Osvaldo Bagnoli, the former manager who led unheralded Hellas Verona to a 'miracle scudetto' against all the Serie A giants in 1985, died in a Verona hospital aged 91 Friday.
Bagnoli, who went on to coach Inter Milan and Genoa in the Italian top flight, was in charge of a team which featured several promising players who had been unable to fulfil their potential until then, such as Pietro Fanna, Roberto Tricella, and Antonio Di Gennaro, but who later played a key role in the club's league title success as they matured.
The additions of Hans-Peter Briegel in midfield and of Danish striker Preben Elkjær to an attack that already featured the wing play of Fanna, the creative abilities of Di Gennaro and the scoring touch of Giuseppe Galderisi were to prove crucial.
At the time a Juventus team stuffed with 1982 World Cup winners, and a star-studded Roma team, were the dominant forces in Italian football.
Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC) President Giovanni Malagò said FRiday the Verona scudetto "was one of the finest and most sentimental pages in Italian soccer history".
Bagnoli was inducted into Italian football's Hall of Fames in 2017.
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