Minotti recalls shielding teammates after car crash and World Cup moment

Lorenzo Minotti looks back on Parma’s 1990s peak, calling the Cup Winners’ Cup final at Wembley the best victory and describing his volleyed goal: he bent his standing leg, leaned forward and struck the ball so it took a strange, remote-controlled trajectory. He also reflects on facing Italy’s strong domestic sides, ending Milan’s unbeaten run and later taking satisfaction from beating Lippi’s Juventus to win the UEFA Cup in 1995.

After scoring from a free-kick in the 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final second leg against Ajax, Minotti recalls being told that two teammates had crashed their car through a gate overnight. Manager Arrigo Scala and physio Bozzetti changed the team’s routine, ordering players to stay at the training camp after matches.

Minotti supported the decision — unpopular with some — to avoid dropping the two first-team regulars and weakening the side.

Italy, Parma

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