Rino

[Super_Ally 0]

Should maybe have put this in footy chat in a thread about the CL final. And despite his short stay in glasgow, but I just love RIno Gattusso.

 

Observer article

 

Team-mates and fans adore firebrand midfielder Gattuso even though he prides himself on not being a typical Italian footballer

 

Amy Lawrence

Sunday May 20, 2007

The Observer

 

Rivincita. Rivincita. Rivincita... The Italian word for revenge buzzes around Milanello. Scattered across the picturesque lawns of Milan's training camp are little bunches of journalists and television crews and each of them asks every player who passes by about rivincita. Again and again and again. Paolo Maldini leans back in his chair and calmly swats aside the irritating inquiry. Clarence Seedorf smiles sagely and maintains his cool. Kaka looks sweet and unruffled.

 

Article continues

And then there is Gennaro Ivan Gattuso. Otherwise known as Ringhio - growler - or Pitbull, he is an emotional fireball who famously cannot sleep in anticipation of important matches and spontaneously spirals out of control afterwards, such as when he stripped off after winning the World Cup and had to be ordered to put on some kit to look decent for the presentation. Surely he will rise to the bait? Surely he will crack when provoked by the bitter memories of Istanbul?

 

Gattuso plays the revenge card surprisingly well. His blood is too hot to pretend he has no impulse to redress the Champions League balance that lurched so painfully away from Milan and towards Liverpool two years ago. But he is restrained enough to bide his time, not saying anything too silly or inflammatory before the two teams meet again.

 

As far as Gattuso is concerned, Steven Gerrard has done that sufficiently for the two teams already. The Liverpool captain's words (which were misreported) about Milan celebrating their 3-0 half-time lead in the 2005 Champions League final prematurely makes Ringhio seethe quietly. In his moral code, there is a fundamental difference between taking sporting disappointments and personal slights on the chin.

 

'The thing that upsets me most is the lies about what happened at half time,' he says. 'Anybody who knows me knows I understand football well enough to appreciate anything can happen in 45 minutes. Milan are a serious, experienced team. We would not celebrate a win at half-time. But maybe these stories help sell copies of autobiographies.'

 

So, what about revenge, then? 'It can't be revenge because that game will always be there, no matter how many finals I reach. The negative memory will never be erased. Six mad minutes. But we are lucky we have the chance to put that right, to play so soon against the same team. The thoughts and feelings of the last two years can stimulate us.'

 

Gattuso has never needed much in the way of stimulus. A son of Italy's deep south, hailing from Corigliano Calabro on the sole of the country's boot, he possesses the 'fire in the belly' natural to people from his region. Some northerners like to refer to Calabrians as terrone, a derogatory reference to farmers with scant education or culture. 'I am a terrone and very proud to be so,' Gattuso says.

 

It has made him the player he is: 'It was a bit strange, but in my dreams I always wanted to become a player who others saw and thought, "Bloody hell. Gattuso, he never stops running! Mamma Mia, look how that guy can really run. It's scary." Not that my opponents should be afraid of me, but they should know I will play with a lot of intensity.'

 

His tempestuousness is inherited from his father, Franco, who played fourth-division football and was well known in the neighbourhood. 'Mentally, my dad is a lot worse than me,' says Gattuso, smiling. 'His mind is always working, always trying to do something new. When he played he couldn't stand losing. He couldn't even lose at cards.' These traits are now being passed to the next generation, but Gattuso's wife, Monica, often has to remind him when he is playing with their child that Gabriela is a little girl and not a boy. 'I like to muck around like a man,' he says. 'I never want to stop. I think it is good for kids to make a racket. That's what I did in my childhood.'

 

Much of that time was spent on the beach. Every afternoon he would play football with his friends on sand pitches with goals made of containers used by fishermen. He describes it as 'football of the soul' and recalls how he had to fight even then to be accepted. 'The others said, "Eh, you are only playing because you are the son of Franco Gattuso." To be his son, in terms of football, made life complicated. I felt like the door was closed before it was opened.'

 

Not that his enthusiasm was remotely dimmed. 'I was always soaked in sand, desperate to help my team to win. What does Wembley have compared to the Sunday Cup, 9.30am kick-off on the beach and 1,000 lire the prize?'

 

Gattuso had barely played on a grass pitch before he joined Perugia at the age of 12. He bade farewell to his tearful mother and promised his friends he would not return until he had made it.

 

Like Gerrard, Gattuso has written a book and in it he outlines the anatomical distinctions of a champion. These include the look of a mastiff, a fisherman's hands, and a marathon runner's feet - sufficient to scurry from Corigliano to Milan and back again. 'To get to the top of the world I have had to give all my heart, my soul, my lungs. They are the three fundamental ingredients not only in football, but also in life,' he says.

 

His force of character is conspicuous in a Milan team full of suave performers. His team-mates adore him because he plays like a maniac. Captain Maldini thinks the way Gattuso transmits energy to the rest of the squad is invaluable and underpins their ability to press in games.

 

His snapping presence was impossible to ignore during Milan's impressive semi-final triumph over Manchester United. The commentary team on English television was obviously impressed, although their choice of adjective to describe him was enough to make you fiddle with the control and wonder if the signal had gremlins. 'So elegant,' chimed the commentator admiringly. Elegant? Did we hear that correctly?

 

By his own admission, Gattuso is a far cry from the Italian footballing stereotype. 'I am not a typical Italian footballer. They say that my way of playing is more British, closer to the culture of Scotland and England. I had a coach when I was quite young, Walter Smith, who took me to Scotland and he made quite an impression on me. People there thought I'd be the kind of Italian player who could take people on and run past them. But I was a surprise for everyone.'

 

He credits his experience at Rangers as paramount to his development, recalling how 'it was in Glasgow that the fighter Gattuso was born'. He returned to Italy when Smith was replaced by Dick Advocaat and the new coach wanted him to play in defence. After an impressive season with Salernitana, where he earned his favourite nickname of Pitbull, Serie A's establishment clubs were on his trail. In 1999 Milan got themselves a deal for �£8million.

 

The southerner has become a symbol of the iconic club of the north. He has won everybody over with his indefatigable spirit. As coach Carlo Ancelotti points out: 'He is one of the most loved players because he demonstrates what can be achieved with passion and desire. Kaka, for example, is a natural talent, but Gattuso shows how with charisma and hard work you can realise your dreams. It is not possible to overestimate what he does for us. On a scale from one to 10 his importance to our club is definitely a 10.'

 

The boss also notes that if Gattuso were a dish he would be impepata di cozze, which is hearty, spicy and full of mussels.

 

Milan's No 8 has a healthy appetite, and is reluctant to lean too far towards the athlete's carefully controlled diet. Good boys like Pippo Inzaghi, who conscientiously eat plain pasta and thin slices of meat, amaze him. 'He is perfect in his preparation, but I feel sick just to watch him eating while every day I'm dreaming of my wife's tiramisu,' Gattuso says.

 

He is, and will always be, his own man, living at his own wholehearted pace. Does he ever switch off? 'I've tried to be calm, to be without adrenalin. But for me adrenalin is important. The doctor tells me to calm down, but I can't do it. I can't be calm. I like to make a racket. I like to live every moment intensely.'

 

One way or another, Wednesday night promises to be another highly charged occasion. Gattuso is proud of the way Milan have battled back from the blow of Istanbul and reckons not many teams would have summoned the willpower to clamber back up from the depths of Champions League heartbreak. There is a precedent, in the Bayern Munich side who lost so theatrically to Manchester United in 1999, and roused themselves to win the trophy in 2001.

 

Gattuso might not crave revenge as such, but he, like all the Milan players, would find catharsis if they could finish the job against Liverpool.

 

And what if it came down to penalties again. Would the Pitbull take one? He laughs and looks down at those marathon runner's feet. 'God gave me two feet, but not to take penalties with.'

 

Some great lines in there. Including having to be told to calm down by the doctor as he can't sleep for days before games. And also having to be told to put clothes on for the World cup presentation. Legend.

[Laudbertz 0]

I dont think ive ever seen an interview where he didnt mention Rangers or his time in Scotland.

 

Would absolutely love to see him back at Rangers before he retires as a player but i cant really see that happening.

[buba3d 0]

he can play for us, in lets say his *cough* testimonial *cough

[Gribz 743]

I was reading the spar of words that Rino and Gerrard had a few weeks back.

 

I like Gerrard as a player but I really hope Rino gets stuck into them and Milan get revenge for 3 years ago. Didnt Rino go off early in that final??

 

I'll be cheering on Milan on Wed.