“In my life I have always waged war on servants and ass-kissers. And I have no regrets.” Aldo Agroppi, died in Piombino at the age of 80last year he confessed this to ‘Repubblica’, thirty years after his last job as coach. A reflection-manifesto that contains a large part of a life dedicated to football, of a complicated character to say the least and of a polemical attitude of a ‘cursed Tuscan’.
Born in Piombino on 14 April 1944, Agroppi grew up in the youth club of the local club and made his debut in Serie D before being noticed and purchased by Torino who sent him to gain experience at Genoa and Ternana before integrating him. in the first team squad. The debut in Torino-Samp 4-2 was on 15 October 1967, the same day in which Gigi Meroni, the ‘George Best’ of the Granata, died when hit by a car.
Agroppi, midfielder of great dynamism and polite feet, it is among the protagonists of the rebirth of Toro with which he won two Italian Cups. After almost ten years in the Granata, and five games in the Azzurri, in 1975-76 he moved to Perugia, newly promoted to Serie A, with whom he played another two good seasons before hanging up his boots in ’77. Definitely early, even for the time.
Few would swear by his success as a coach, precisely because of his character, but instead Agroppi as coach immediately does well for Pescar before bringing Romeo Anconetani’s Pisa back to the top division. Having left the Padova bench due to initial problems with depression – a dark illness that he will have to deal with again – a second promotion to Serie A, with Perugia, failed by just one point and after a season with just one defeat. The following year, at the helm of Fiorentina, he finished fourth but the Viola ultras accused him of insufficient respect for Giancarlo Antognoni, the club’s champion: on 11 March 1986 they attacked him as he was leaving the Franchi and the team had to come to his aid. Argentinian Passarella.
The four-month disqualification for failure to report in the Totonero-bis marked the beginning of his decline: dismissal at Como, relegation with Ascoli and a very disappointing season when he returned to Florence: he was sacked a few days before the end but the Viola were relegated .
Having also ended his career as a coach, Agroppi began his career as a commentator: a regular presence on numerous national and local radio and TV programmes, he stood out for his never banal and unconventional observations and his vitriolic criticisms against former colleagues and insiders, who they cause quite a few ‘enemies’. In 2005 he also took on the role of a writer, with a book that could only be titled “A leg stretched”.
In recent years, thanks to many ailments, he had gradually disappeared from the screens. “I watch television, I do crosswords, I go shopping – he said in his last interview – I try to react, but mine is an illness that cannot be healed. The world of football hasn’t helped me”.