Is Di Matteo the Extra-Special One? Articolo in inglese

[chemist]

Articolo apparso sulla nuova rivista di citibet.co.uk, per chi e' interessato ad approfondire su Di Matteo  (e sul perche' mi sa che ha ragione Cuchillo). La Lazio e' nominata solo una volta riguardo alla sua 'amara partenza nel 1996'.

Scusate per l'inglese ma e' troppo lungo per tradurlo 

Is Di Matteo the Extra-Special One?

Whatever the result of the Champions League final on May 19, who would blame Roberto Di Matteo if he has to sneak out the back of the Allianz Arena for a cheeky smoking break at the end of the game […]

Whatever the result of the Champions League final on May 19, who would blame Roberto Di Matteo if he has to sneak out the back of the Allianz Arena for a cheeky smoking break at the end of the game to calm himself down? While managing West Bromwich Albion two years ago, a 3-2 win away at Arsenal led him to keep a press conference full of journalists twiddling their thumbs when he popped out for a fag. But for a game of this magnitude, “Robbie” might consider stowing a big fat Cuban cigar in the pocket of his designer coat ready for a rather more substantial draw after the final whistle. Win against Bayern Munich in their own backyard, and that Dolce & Gabbana suit of his could join Jose Mourinho’s Armani overcoat in the Chelsea museum. But even if his team loses, his mere appearance on the touchline will represent an astounding achievement…

This time last year Di Matteo was being touted as the potential manager of lowly Brentford by the Hounslow Chronicle, after being sacked by West Brom. He was also interviewed for the job at newly-relegated Birmingham City – only to be rejected. Yet the 41-year-old is now one win from the European title long craved by the obsessive chairman of his beloved Chelsea, Roman Abramovich, after leading the club to the most unlikely of victories over Barcelona, the best team in the world, which was followed by winning the FA Cup, too.

It’s a life filled with experience of dealing with dramatic highs and lows like these that have turned the Italian into the cool, phlegmatic character who might yet stop Mourinho returning to west London. As a powerful midfielder in his playing days, he went from scoring three goals in three victorious Wembley finals to being carried from a pitch in St Gallen with his leg “hanging off” after being broken in three places. The wounds threw him into depression and 18 months later forced him to retire, heartbroken, at just 31. He still bears the scars and discomfort from the nine operations he endured in the six weeks after the injury – which almost resulted in amputation – and his transition from playing football to managing was hard.

His sense of loss forced him to cut all ties with the game for some time to find a sense of “closure”, but eventually he took a course in management with the FA, and enjoyed early success in his first post at MK Dons. But later, as West Brom boss, achieving promotion and swiftly winning the Premier League manager of the month award was soon followed by the sack, amid reports that his players found him arrogant and aloof.

He did little to change that impression when he took over at Chelsea, coldly announcing to the world: “I don’t have any friends.” More worrying were rumours that he was even less popular with the squad than the callow ingenue he succeeded, Andre Villas-Boas; one anonymous insider told the press they thought he was “too cock sure”. Ouch. And while that deep, enigmatic gaze of his might make him popular with the ladies (he’s married with three children to an English woman from SW1, but the smitten female interviewer who couldn’t help enjoying his “chocolate brown eyes” isn’t alone), many footballers prefer being hugged to being stared at.

Those concerns have quickly disappeared since Di Matteo took the top job at Chelsea, however. Frank Lampard now says he “can’t speak highly enough of him”. Why? Probably because Di Matteo’s experience of setbacks has taught him to be grateful when opportunities come his way, and embrace this unexpected shot at glory with a clear head and no fear. And, wow, how that attitude has transformed his team.

By nature he is committed to stylish, attacking football – but unlike AVB’s pretentious insistence in pursuing his “project”, Di Matteo sees no shame in adopting pragmatic defensive resilience when needed. The three coaches he names as his main influences are Ralf Fringer, who taught him the ropes as a 21-year-old at Swiss club Aarau, Arrigo Sacchi, who first capped him for Italy, and Ruud Gullit, who brought him to Chelsea for £4.9m after his bitter departure from Lazio in 1996.

Because the fans remember his long-range strikes – especially the humdinger just 42 seconds into the 1997 FA Cup final against Middlesbrough – the players have to respect their leader’s playing credentials, in contrast to the suspicion they held for AVB’s chalkboard-based background. Yet Di Matteo holds no nostalgia for those days; his house in Leamington Spa contains no medals or old shirts whatsoever.

Often described as “determined” and “focused”, his lack of mementos is another sign of his serious character – with deep, private ambitions for the future, not yearnings for the past. One of his few major regrets is not finishing the dissertation for his MBA at London’s European School of Economics.

Born in Switzerland to Italian immigrants, he has said his background makes him feel like a foreigner – and therefore an outsider – wherever he goes. Indeed, despite winning 34 caps with Italy, his Germanic accent was so strong when Gullit phoned him to talk about moving to Chelsea, the Dutchman has joked he thought he was talking to “Johnny Sauerkraut”.

Di Matteo knows how to relax though, saying: “I do dream, but not only about football.” Previously the owner of two restaurants, he enjoys food – especially tagliatelli with salmon and vodka, apparently – and likes movies, particularly gritty realistic ones. But his aura of cool slips a little when you read that he’s a fan of Simply Red and U2.

All in all, defiance of the scars has combined with his intellect, confidence and love of Chelsea to make him the perfect candidate to pull off a very famous victory. Forza Di Matteo.

[CiPpi]

...players found him arrogant and aloof.

He did little to change that impression when he took over at Chelsea, coldly announcing to the world: “I don’t have any friends.”

..Di Matteo holds no nostalgia for those days (quando al Chelsea ndCP); his house in Leamington Spa contains no medals or old shirts whatsoever.

...with deep, private ambitions for the future, not yearnings for the past.

... his background makes him feel like a foreigner – and therefore an outsider – wherever he goes.
...

mi pare sia un tipo non molto incline alle grande parate di affetto che molti tifosi si aspettano.

ne sarebbe venuto/andato a Formello.

[aquilafelyx]

possiede certamente un carattere particolare , di sicuro poco incline alla ruffianaggine