Picking five players for a rational Lecce side should be easy, on paper. That is because giallorossi are a club that firstly stood in Serie A in 1985-86. The first Lecce game I remember was the famous 2-2 that the newly promoted side imposed on the then Campioni d’Italia of Verona in September 1985.
That said, with Lecce we are talking about a club that featured a lot of good and even great players under its shirt. So, in the end, building Lecce’s five-a-side lineup wasn’t as easy as expected to be.
Wladimiro Falcone
A true force between the posts, current starting goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone has been a key part of the side that was able to avoid relegation in the past two years. Not so strong with the ball at his feet, Falcone is a dominant shot-stopper. His saves are countless and they helped him to build his reputation as keeper. Should his football career go bad. Probably Falcone would have been able to live a life in movies as an actor. In fact, Wladimiro made some appearances as a little child in the movie Viaggi di Nozze (of the well known Italian comedian Carlo Verdone) and in other Tv series as well.
By picking Falcone I had to omit some other notable keepers that have worn Lecce t-shirts such as the great Fabrizio Lorieri (an underrated netminder) or former Roma and Juventus Antonio Chimenti and former Torino and Milan Giuliano Terraneo. Giuseppe Gatta, six years keeper with Lecce, also has to be mentioned.
Samuel Umtiti
Can you pick in nostalgic Lecce five-a-side team a player that lasted just one season over there? Yes, if this guy is a World Champion and a player such as Samuel Umtiti. The Frenchman probably was the best all-around player you ever have seen at Lecce (or he has to be taken into account for this title at least). He barely played at his 100% due to the injuries he suffered in his career, but his 70-80% was enough to dominate every opponent. Just remember the game against Lazio, when Sergej Milinković-Savić came to town in January 2023. The best Serie A midfielder was nullified by Umtiti, who often broke the line to jump ahead, contrasting the Serbian.
By picking Umtiti I had to leave out other good players as Lorenzo Stovini (underrated defender who deserved a much more prominent career), Marco Cassetti (the first Lecce player to be called by Italy) or Marco Baroni (who retained Lecce in Serie A both as player and as coach).
Honorable mention to former captain Paolo Benedetti, a versatile player able to be lined up as sweeper and as holding midfielder.
Juan Alberto Barbas
Who else? He can compete with Umtiti for the title of Lecce best player ever. Beto mina la bomba (a dialectal translation of Beto shoot the bomb) was a common ultras chant over the years in which Juan Barbas (nicknamed Beto) lasted in Salento.
The Argentinian was a technically skilled midfielder, specializing in free-kicks. He scored twice in the famous Roma – Lecce 2-3 that cost romanisti the 1986 Scudetto.
I could have selected other midfielder as Franco Causio (the Baron who were World championship with Italy in 1982), Francesco Moriero, Guillermo Giacomazzi (current assistant coach of Daniele De Rossi with Rome), Luigi Piangerelli or Alessandro Conticchio but no one has the qualities of Barbas.
Pedro Pablo Pasculli
Ok, no controversies about Pasculli name. He came to Lecce in 1985 alongside Barbas to build a couple of foreign players for Lecce’s first Serie A campaign (just two players from overseas were allowed back then).
In the summer of 1986, despite the relegation suffered with his team, Pasculli was selected by Carlos Bilardo for the Argentina team that will become World Champion in Mexico. Pasculli’s presence wasn’t insignificant as the Lecce forward played an important role in Argentina’s victory. In fact, Pasculli scored the goal that allowed Albiceleste to beat Uruguay in the Round of 16.
Ernesto Javier Chevantón
Lecce fans have the chance to see a lot of great forwards. Other than the aforementioned Pasculli, they have look at Mirko Vučinić, Davor Vugrinec, Cristiano Lucarelli, Valeri Bojinov or Pietro Paolo Virdis. But the one that stolen giallorossi hearts was Chevantón. Listed as the fourth best attacker in Lecce history (with 54 championship goals) the Uruguayan had three stints at Lecce.
On the last one, with the club in Serie C (third division) Chevantón came out of the bench to play with a broken arm against Carpi in the lost playoff final of that season. The striker played for a lot of clubs but he’s known above all for his links with Lecce.
Words by Michele Tossani – @MicheleTossani