Giuseppe TAGLIALATELA

When he was a teen-ager, Taglialatela loved to play football like people of his age, but unlike the others he preferred to play it by his hands. He dreamt to become a goalkeeper , not a forward. He dreamt to play for Napoli (the club in which he moved his first steps), the best club for a child born in Ischia. Dreams came true the Epiphany day of 1991 when, after being matured by playing with Palermo (C1) and Avellino (B), he came back to Napoli and made his first appearance in serie A (Juventus-Napoli 1-0). He played 3 games that year, then he spent other 2 seasons in serie B, with Palermo and Bari.

In 1993, finally, he went back home as a starter. He finally wore that jersey he had followed for years. In 5 sasons, Taglialatela became an idol for Napoli's fans, who call him "Batman". He likes this nickname since he loves comics, and especially this character's adventures. Taglialatela repays his fans by spectacular flights and miraculous saves.

He has become famous as a "penalties-saver". He baffled many of them by the explosive strenght of his legs, and thanks to a secret note-book where he constantly update the way the main specialists of the league use to kick penalties. "Batman" also possesses a natural creativity, and a innate attitude for draftsmanship, which pushed him to personally conceive his own game uniform.

This season Napoli sadly lies at the bottom of serie A, destined to be relegated into serie B. Fans heavily criticized the management, the players, and for a certain period even Taglialatela. He, however, proved to be one of the few certitudes of a group which needs to be quickly rebuilt. He doesn't lack offers from the football market, but he already let guess that if Napoli wants to restart with determination to plan the renascience, he would stay to help the reconstruction.