Dead Evaristo Beccalossi, genius and unruliness of Inter in the 1980s

The reference to Sandro Mazzola - his predecessor with the 10 and at the time a Nerazzurri manager - apparently came after a game in which Beccalossi dribbled past five players, before failing to score an easy goal in front of the goalkeeper. A kind of poetic manifesto. In the Nerazzurri the fantasist lived the most important period of his career, remaining there for six seasons (1978-1984) and collecting 216 appearances between league and cups, with a total of 37 goals.

Beccalossi was one of the most iconic players of his time, not so much for his achievements as for his style. And here the comparison with Charlie Parker, who came out of Paolo Rossi's imagination, becomes apt. A natural left-hander, a pure fantasist, he was capable of surprising plays: tight dribbles, illuminating assists, sudden shots that lit up matches. Gianni Brera gave him the nickname 'Dribblossi', underlining his flair for elegant and unpredictable play. Of his way of being on the pitch, not always appreciated by coaches, Beccalossi used to say: 'I do what I see'. Perhaps because of this, in Europe's most tactical league, his career was marked by a certain discontinuity. His performance alternated between days of pure inspiration and colourless matches, fuelling his teammates' famous joke: with him on the pitch 'you play in ten or twelve', depending on your mood.

With Inter he won the Scudetto in the 1979-1980 season. He was one of the protagonists of the team coached by Eugenio Bersellini and quickly became one of the favourites of the Curva Nord. Unforgettable was his double in the derby of 28 October 1979, which for Inter represented a return to victory over Milan (2-0), after almost five years of abstinence. In his palmares also a Coppa Italia (1981-1982) and the contribution to reaching the semi-final of the Champions Cup in 1980-1981 lost to Real Madrid. After the Nerazzurri experience he wore the shirts of Sampdoria (with which he won the 1984-1985 Coppa Italia), Monza, Brescia again and then Barletta, Pordenone and Breno, ending his career in 1991.

For Italia he played in the youth and Olympic selections, but never made it permanently to the senior national team. It is no coincidence that the biggest regret of his career remained the failure to convene Enzo Bearzot at Spain '82: 'I would have killed him,' he said in hindsight. It took a while, then Becca realised that 'if he had called me up everyone would have pushed for me to play as a starter. The head coach had his group, he couldn't afford any more screw-ups. Then I wasn't really his type of player'. We need more talent like that in the Azzurri today.... After retiring from playing football, in any case, he embarked on a managerial career and was also head of the Azzurri youth national teams, including the Under-19

In his final years, 'Beck', as Beppe Viola called him in his reports for Domenica Sportiva, had continued to frequent the football environment, even in the role of commentator, before the serious illness in January 2025 that forced him into a long hospital stay and a difficult rehabilitation process. Loyal to his character to the end, we like to think that he left as he did in the finale of the Praise tribute to him by Paolo Rossi: 'He shoots, with his heel, with his toe, with his tongue; he discards all the ultras, he discards all the policemen with wolfdogs; all those who were tearing up tickets... he takes out another barricade... He discarded the scalpers, those who sold pizzas, hot-dogs'. Ball and chain, one dribble after another, all the way to the door of Paradise.