The tale of Claudio Borghi is one of what might have been. Once tipped to be on a level with Diego Armando Maradona, he never managed to make his mark in Europe and only built a reputation within South America.
On December 8, 1985, Juventus were facing Argentinos Juniors in the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo. Italy’s Canale 5 made one of its first major scoops by screening the game live at 4am in the peninsula. Despite the unreasonable hour, millions of calcio devotees stayed awake to watch it and they, like Milan chief Silvio Berlusconi, were blown away by the talent of a young Borghi. The Argentine attacking midfielder shone even though the Old Lady won the game on penalties and he seemed every bit the equal of his trail-blazing countryman Maradona.
Two years later, Berlusconi beat the Bianconeri to Borghi’s signature and the 23-year-old was ready to become a superstar. As sides were only allowed three foreign players at the time, Borghi was drafted in alongside Dutchmen Marco Van Basten and Ruud Gullit in the Milan attack. However, Coach Arrigo Sacchi – who had won respect by securing the Scudetto a few months earlier – demanded that the Rossoneri sign another Oranje ace in the form of Frank Rijkaard, and so Borghi was sent out on loan to minnows Como. Sampdoria had wanted the Argentine star, but Berlusconi was reluctant to sell him to a direct rival.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out for Borghi with the Lariani and he was called back to the San Siro after just seven appearances without being given a chance to show off his silky skills. Frustrated with his treatment in Italy, Borghi was to make one more mistake that would bring the curtain down on his time at Milan. Famous for his love of fitness work, Sacchi was enraged when Borghi jogged up to him and queried: “Why do we run for kilometres when the pitch is only 100 metres long?” Whether it was meant as a joke or not is unclear, but the fiery tactician’s response was unequivocal and despite a brace in a friendly against Manchester United, Borghi was sent packing.
Having been banished from Italy, the man nicknamed Bichi tried his luck in Switzerland with Neuchatel Xamax before returning to South America with River Plate, Flamengo and Independiente. Eventually he wound up in Chile and concluded a respectable, but far from magnificent, playing career with Santiago Wanderers.
Strangely, it was as a Coach that Borghi found his true calling. He won three successive championships and reached the Final of the Copa Sudamericana – the South American equivalent of the UEFA Cup – with Chilean giants Colo Colo. This achievement won him the title of South American Coach of the Year in 2006 and the offer of the Chilean national job, which he politely declined.
Ironically enough, Borghi has been compared to Sacchi as a Coach and one Milan teammate left a lasting impression. “I see things differently now,” admits Bichi. “Filippo Galli was so nice to me that I named my son after him.” It seems that even though Borghi failed to make his mark on the peninsula, Italy made its mark on him.
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