Gattuso on 2006 World Cup, burned by Italy, genius at Lazio and serious illness
Gennaro Gattuso reveals he almost missed the 2006 World Cup, was ‘burned’ by his brief spell as Italy coach, calls Lazio President Claudio Lotito ‘a genius’ and discusses his debilitating condition.
The Festival dello Sport event in Trento allows players and coaches to give a more in depth vision of their careers than usual interviews, and Gattuso was the latest to take the stage today.
His peak as a player was to be part of the Italy side that won the World Cup in 2006, although few know he was very nearly forced to withdraw before it even kicked off in Germany.
Gattuso on Italy past, present and future
“I wasn’t even meant to be part of that squad, because 10 days earlier I had a lacerated muscle during the friendly against Switzerland, I was meant to be out for a month and a half,” confessed Rino.
“I worked 13-14 hours a day to recover. We left Italy and they were throwing tomatoes at us because of the Calciopoli scandal, but we slowly managed to get to where we ended up.
“The architect of that success was Marcello Lippi, who did everything to create a unified group. He allowed us to have our wives and children in the hotel until midnight. It was also a normal hotel, not a five-star affair, and it was run by a Calabrian family. That felt like the secret, a family atmosphere.”
When Gattuso was chosen to be the Italy coach during a crisis after Luciano Spalletti’s dismissal, it was with the hope he could recreate some of that atmosphere from 2006.
That wasn’t to be, and he resigned after losing the World Cup play-off with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“That experience burned me, it was a huge blow and I really was hurt by it. On the other hand, I wanted to start again straight away.”
Lazio appointed him over the summer to replace Maurizio Sarri, and many wondered how he would gel with a fiery president like Lotito.
“I have a bad reputation thanks to my time as a player, unfortunately, but as a coach I rarely argued with Presidents. I like dialogue, and naturally I like to be open, for people to keep their word. I don’t like getting taken for a ride,” explained Gattuso.
“Naturally, if things aren’t working, we need to say it face to face. Lotito is a man of incredible intelligence, a genius. He’s got four or five phones…”
The Derby della Capitale is going to be an interesting clash, as Roma, Lazio and Inter are joint top of the Serie A table, but he reveals a surprising rapport with Giallorossi coach Gian Piero Gasperini.
“Gasperini was always there for me in my most difficult moments. When I was at Milan and he was in charge of Atalanta, he called me up and told me to hang in there, that he liked the way my team played.
“We’re quite similar really, we both have strong characters, but he was always there when I needed him. Nobody talks about it, but Gasperini is in the same category as Arrigo Sacchi, for the sheer level of change he brought about in Italian football. Many of my colleagues try to copy what he does, but we struggle with it.”
Gattuso expresses frustration with players like Nuno Tavares in his Lazio side, and reveals why attitude is so essential.
“Nuno Tavares has certainly not give his best, there were moments of tension at the start too. I generally hate people who have talent and do nothing to improve themselves. This is because I had no talent as a player and had to work hard every day to get better. I detest those who have talent and just cast it aside.”
That almost prompted him to walk away from the role of coach.
“I used to get angry and at times I wanted to stop, because I underestimated the difficulties of dealing with a completely different generation, I’d get irritated by their attitude. So I had to identify two or three priorities in my ideas, and for the rest adapt to the modern generation. Now I don’t get so angry over banalities.”
Gattuso also had personal tragedy with the loss of his sister, and dealing with an auto-immune disease that forced him to hang up his boots early.
“I’ve been taking cortisone for 15 years now. There are people with my illness who stay in bed for four or five months at a time, because they cannot move. I accepted this illness, I work on it, but it costs me, as taking cortisone every day is not easy. I keep going as long as God gives me the strength.”
