The former Parma defender shares some anecdotes from his career.Lorenzo Minotti looks back on his career with Parma in the 1990s.The former Italy international defender said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport: “The best victory was the Cup Winners’ Cup final against Antwerp at Wembley, the stadium of all stadiums, and our international breakthrough. I savoured every moment: the training session the day before, the tour of the city we always did on away trips, the steps leading up to collect the trophy. And of course the goal: I always paid close attention to the technical execution. And that’s exactly how it was that time too: I bent my standing leg, tilted my upper body and struck the ball on the volley. It took a strange trajectory; it looked as if it were remote-controlled.”"In Italy, the opposition were very strong, stronger than us. And they were used to handling the pressure for a whole year. First there was Milan’s ‘Invincibles’, whose unbeaten run we actually ended, and then Lippi’s Juventus. We came close but it wasn’t enough. However, winning the UEFA Cup in the final against that Juventus side in 1995 was a great source of satisfaction.""In 1994, we beat Ajax 2-0 in the second leg of the Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals; I scored from a free-kick. Scala told us to get some sleep because we were due to face Juventus on Sunday (who won 4-0 with a hat-trick from Del Piero, ed.). The next morning, Scala and the physio Bozzetti told me that during the night two teammates had crashed through a gate with their car: we had to decide what to do. The manager came into the dressing room and, without mentioning the incident, announced that from then on we would be staying overnight at the training camp after every match. I supported the decision, which angered all the innocent players, to prevent the culprits from being dropped from the squad: they were two first-team regulars and the team would have been weakened by their absence.""Inter wanted me; I even went to Pellegrini’s house. Tanzi turned them down and offered me a six-year contract, giving me an advance to buy a house in Parma. Some time later, I learnt that Juventus had also shown an interest in me, but they’d only spoken to the club.""Only I and the third-choice goalkeeper, Bucci, didn’t take to the pitch; Apolloni had overtaken me in the pecking order, but it remains the most wonderful experience. It was something I’d dreamed of as a child when, after matches with my neighbourhood friends, I’d hold up bits of wood pretending they were the World Cup itself. After the final, I walked past that trophy and couldn’t resist the temptation to give it a stroke. I have so many memories. Towards the end of Italy v Spain, I realised there was no water left. It was terribly hot, extra time was approaching, so I ran to the changing rooms and filled a bin bag with bottles and energy drinks. As I made my way back to the pitch, I heard a roar: I didn’t have the nerve to look. On the big screen, I saw Baggio and Signori hugging after Robi’s 2-1 goal. I went wild with joy and was knocked over by Galeazzi, who was ready for the interviews. After the match, Luis Enrique burst onto our coach to get his own back on Tassotti: quite a commotion, but nothing serious.”Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting"My first year in Serie A. I asked him for his shirt in the first leg, after what had been our first league win. He told me he’d give it to me in the return leg. At the San Paolo, I reminded him and he reassured me: ‘I’ll give it to you in the changing room.’ But the tunnel there is so long, I was afraid I’d missed my chance. Instead, when I arrived outside the changing rooms, Diego was waiting for me with his shirt. That day, Napoli won 4-2; I scored from a free-kick and he scored a brace from the penalty spot: they were the last goals Maradona scored at the San Paolo in Serie A."