The forgotten ex-Italian striker who ‘silenced’ Chelsea and Stamford Bridge
The forgotten ex-Italian striker who ‘silenced’ Chelsea and Stamford Bridge Former Italian striker Pasquale Luiso recalls his time at Vicenza, especially his goal at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea in the Cup Winners’ Cup and explains why he rejected offers from Milan, Lazio and Roma: ‘I preferred being a small-club top scorer. ’ Former Vicenza star Luiso released an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport to talk about his career as a footballer, during which he scored 25 goals in 87 Serie A matches. The former Italian striker became an icon in the 90s for his bicycle kick goals, especially one against Milan in 1996.
Luiso was playing for Piacenza back then, bagging 14 goals in 32 appearances, attracting interest from many top clubs in Italy. “Both Milan and Roma wanted me. The following year, Lazio too.
But I always said no,” he said. “I wanted to play, not to be the fourth striker. I preferred being a small-club top scorer to being one of many on a big team.
Of course, maybe two forwards get injured, and you play, but I was afraid of rotting on the bench. “It was a different kind of football back then. On the pitch, we used to really go at each other.
I remember clashes with Montero; we’d beat each other up for 90 minutes,” he continued. “Then, off the pitch, we were friends. Same thing against Andrea Sottil, as well as Ferrara and Nesta.