"Dreamer" Scala explains: Why I turned down Real Madrid job

Scala was offered the Real Madrid job while in charge of Parma, where he spent seven years between 1989 and 1996.

Asked about his decision, he told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "Because I was a dreamer, and I still am. I had in mind to win something important with Parma, which I considered my creation. I didn't feel like leaving my boys. We were a family, and a good father doesn't happen overnight.

"In the long run, I was right: that year we qualified for the UEFA Cup with sixth place, then we won the Coppa Italia against Juventus in 1992, the Cup Winners' Cup at Wembley in 1993, the European Super Cup against (Fabio) Capello's Milan in 1994, and the UEFA Cup in 1995. In short, even while staying at Parma, my name went around Europe.

"Who invented the 3-5-2? Me and the great Osvaldo Bagnoli with Genoa. It was the third way of football: no zonal play with four in a row, no man-marking, but a new approach. If that formation is still around today, it must have been effective, what do you think?"

Scala added, "A team similar to my Parma? (Gian Piero) Gasperini's Atalanta thrilled me. A provincial team that managed to amaze in Italy and Europe. Like we did. But the world has changed, and so has football. If you ask me, I'll tell you that I liked the football of the past better, but I'm biased. The truth is, you have to know how to live with change and have no regrets. I don't have any."