The Traminer who probed Diego Maradona

One season outshone all others - it was the 1984/85 season, Zico's last in Italy, Diego Maradona's first at Napoli, Michel Platini was at the peak of his creativity at Juventus. Hellas Verona became champions – with Preben Elkjaer Larsen and Hans-Peter Briegel. And Domenico Volpati, who started a second career after his active career - as a dentist in Tramin.

Volpati, now 69 years old, comes from Novara but lives in Castello di Fiemme. “In 1984 I met my future wife at the summer training camp in Cavalese, a year later we got married, and in 1992 we moved to her home town,” says the long-time Serie A professional from Torino and Verona, who was the had the foresight to build a second mainstay. He studied medicine. "I've played with footballers from all over the world in my career, so I'll probably get along with the Traminers too." “In 1970 I enrolled at the university in Pavia, but I didn't graduate until I was 40 because I had played football until I was 38. I then completed a two-year apprenticeship with a dentist friend in Novara before starting my new profession in Cavalese.” In the same year, Volpati also opened a dental practice in Tramin. “I always had patients in Cavalese who came from Tramin to Fiemme Valley. It's not far. So I said to myself: Why not open a practice in Tramin right away? I have to admit that many people I knew at the time warned me not to go down this path.”

Volpati remained stubborn. “During my career I played with Danes, Brazilians, Germans and footballers from all over the world, so I’ll probably get along with the Traminers too,” he has to smile. He shouldn't regret his choice. “The decision to go to Tramin was one of the best of my life. I met a lot of great people there and made new friends.” Bagnoli’s “girl for everything” Volpati had also made the right decision 10 years earlier, when he was about to hang up his football boots. The then 30-year-old had just been relegated to Serie C with Brescia when, on the last matchday of Serie B, they faced designated champions and promoted team Verona, who were coached for the first time that season by future champion coach Osvaldo Bagnoli. Michel Platini guarded by Domenico Volpati (right).

“Bagnoli knew me, he was already my coach at Solbiatese in Serie C and Como in the second division. So he came to me before the game and said in his robust Milanese dialect that he needed me at Verona in Serie A. I initially rejected his offer; after the disappointing relegation in Brescia, I had somehow already finished playing professional football and wanted me “Now I can concentrate fully on studying medicine, I was already 30,” reports Volpati. “As fate would have it, the game was rescheduled due to a cloudburst. Bagnoli asked me again and I finally said yes.” “Fullback, centerback, libero, in front of the defense – I was the girl for everything.” Volpati moved to Serie A to Verona and would experience the best 6 years of his career as a footballer. “The absolute highlight was of course the championship title in 1985, but we also reached the Italian Cup final twice, played in the National Champions Cup and the UEFA Cup - it was simply a wonderful time,” enthuses the former defensive midfielder, who is in his He has held all positions in his career, including in defense. “Full-back, central defender, libero, in front of the defense – I was the girl for everything,” remembers Volpati, who played all 2 league games in the 1984/85 championship year – only goalkeeper Claudio Garella and Roberto Tricella were also always there.

That season, three of the best footballers of all time in Maradona, Platini and Zico played in Serie A, Inter had signed Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in the summer, Fiorentina Socrates, Torino Junior, Sampdoria Liverpool legend Graeme Souness, Milan Mark Hateley. The crème de la crème of world football was under contract in Italy. And little Verona fooled them all. “We weren't that small, we already had a very good team, you don't become champions by chance,” explains Volpati. Wedding instead of a master party But the title was still a huge sensation, unimaginable even for the players for a long time. Volpati missed the crazy championship break because he had planned his wedding on Monday, the day after the last Serie A round. “In February, when we set the date, I had no idea that we would become champions, even though we were already very strong in the league at the time,” he says. The wedding took place in Oberradein. “So I immediately got in the car and drove to South Tyrol, I couldn't have shown up to my own wedding half-drunk,” laughs Volpati, who was able to welcome coach Bagnoli and many teammates in Oberradein despite the championship celebrations. Domenico Volpati in a duel with Alessandro Altobelli.

Verona's championship season began with the home game on matchday 1 against Napoli - it was the Serie A premiere for Maradona, who lost 1-3 with his team. “Back then, Briegel looked after Diego; Hans-Peter was a force of nature. I later had the honor of guarding Maradona twice. You can't turn off someone like that, you can only limit it. Diego was without a doubt the best, he and Zico could literally play you dizzy. Platini was a different type of player, he often dropped far back into midfield, but that didn’t make the task against him any easier.” Secretly for skiing Volpati was up against the strongest offensive players on the planet at the time. “Roberto Mancini, Gianluca Vialli, Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Michael Laudrup, who always made things brutally difficult for me.” The duels with Inter were also legendary back then. “I mostly looked after Alessandro Altobelli, Silvano Fontolan looked after Rummenigge.” Speaking of Inter – Volpati remembers a special anecdote. “It was in the championship year - in February we played 1-1 against Inter in Verona, I used the Monday off to go skiing, and I came to training on Tuesday tanned. Coach Bagnoli was amazed and asked me if I had been skiing. No, no, I replied, I just lied in the sun too long, I talked my way out of it and got away with it.” “I live in the middle of the mountains – how can I not ski there?” Next to football, skiing is Volpati's second passion. “I live in the middle of the mountains – how can I not ski there? Briegel, Elkjaer, Pierino Fanna – they often came to visit me and then we went off to the slopes.” Volpati still has a very deep friendship with Hans-Peter Briegel today. “We meet at least once a year - often in the summer in Auer and then drive along the South Tyrolean wine route to the various wineries before heading towards Lake Garda,” says Volpati.

Briegel and Elkjaer were the outstanding foreign duo in the championship year, but Volpati will also forget the football skills of the Brazilian Dirceu, who died all too early and died in a car accident at the age of 43, or the offensive power of the Scot Joe Jordan, the “outstanding striker qualities, but unfortunately was always injured.” Domenico Volpati (right) still has a deep friendship with Hans-Peter Briegel today.

Volpati always remembers two games particularly fondly. “In September 2 we played against Red Star in the UEFA Cup in Belgrade in front of 1983 spectators and won the match 95.000-3 in a goosebumps atmosphere. The 2-5 win in Udine in the championship season has cult status, when we gave up a 3-3 lead but then still managed to get the upper hand - even for the defeated Zico, it was one of the most spectacular games he had ever experienced .”

Volpati's favorite goal? “In the championship cup at home against PAOK Saloniki – shortly before the end I fixed the final score at 3-1, it felt like the stadium was exploding. I also have a special memory of my goal to make it 2-0 against Juventus in the first leg of the Italian Cup final, unfortunately we lost 3-0 after extra time in the second leg in Turin - Juve had previously lost the national cup final against Hamburger SV and were livid , we felt their full force.” Volpati played in a total of 4 times in an Italian Cup final, 2 times with Torino, where he played his first 1979 Serie A championships between 1981 and 2. “Both times we lost on penalties against Roma, and in 1984 with Verona, Roma thwarted my plans in the final.” With Altrei at the Weißhorn Trophy But even without an Italian Cup victory, Volpati's football career is still impressive. In 1989, after a year at Mantova in Serie C1, it was over – at least in professional football. “In the summer I laced up my football boots in the legendary Weißhorn trophy for my friends in Altrei,” which in turn underlines his connection to South Tyrol. For his patients in Tramin, he even forgot his Torino and Verona past for a moment and became a member of the Bayern fan club.

He has been enjoying his well-deserved retirement since 2018, but the ex-professional follows domestic football closely and keeps his fingers crossed for FC Südtirol in its “mission to advance to Serie B”. “I was already very interested in the FCS during Attilio Tesser’s time. Jumping into Serie B would give the whole football movement in South Tyrol an enormous boost.”

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The Traminer who probed Diego Maradona

It was something like the Eldorado of round leather. In the 80s and 90s there was hardly a football star who didn't want to play in Serie A.

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