The
1983/84 season was the first Football season that I followed from the start as
a knowledgeable fan (as knowledgeable as a 10 year old can be).
By
now, I was familiar with the various European Leagues and the players and the
differences associated with each.
During
that summer offseason, a friend of the family who was leaving the country left
me his possession of Sports magazines (it was called ‘Donyaye Varzesh’ (World
of Sports)). This collection stretched back to the 1980/81 season.
I
spent those summer months reading the magazines and like a sponge absorbed the
information with great interest and caught up with the last few seasons.
With
the new Serie A season on the horizon, Juventus were in a confident mood due to
their positive run at the end of the previous season, with Platini at his
zenith.
Captain
and Inspirational goalkeeper Dino Zoff had retired and Roberto Bettega had left
the Serie A for Canada’s Toronto Blizzard in an act of pre-retirement.
The
rest of the squad was intact that still included five World Cup winners.
Stefano
Tacconi had arrived from Avellino to replace Zoff, while Domenico Penzo arrived
from Verona to replace Bettega.
Defending
Champions AS Roma, led by World Cup heroes Bruno Conti and Brazilian Paulo
Roberto Falcao, had also been active in the transfer market.
They
had acquired Brazilian midfielder Toninho Cerezo to replace Austrian Herbert
Prohaska.
 |
Photo
From: Mondial, new series, issue 44, November 1983
(Brazilian Toninho Cerezo at AS Roma) |
World
Cup winning striker Francesco Graziani had arrived from Fiorentina to partner
up Roberto Pruzzo.
Both
teams were the title favorites with AS Roma also eyeing the Champions Cup, with
the Final to be played at their home stadium.
I
was also made aware that the defending League Champions played the following
season with a small Italian Flag on their jerseys.
I
had noticed that on Juventus’ jerseys the previous season, without realizing
its significance. But this season it was AS Roma that had the Italy flag on
their shirts.
Another
novelty was the promotion of AC Milan, the neighbors of Inter. I had been
unaware of them up to that point since they were in Serie B the previous
season. Soon enough I would learn of their history and special place in Serie A
and would learn of Baresi and Tassoti who would achieve European glory before
the end of the decade.
The
talking point of the pre-season was the transfer of Brazilian superstar Zico
from Flamengo to Udinese. At the time I was puzzled a player of his stature
joining a modest mid-table team, but little did I know of the World of Football
Finance. Not realizing that he was paid like a king to join such a club.
 |
Photo
From: Mondial, new series, issue 46, January 1984
(Brazilian teammates Zico and Falcao) |
Other
new foreign players included the Belgians Eric Gerets and Ludo Coeck at AC
Milan and Internazionale Milano respectively.
Young
Danish Sensation Michael Laudrup was loaned from Juventus to Lazio, although at
the time I was unaware of the loan deal.
Former
Watford striker Luther Blisset joined newly promoted AC Milan, but he would
endure a nightmare of a season.
Ajax
Amsterdam and Dutch striker Wim Kieft joined Pisa and would soon learn the
difference between the free scoring Dutch League and the defense oriented Serie
A.
Scottish
striker Joe Jordan was traded from one Italian club to another (AC Milan to
Verona).
 |
Photo
From: Mondial, new series, issue 44, November 1983
(Ludo
Coeck at Internazionale Milano)
|
As
far as Italian players, World Cup Champion and long serving Internazionale
midfielder Gabriele Oriali joined Fiorentina.
Just
like the previous season, I continued my routine of getting the local Sports
Magazine on a weekly basis and trying to catch as much Television coverage as
possible.
Essentially
most fans were glued to their Television for a weekly sports program broadcast
on Friday nights that along other sports also showed European League highlights
and goals.
Juventus and Roma started the season
confidently and topped the League from early on.
Platini
was in sensational form and Paolo Rossi seemed to be discovering his scoring
touch.
Platini’s
excellent calendar year was rewarded with the Ballon d’Or trophy awarded by
‘France Football’ magazine.
Juventus
broke free from the chasing pack on Matchday 13 and would hold on to the League
lead despite resistance from Roma.
Zico’s
transfer to Udinese seemed to have paid dividends and he was scoring many goals
in a very defensive League and Udinese owed their relatively high place due to
his exploits.
In
fact he was the League’s top goalscorer until Platini overtook him in the
second half of the season. In the end Platini scored one more goal (20 to 19).
 |
Photo
From: Onze, Issue 95, November 1983
(Zico
at Udinese)
|
The
surprise for Juventus was the emergence of the young Beniamino Vignola who at
first seemed unlikely to break into the first team, but as the season wore on
he appeared more and more. His progress earned him a spot on Italy’s 1984 Olympic
squad held in Los Angeles that year.
Both
Juventus and Roma also reached European Cup Finals, with Juventus topping off
their excellent season by triumphing in the Cup Winners Cup vs. Portugal’s
Porto, while AS Roma were defeated in a penalty kick shoot-out vs. Liverpool at
their home ground of Stadio Olimpico.
 |
Photo
From: Onze, Issue 102, June 1984
(Michel Platini, May 16, 1984, Cup Winners Cup,
Juventus 2-Porto 1) |
In
a way this defeat started the decline of that fine Roma squad. In the
offseason, Swedish manager Nils Liedholm departed to AC Milan, ending a cycle.
Their
only consolation was in winning the Coppa Italia vs. Verona at the end of the
season.
At the end of that summer, my family and I left
our home for good to live in France for one year (1984/85 season, to be
continued…..) |
Photo
From: Guerin Sportivo, June 20-26, 1984
(Juventus squad, 1983/84, Top, left to right:
Michel Platini, Gaetano Scirea, Sergio Brio, Stefano Tacconi, Claudio Gentile,
Domenico Penzo, Bottom, left to right: Antonio Cabrini, Massimo Bonini,
Zbigniew Boniek, Paolo Rossi, Marco Tardelli) |
