Galliani & Golden balls 'Working on a Dream'
Thursday 29 January 2009 12:00
The new Bruce Springsteen album has just been released to great fanfare in Italy, where he is something of an iconic figure.
Adriano Galliani must have been singing along in the car to the title track.
When asked for the umpteenth time if David “Gentleman” Beckham would remain at AC Milan, the club’s chief executive nearly broke into song as he misquoted the Boss.
“We are working on the dream,” belted out the wannabe rocker, no doubt wishing he could tear off his shirt sleeves and lead the gathered press in a rousing sing-along. “David is a man of honour but we are hoping for a miracle.”
"Ooh, microphones. Any requests?"
The highway is filled with broken heroes on a last chance power drive, and it now looks more and more likely that Becks isn’t about to let the glory days pass him by.
If the scenes at the San Siro were anything to by on Wednesday evening, who needs Hollywood when you can lap up the adulation of 50,000-plus fans just about every week.
A cracking free-kick, man-of-the-match award and standing ovation is not a bad way to spend a mid-winter evening.
Mrs Beckham must be digging her stilettos further into the marble floor at the Armani superstore in frustration at the thought of having to leave Los Angeles, but it's a mission impossible, especially with her hubby’s celebrity friends lending a hand.
Tom Cruise threw his two cents into the ring when interviewed on the Sky Italia Cinema channel to plug his new film.
Obviously a glory-hunter when it comes to nailing his colours to a team, the diminutive but perfectly formed screen star claimed he was not only a Beckham fan but a Milan supporter.
“I would love to get to Milan to see David play,” he cooed in a desperate push to get Rossoneri-supporting film-goers, at least, into the cinema to see if he bumps off Hitler. “I am supporting my friend and Milan as well.”
However, that seemed to be the extent of his footy knowledge and when asked what he thought of Francesco Totti, he gave a quizzical look before admitting he had never heard of him.
Time to chuck those Risky Business DVDs away then Francesco.
Not that the Roma man will have much time for lounging around in front of the TV. Fit again after the most recent of ever-growing injury problems, Totti scored in the win over Palermo on Wednesday to push the Giallorossi to within one point off fourth spot.
"I'm more famous than Tom Cruise... right?"
Genoa currently occupy the final Champions League position and along with Roma and, erm, Cagliari, are the form side at the moment.
This weekend could prove to be a pivotal one, with Inter having opened up a six-point lead over Juventus who, without Alessandro Del Piero, produced a lacklustre performance and lost at Udinese on Wednesday night.
They now face the Sardinians on Sunday, while the leaders are home to Torino, so no slip-ups can be afforded. Although Del Piero has already admitted that the game is probably up.
“I don’t think we are title material at the moment,” he declared, thus further undermining Claudio Ranieri’s waning authority over his captain.
It may have been pretty quiet on the transfer front since the Kaka yarn, but two Serie A players could be winging their way to the Premier League in the next 48 hours.
Serie Aaaaargh! favourite goalkeeper Marco Amelia has admitted that Manchester City have his ear, while Marco Storari is set to go from being Fiorentina’s reserve keeper to Chelsea bench-warmer.
And, what with sod’s law and all, just when we thought we had seen the last of Christian Panucci, Marco Cassetti is out with a pulled hamstring for three months so cue pretend kiss-and-make up between the grumpy defender and Luciano Spalletti.
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About Richard Whittle
Despite the name,
Richard Whittle is so at home in Italy that some call him Riccardo Rossi. He has lived and worked in Italy for the last 15 years as a football journalist and works as Italian soccer commentator for the English-speaking world covering Serie A, Champions League, Europa League and Italian Cup matches as well as Italy internationals. With Paul Visca, Richard concocts the regular
Calcio & Coffee podcast.