channel4.com - Football Italia


Paul Ince: The Guv'nor
Despite the high number of Brits trying their luck in Serie A in the 1990s, there aren't too many success stories. However, as Richard Godden discovered, Paul Ince certainly doesn't fall into that category after a two-year stint with Inter



Nowadays it is almost unheard of for an English player to head over to Italy for a Serie A adventure, but back in the 1990s some of the best talents the Premier League had to offer were keen to test their skills in the peninsula. David Platt did well at Bari, Juventus and Sampdoria. But injuries meant Paul Gascoigne was never able to make the impact his ability suggested. Instead, it was left to Gazza's midfield partner for the Three Lions to make the bigger mark. Paul Ince's hardman image might not have seemed suited to the flair of some of his colleagues, but the man known as the Guv'nor quickly became an Inter legend when he headed over to Milan in 1995. Why did you decide to join Inter? I was just about to sign a contract with Manchester United, but then Inter came in for me so I met President Massimo Moratti. As far as I was concerned I was going to stay at United for the rest of my career, but they decided to accept the bid from Inter and once a club does that you know you're not wanted so Milan was the best place for me to go, and it seemed like a challenge. How difficult was it to acclimatise, given that you didn't speak Italian prior to your arrival? You want to get involved with the team, but it's hard when you don't speak the language. Fortunately, I had Massimo Paganin and Nicola Berti who both spoke very good English. For the first three months it wasn't too bad, but I had to learn the language to fit into the culture and everything that was going on. It took a while, but I got there in the end. I do still speak Italian. Obviously you forget bits and pieces when you're not there, but I look back on it and it's nice to know that I can at least get by in another language. You did a lot of Football Italia interviews with James Richardson - how did you get on with him? He made it very easy for me to fit into Italian life. He'd been out there for a little while and I felt at ease with James. I like a good laugh and a joke, but because I didn't understand the Italian humour I felt like a bit of an outcast early on. We got on really well and had the same sense of humour. Him coming round and doing the bits for the TV shows was perfect for me. I owe James a lot. He probably doesn't realise it, but he was very important for me in settling into Italian football. What were the Italian media like compared to their English counterparts? They weren't used to an aggressive player like me. To see someone like me come in and play the way I did - tackling hard, but fair - they were a bit alien to it. Some of the write-ups were out of order in the first couple of months and I remember speaking to Paganin to translate what they were saying. I had a little black book with names of all the journalists who wrote bad things about me. I knew eventually that I would come good in Italy and once I did they wanted to speak to me. I refused because of what they wrote about me - which was probably a bit unfair, as the Press over there were no different to anywhere else. How important was Roy Hodgson during your time with Inter? When people say that I had a successful time at Inter, I think he was the main reason for it. When I first went there, Ottavio Bianchi was in charge so I sat down with him and Paganin, who was translating. He said that he wanted to play a 3-5-2 system with me on the left-wing. I said to Paganin: “Tell him that I don't play left-wing, I play centre-midfield. I've played there for six years at Manchester United, so why the hell is he playing me left-wing?” I still ended up playing on the left-hand side. I wanted us to go 4-4-2 as we'd be a better team. I think we then went to Torino playing a 4-4-2 system, won the game 1-0 and the next day he was sacked. Then Hodgson came in - he knew me and what I was all about. He made me captain as soon as he was put in charge, which was nice of him, and I just blossomed from there. You were prolific in your second season with the Nerazzurri, scoring seven times in just 24 matches - what was the secret behind your success in front of goal? I had the feeling that I could play like I was a kid in the park. I scored an overhead kick, which was very unlike me. It improved me as a player. I found that I was doing things that I never thought I could do, or maybe wasn't allowed to do, in the Premier League. And people say that I came back as a better player. Most people regarded Serie A as the best League in the world during the 1990s - did it feel that way? It did. As a midfielder in the Premier League you'd get the ball and then play it out wide with a 60-yard pass - the fans would clap and cheer. I remember the first game for Inter I did the same thing. I was waiting for the fans to applaud and it was just quiet, like they expect you to do it. Expectations were a lot higher in Italy than in England. Obviously the fact there was more money in Serie A at the time meant it was the best League in the world. Now there's more money in the Premier League, hence there's a lot of top foreign players coming over here - largely thanks to the money that Sky are paying. Who was the most gifted player at Inter back then? I'd probably say Marco Branca. He had two great feet, he was strong, quick and could score goals. And the most talented opponent you faced? There's a few… Roberto Mancini was absolutely awesome, as were George Weah, Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini. I've been fortunate enough to be on the same turf as these great players and I'm very thankful for that. Who were your best mates at Inter? Paganin was my very close friend. I also had a good relationship with Aron Winter, Nicola Berti, Javier Zanetti and Ivan Zamorano. I miss the times there because even though I was only there for a short while I didn't really want to leave. I only left because of family reasons, nothing to do with football. Everything was perfect - the weather, the football, the fans. Looking back on it, I wouldn't say I regret it, but maybe I should have thought about it a lot more, especially as the year I left Ronaldo was coming. And I promised Moratti that I'd win the Scudetto for him before I left - which I didn't, so now I'll have to do it as a manager…

<150 Home>