Gianluca Pagliuca is remembered as one of Italy's finest goalkeepers — a commanding presence for Sampdoria and Inter, and an unforgettable figure at the 1994 World Cup. Yet despite a career spent entirely in Serie A, the former stopper harbours a deep and lasting passion for an English club he never represented: Aston Villa.
Pagliuca, now 59, traces his affection back to the early 1980s, when Italian television would broadcast brief highlights of English football. It was during those flickering clips that the claret-and-blue of Villa first caught his eye.
