52 February 2016 FourFourTwo.com
was appointed. For my whole stay, we were
a good team, but the level of Italian football
was so high that we couldn’t win anything.You joined Roma in 1999 along with Fabio
Capello, who didn’t prefer short forwards
like yourself. How was your relationship?
I was always ambitious, and after three years
at Samp I felt it was time to win titles. Roma
president Franco Sensi really wanted to sign
me – I was keen to live and play in Rome, as
well as be coached by Zdenek Zeman. Sadly
he got sacked before the season started, so
I never trained with him. Then Capello came
in, which signalled Roma’s intentions to win
the Scudetto. He preferred a more physical
centre-forward and I was upset most of the
time, but the club wouldn’t let me go. Fabio
and I learned to respect each other, and we
did our best for the club to achieve its goals.Then Gabriel Batistuta (above) arrived in- Despite a lack of playing time, you’d
scored 21 goals – was that tough to take?
It had nothing to do with Batistuta – he was
a true champion and I was happy he joined.
His appointment was another statement by
the club: ‘This time we go for real’. In the end
the Scudetto arrived and it was great. Gabriel
and I still have a good relationship.
There were reports the two of you clashed
over the No.9 shirt – is that true?
I’ve heard this many times, but the No.9 shirt
was mine from the year before. I don’t know
if he asked for it, or if someone promised him
he would get it, but no one ever asked me to
give it up. I felt it belonged to me.As a striker, how good was it to play just in
front of Francesco Totti?
In terms of football, he was crazy! His history
speaks for itself. He could make anyone play
better, as his brain and feet were faster than
anyone else’s. He could make you come alive.You won the league in your second season.
How good did it feel to become a champion
of Italy and how incredible was that team?
Each Roma fan lives football 24 hours a day –
if things go well, they give you so much love
it becomes difficult for you to keep your feet
on the ground. One time – it must have been
more than a week after winning the Scudetto- we were all eating together in a restaurant
on a beautiful terrace. Somehow word spread
and fans surrounded the building. We had to
leave with the help of the police. It was mad!
You spent the second half of 2006-07 with
Fulham on loan – how did that come about?
I wasn’t playing as often as I hoped for Roma
and knew I had two choices – either I carried
on arguing with new coach Luciano Spalletti,
or I tried an experience abroad. I asked Roma
to find a club for me in London, as I felt that
would suit me. I only spent six months there,
but the supporters treated me as a favourite
and created a song for me! A few weeks after
my arrival, the manager Chris Coleman was
replaced by Lawrie Sanchez. I didn’t develop
a good relationship with him, so I moved on.You were a bit-part player at Euro 2000,
where Italy lost in the final, and again at
the 2002 World Cup, where South Korea
beat the Azzurri in controversial fashion.
How do you look back on your Italy career?
Both tournaments were great experiences,
regardless of my role, as few people get the
chance to participate in them. The Euro 2000
Final was painful. We came within moments
of winning it in normal time. Then in South
Korea, the referee wasn’t man of the match!
Competition was fierce but fair among the
strikers; Filippo Inzaghi, Alessandro Del Piero,
Christian Vieri and I were very good friends.Your first job as a manager was also with
Roma, in 2011. Which debut was harder –
the one as a player or the one as a coach?
Definitely the second one, as it came quite
unexpectedly. I was training the under-15s.
The club had a plan for me – I would coach
the U15s, the U17s and the U19s to prepare
me for senior management. But I got a call
one night and was told I’d be announced as
first-team manager the next day. I accepted
the job because I’d already played with most
of the players and knew they’d support me.You then guided Fiorentina to fourth place
three seasons in a row, as well as reaching
the 2014 Coppa Italia Final...
We had three extraordinary years together.
We built the team from scratch, and credit
must go to the club. We played entertaining
and technical football, but it got to the point
where you either invest more money or you
restart the project from scratch. I was quite
young; I gave my opinion a bit too boldly for
the directors and our relationship cracked.You’re now managing Adana Demirspor in
Turkey. How do you like it there?
I love to travel and learn different cultures –
football gives me this opportunity. Turkey has
everything you need and our club is very well
structured. Football here is less about tactics
than in Italy, while fans are just as emotional.Finally, can you tell us where your famous
‘Aeroplanino’ goal celebration came from?
It was spontaneous! I was playing for Genoa
against Cesena – after scoring a bicycle kick,
I stood up and started flying. I think it even
received a prize in England some years ago,
for the nicest celebration in football history!
If it was genuine, I’d be very happy indeed.It’s 50 years since you wrote your name in
Newcastle history with a hat-trick on your
home debut against the mighty Liverpool.
Happy memories?
Well, yes and no. I ended up getting knocked
out by Ray Clemence and being carried off
the pitch! But it was a wonderful start to my
Newcastle career and sparked that special
relationship I had with the club’s supporters,
which endures to this day. My first goal was
a penalty, conceded by Kevin Keegan. The
second nearly took the net off its stanchions
and the third was a nice finish in front of the
Leazes End. But afterwards I was in an awful
mess – I needed stitches in my mouth, plastic
skin over a gash on the cheekbone, and I had
a black eye. I wasn’t able to celebrate that
hat-trick. One of my team-mates had to give
me a lift home.Was that the day a new nickname and song
was launched for you?
The big show in the West End that year was
Jesus Christ Superstar, and the crowd adapted
the words of the title song for me. After my
first goal they chanted “Supermac, Superstar,
how many goals have you scored so far?” It
was spontaneous all around St James’ Park.
What I still haven’t discovered is who handed
out the songsheets!You had a reputation for shooting from the
hip. Home fans loved your swashbuckling
style, but they also thought you had a big
mouth and a big head. Did that worry you?
Not at all, and I’ll tell you how it all started.
At my first Newcastle press conference after
joining for £180,000 from Luton, I was asked
if I had a target for the season. I said it was
the same target Alec Stock, my former Luton
boss, had set me: 30 goals. The headline theInterview Ian MurtaghSupermac recalls the black
eyes, bust-ups and blistering
pace that made him a heroMALCOLM MACDOnALD
“I SCORED FIVE FOR
E n GLAnD AnD TOLD
DOn REVIE, ‘READ
THAT AnD WEEP,
YOU BASTARD. TRY
DROPPInG ME nOW’”
94 June 2022 FourFourTwo