Vialli and Mancini: «In that embrace there is love, friendship, between us, between us and the Italians»

The journey of Sampdoria of records, the one that won an incredible and well-deserved championship in the 1990-1991 season, told first in a book, today becomes a documentary film directed by Marco Ponti, with the same title***, The summer season,*** produced by Grøenlandia and Rai Cinema (it will be in theaters from 28 November to 1 December), and presented at the latest Turin Film Festival. It was Vialli and Mancini’s Sampdoria. A romantic cross-section of goals and emotions, of memories and memories, of anecdotes and entertainment, of tears, of personal joys and sorrows, capable of going through one of the most important moments of the Dorian club, coached at the time by Vujadin Boshkov, under the presidency of Paolo Mantovani, and one of the most painful ones (sportingly speaking), or the final of the Champions Cup lost in 1992 against Johan Cruijff’s Barcelona.

Around a united team, one might say from other times, which then begins to rewind the tape.

There is above all the long ride, in the championship, beating real battleships: Maradona’s Napoli (4-1 at the former San Paolo), the Dutch’s AC Milan (Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard), Matthäus’s Inter (Golden Ball in 1990), Brehme and Klinsmann, fresh world champions at Italia ’90 (disappointment for Mancini himself who never played), the Juventus of Baggio and Schillaci, however losing one of the two derbies with Genoa. There are the Goal twins: Vialli on one side (top scorer in the end with 19 goals, and 6 penalties) and Mancini, symbols (besides being the players who scored the most in the club’s history, 312 goals together) of an epic adventure, steeped in friendship , values, ties, relationships.
«A healthy recipe» says the director, shared by interviewing the other protagonists: from Gianluca Pagliuca, Pietro Vierchowood, Fausto Pari, Moreno Mannini, Ivano Bonetti, Giovanni Invernizzi, Giulio Nuciari, to Marco Lanna (current president of the team), Attilio Lombardo, Beppe Dossena, Toninho Cerezo and Luca Pellegrini.

Voices and faces, therefore called to take turns in sharing, to be witnesses (now) also of a football that has almost practically disappeared, free from interests and business, which instead based its strength on the community, transforming itself into a magical unicum. «I hope this film will be useful to the new generation», says Mancini, «Because beyond victory is a story of friendship that has lasted for 30 years, which speaks of respect for each other, and of Paolo Mantovani’s project. Any of us could have walked away, but our love for that shirt was too strong, and we still feel it. They were the best years of our lives, beyond the sporting aspect».

The warm season is also a moment of emotion and reflection, where Vialli himself speaks of his illness, and of that friendship, the keyword of everything, which served to build a bridge between past and present. The same one that leads us to the documentary film to the triumph of the European Championship in 2021, against England, at Wembley, in which Mancini (current manager of the national team) and Vialli (head of delegation) embrace in that liberating cry after the penalties won.

The image full of meaning, symbolic, which conceals redemption, and closes a sort of circle. «In that embrace», says Mancini again, “there is love, friendship, between us, between us and the Italians, it was truly something special”.

«I am firmly convinced», adds Vialli, «that players today are much more professional, they know how to manage themselves better on a mental and physical level. But if you hire someone, like I did at Sampdoria, you have to be willing to give blood and tears. In my life I have always tried to transform sporting failures into motivations. But once I left the president’s office, I was ready to fulfill the vision of the man who was in charge of that project. This story talks about a series of values, a sense of belonging, a deep friendship, the need to fuck around and therefore win, but having fun, challenging the status quo, inspired by a visionary who had involved us.
It was a wonderful adventure. I have recently seen films of Paolo Sorrentino, It was the hand of God. In the end he, young, talks to Antonio Capuano who asks him, “Do you have something to say? And then you go to the cinema”. Well, we had something to say, which is why we made this film, which really represents us so much».

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