended in misery as Hellas suffered a humiliating 6-1 defeat in Turin against Juventus.
The Glory Days
The glory days, of course, were the 1980s when Hellas reached back-to-back Coppa Italia finals. In the 1982/83 season, a newly-promoted Hellas faced Juventus in the final, having eliminated, amongst others A.C. Milan and Torino along the way. Juventus boasted a formidable attack that included Paolo Rossi, Zbigniew Boniek, Giuseppe Galderisi (a diminutive striker who just a few months later would be playing for Hellas) and Michel Platini, newly-crowned capocannoniere of the championship.
Back then, the final was played over two-legs and, on a warm summers evening in front of a sell-out Bentegodi, Hellas achieved a two-nil victory against the Italian champions.
The return leg started badly, with Rossi opening the scoring in the 8th minute. Juve couldn’t find a second and, with barely ten minutes remaining, Hellas were minutes away from a historic victory. Then, on the 81st minute, Platini broke through the Gialloblu defence and scored the goal that sent the game into extra time. It was the Frenchman again, on the 119th minute, who grabbed the winner for Juve, breaking Veronese hearts, and giving La Signora their seventh Coppa Italia.
The following season Hellas once again reached the final, this time against Nils Liedholm’s Roma (who would also reach the final of the European Cup, losing in a notorious penalty shoot-out against Liverpool thanks to Bruce Grobbelaar’s infamous spaghetti legs!).
The first leg at the Bentegodi ended honours even with Toninho Cerezo opening the scoring for Roma and Massimo Storgato equalising for Hellas. In the return leg, Hellas fell behind thanks to an unfortunate Mauro Ferroni own goal, and early in the second half, Maurizio Iorio was the victim of a highly questionable red card. Like a year earlier, Verona’s dream of winning their first major trophy was dashed – but they wouldn’t have much longer to wait!
Those glorious cup finals in the balmy summer evenings in front of a packed Bentegodi are a far cry from the shambolic exits we’ve experienced in recent years, not least that travesty under the rain at the Bentegodi last Wednesday night.
Richard Hough is author of Verona Campione, the Miracle of 1985.