His first months as coach, his illustrious past as a player, in Naples and Turin, Juventus and Italian football are some of the topics Ciro Ferrara spoke of during a long interview with Gianni Mura, one of the foremost brands in Italian sports journalism, published on today’s edition of the daily newspaper “La Repubblica”.
Below is an excerpt of the interview.
You made a round 500 appearances in the Serie A, 247 for Napoli and 253 for Juve. Do you feel like a man with split feelings?
"I feel like a Neapolitan who settled happily in Turin. I would say Naples is my home and Turin my office but I think it would be a bit unfair since I have true friends in Turin too. Naples is my holiday, my extended family. There, as a player I had all the satisfaction. Turin is work, here I put myself up for another test and other satisfactions followed".
You seem far from the cliché of the stereotype Neapolitan, the one most widely diffused, at least.
"I don’t have any merit in this. My family, perhaps. I grew up in Via Manzoni, on the Posillipo hill. There we did not play football on the streets, but luckily there was a yard. In the Ferrara homework was always a very serious matter just like the respect towards others, the respect with regards to commitments taken and studying. My brothers graduated and even finished my studies at ISEF with a thesis on thorax spraying".
"We are profoundly Neapolitan: all the family used to go and watch the Napoli of Diaz and Krol. I sing Pino Daniele’s songs even though people say I’m out of tune. I like pizza and in fact I invested in pizzerias. I had three and kept one in Turin. However I feel far from the macchietism that makes a common place or a caricature out of Naples".
Your first match in the Serie A was against Juve and the first with the national team was spent marking Maradona: it seems like destiny.
"Against Juve it ended in a 0-0 draw and I managed to hold Boniek, while in the friendly against Argentina we won 3-1".
Do you still speak to Maradona?
"He called me just after i became the Juventus coach to jokingly call me a catenaccio style coach. When he conceded six goals against Bolivia I told him that perhaps a bit of catenaccio could have been useful".
By the way, where have all the great Italian defenders gone?
"The man to man marking school of thought went missing when it was decided to practice zone marking. Sacchi did not call me up for a long time because he considered me incapable of zone marking, then he changed his mind and this is one of the greatest satisfactions of my sporting life, furthermore since zone marking extended my career. It is easier to move from man to man marking to zone marking rather than vice-versa".
Against whom did you sweat the most?
"Gullit and Montesano. Having a bad match against a champion is not too serious: the other player is a champion and you are partially forgiven. Against Montesano in Udine I never saw the ball. It ended 2-2 with him the man of the match and me the worst player".
If they call you a Lippi creation would you be offended?
"I don’t see why I should. I played for 8 years with him, was his assistant in Germany and I could have learnt from his work with the team. Others find me more similar to Capello. I think it is still too early to make comparisons".
Let us speak of Juve. Your latest 4-2-3-1 formation was liked. Is it just a temporary tactic?
"It is one of the many tactical options possible in a Juve in which, according to me, the only certainty is a 4-strong defence".
After the break you will have Del Piero back.
"Him and all the others. Seeing the relationship I have with Alex it will be a choice made by the mind and not by the heart. I might have made some mistakes and I admit it, but I think that this team can only improve. Inter is the team to beat and we must try to do till the very end. For us the championship is the priority".
Juventus.com
Below is an excerpt of the interview.
You made a round 500 appearances in the Serie A, 247 for Napoli and 253 for Juve. Do you feel like a man with split feelings?
"I feel like a Neapolitan who settled happily in Turin. I would say Naples is my home and Turin my office but I think it would be a bit unfair since I have true friends in Turin too. Naples is my holiday, my extended family. There, as a player I had all the satisfaction. Turin is work, here I put myself up for another test and other satisfactions followed".
You seem far from the cliché of the stereotype Neapolitan, the one most widely diffused, at least.
"I don’t have any merit in this. My family, perhaps. I grew up in Via Manzoni, on the Posillipo hill. There we did not play football on the streets, but luckily there was a yard. In the Ferrara homework was always a very serious matter just like the respect towards others, the respect with regards to commitments taken and studying. My brothers graduated and even finished my studies at ISEF with a thesis on thorax spraying".
"We are profoundly Neapolitan: all the family used to go and watch the Napoli of Diaz and Krol. I sing Pino Daniele’s songs even though people say I’m out of tune. I like pizza and in fact I invested in pizzerias. I had three and kept one in Turin. However I feel far from the macchietism that makes a common place or a caricature out of Naples".
Your first match in the Serie A was against Juve and the first with the national team was spent marking Maradona: it seems like destiny.
"Against Juve it ended in a 0-0 draw and I managed to hold Boniek, while in the friendly against Argentina we won 3-1".
Do you still speak to Maradona?
"He called me just after i became the Juventus coach to jokingly call me a catenaccio style coach. When he conceded six goals against Bolivia I told him that perhaps a bit of catenaccio could have been useful".
By the way, where have all the great Italian defenders gone?
"The man to man marking school of thought went missing when it was decided to practice zone marking. Sacchi did not call me up for a long time because he considered me incapable of zone marking, then he changed his mind and this is one of the greatest satisfactions of my sporting life, furthermore since zone marking extended my career. It is easier to move from man to man marking to zone marking rather than vice-versa".
Against whom did you sweat the most?
"Gullit and Montesano. Having a bad match against a champion is not too serious: the other player is a champion and you are partially forgiven. Against Montesano in Udine I never saw the ball. It ended 2-2 with him the man of the match and me the worst player".
If they call you a Lippi creation would you be offended?
"I don’t see why I should. I played for 8 years with him, was his assistant in Germany and I could have learnt from his work with the team. Others find me more similar to Capello. I think it is still too early to make comparisons".
Let us speak of Juve. Your latest 4-2-3-1 formation was liked. Is it just a temporary tactic?
"It is one of the many tactical options possible in a Juve in which, according to me, the only certainty is a 4-strong defence".
After the break you will have Del Piero back.
"Him and all the others. Seeing the relationship I have with Alex it will be a choice made by the mind and not by the heart. I might have made some mistakes and I admit it, but I think that this team can only improve. Inter is the team to beat and we must try to do till the very end. For us the championship is the priority".
Juventus.com
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