Cagliari has remained with him. And Rolando Maran, now Albania's coach, still thinks about what he could have achieved had he remained at the helm until the very end of the team with which, for an autumn, he dreamed of Europe. On December 16, 2019, just under seven years ago, Cagliari, who until then had been hovering between the Champions League and Europa League spots, hosted Lazio, in a packed Domus stadium. And everything seemed to be going well. Leading after eight minutes through Cholito Simeone, the Rossoblu missed a couple of chances to double their lead (one sensational one from the Argentine himself) and, in the final moments, were subjected to the forays of Lazio, then coached by Simone Inzaghi. The defense seemed to hold, but the nine minutes of injury time called by referee Maresca were a dire omen in the eyes of the Sardinian crowd. And, indeed, right on time, Luis Alberto equalized in the 93rd minute. Cagliari was on the ropes, and Caicedo, with the clock ticking to the 98th minute, dashed their dreams of glory. For Lazio, it was their eighth consecutive win, and for Cagliari, it was the beginning of a curse that, before the pandemic hit, led to a string of defeats interspersed with just a few draws in just two months. This situation cost coach Rolando Maran dearly, who—during his golden years that year—were heavily rumored to be moving to Lazio the following season: he was fired. That curse followed Maran to Genoa, playing for Genoa (he was sacked) and, after a long spell without a job, to Pisa. The Trentino coach subsequently thrived at Brescia, where he led the Leonessa to the brink of returning to Serie A via the playoffs. Maran, however, has never hidden the fact that December 16, 2019, marked his career, after the glories of Varese, Catania, and Chievo, where he was the flag bearer and captain even on the pitch when Serie A, for the second team from Verona, was still a mirage.
Cagliari-Lazio was a football curse for everyone.
"The important thing is that Cagliari is still in Serie A and that my path has also been unlocked."
Genoa and Pisa, then Brescia again where he came within a whisker of promotion to Serie A. He is now the coach of Albania.
"It's an important experience that, at 62, I felt I deserved. It's an opportunity to represent a people, and I'm very proud of it. All the ingredients are there to do a good job."
A bit like what happened to her in Cagliari, with whom she created an unbreakable bond.
"Yes. I come back when I can: if I can, I'll be at the Domus for the Gigi Riva Memorial on August 7-8. A sort of symbiosis had developed with the people: I lived downtown, and it was nice to interact with the fans even when things weren't going well. Fairness has always been paramount: Sardinians are truly a proud people. Of course, if we could have played that match in Verona, which was suspended twelve hours before kick-off due to the lockdown... A win would have been enough to get us back on track; we needed a spark."
Football is growing in Albania.
"There are some interesting players, many of them playing in Serie A and Serie B. I'm thinking of Ramadani, Djimsiti, Ismajli, Asllani, Berisha, Shpendi, and Sherri himself. And then there are the sports facilities: not only in the federal center, but also in Tirana and other cities, I'm seeing significant growth."
When he was at Cagliari, he was considered a good locker room manager. Are you sure his last year went smoothly?
The locker room was united. And the senior players, starting with Nainggolan, thought the same as me: that we'd recover, that one incident would have been enough. They were a strong group, and my only regret is that we couldn't finish the job. With the crowd cheering us on, we would have also broken the Cagliari-Lazio curse.
Speaking of fans, after the victory over Atalanta he ended up in all the newspapers for buying drinks for a group of fans.
"I did what I felt compelled to do. It confirms the symbiosis that had been created with the city."
Did you see the World Cup?
«Yes, I think it was an edition of high technical value».
What does your Albania aspire to?
"For now, we're tackling the Nations League, then we'll see. I repeat: we have a good base, and we can carve out a niche for ourselves just behind the top teams."
Pisacane was one of his defenders. Today he's the rossoblù coach.
"Fabio was a player with personality and quickly became a 'real' coach. The club is right to focus on him and on the youth project."
A few years ago you were on the verge of returning.
"I know there was talk of it a few years ago, but I never received a formal request. I've remained on excellent terms with the club, everyone, starting with the president. But, I repeat, you always want to return to places where you've had a good time."
