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Spirito di Rino
Every Italian World Cup team has its symbol. In 1982 it was Paolo Rossi, in 1990 it was Toto Schillaci and this time, as Giancarlo Rinaldi explains, it deserves to be Rino Gattuso |
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He will never get the goals of his predecessors, but Gennaro Gattuso has become an emblem of Germany 2006. His battling qualities and quick-witted responses in interviews have typified a team which has combined enormous spirit with an ability to defuse tricky situations with the Press. That mixture has always been important for any Azzurri expedition.
You could go even further and suggest that the little defensive dervish could represent the qualities which have brought success in the whole tournament. All of the semi-finalists triumphed through adversity and exceeded everybody’s expectations. It’s not so different from the story of Gattuso’s playing career.
France were so woeful in their Group outings that everybody had written them off, Germany were dubbed the worst host nation in 20 years, while Portugal came through the Valentin Ivanov experience against Holland and lived to tell the tale. As for the Italians they were, according to which newspaper you read, lucky, defensive or a bunch of cheats. Not exactly the material you would expect to occupy the top four slots in world football.
Gennaro Ivan Gattuso has plotted a similar path. There are not many Italian internationals who have taken Rangers as the first step on their route towards World Cup recognition. Few exports from the Bel Paese ever make it abroad, even fewer as a teenager. The boy from Corigliano Calabro struggled to come to terms with his new surroundings, but he never gave up and is still revered around Ibrox way.
His return to Italy to lowly Salernitana showed further willingness to graft out a career. There were more than a few sniggers among students of the game when he moved to city slickers Milan. At that most European of Italian clubs, in the home of fashion, they thought a hard-working battler could not be more out of place. In time, he proved them all wrong.
“People admire me for the hard work I put in, hardly for the classy play,” explains Gattuso. “Where do I get my grit from? I can’t answer that. It’s like asking Francesco Totti were his talent comes from. It’s there and that’s all I need to know.”
It was a similar story with La Nazionale. Everyone admired his heart, but doubted his ability to reach the quality level necessary for international football. Once again, he turned everything on its head. With determination, endeavour and sheer bloody-mindedness he worked on his weaknesses, corrected what he could and made up for his deficiencies with even more effort. It moulded him into one of the few indispensable players in the Italy line-up.
His efforts in Germany 2006 both off and on the pitch are worthy of recognition. Missing the opening match, he stormed back in with style to show guts and drive when it was needed – the perfect defender of the more delicate souls like Andrea Pirlo and Totti. His comments in interviews were priceless too. From saying he would travel to Italy matches tied to the team bus to suggesting he would eat the yellow card if the referee dared to show him on to rule him our of the Final, he was never anything short of entertaining.
At only 28 you might be tempted to think that he could make it to another World Cup in four years time, but that may not be quite so likely. He is the kind of player who burns out fast because of the intensity and passion with which he plays the game. So Azzurri fans will have to enjoy him while he lasts, and cherish the great memories he gave them in the summer of 2006.
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