the great Dino against Cruijff, the musical Hair and the capelloni players – Corriere.it

Ajax-Naples
has an illustrious precedent. In the winter of 1969 the two teams met in Uefa Cup, also in Amsterdam. Ajax fielded the greatest footballer in Dutch history, perhaps in Europe: Johan Cruijff. The port of Naples was defended by a Friulian lungagnone (one and 83, a giant for Italy back from the economic miracle): Dino Zoff. The emblem of seriousness and rigor, but able to go dancing and go wild in the disco. In fact, to ask him about that game, Zoff first remembers a theater-curtain mounted outside the stadium, where it was staged “Hair”, the musical symbol of 1968. “You could see that something was changing,” Zoff remembers now.
In fact, the whole world was changing. Including football, which the Dutch had turned into a clockwork orange, with full-backs becoming wings; and they were all long-hairedlike the actors of Hair.
The game was postponed due to a snowstorm. «We played on the ice, with the rest shoes to avoid slipping – recalls Zoff -. In extra time there were four ».
Last night Napoli washed away the shame and avenged Zoff by making six of them at Ajax.
Four years later, in 1973, Dino will find Cruijff again in the final of the European Cup: Ajax beat Juve with a header from Rep, in Belgrade, practicing ball possession, which at that time was not called tiki-taka but melina. In that time Dino Zoff remained 1142 minutes without conceding a goal in the national team. At the Golden Ball he finished second. Johan Cruijff won it.