Genaro Gattuso, a proper midfield soldier. A general to be precise. His best description can be given through the words of Lilian Thuram. Once he was reliving the famous 2006 world cup final, and then he went one saying that sometimes weird things happen in football that are hard to explain. That France were a better team than Italy in the Berlin final. But France were never ahead of them in team spirit. That's what they felt on the field. Italy were a great team, they all forgot each other mistaks, they encouraged each other with every shot. Of course France too wanted to win the trophy but not more than them. You could tell by the look in the Italian's eyes. Thuram'e first hand experience with Genaro was not the most pleasant. As they were going for the kick off after Zidane's goal, Lilian heard a thunderous voice, Gattuso's.
"We can! We can not lose to them! Take a shot on target!"
There was something trembling in Gattuso's eyes, he looked like a devil. Every French thought they lost the game there. Italy's whole team changed after Gattuso's little speech. Italy's entire defense seemed to have become a wall. French players were afraid that they might actually lose the match. Gattuso said those words knowingly because he knew most of the players on the French team knew Italian.
Everyone talks about Buffon, Cannavaro, Grosso. But Gattuso was the spirit of the team. Gattuso had the ability to bring together and invigorate four teams alone. Genaro Gattuso was born on this day in 1978, in a small town in Calabria, Italy, to Francisco and Costanza Gattuso of Corigliano Calabro. He started his career with the Italian club Perugia's youth system in 1990, and later joined the Scottish Side Rangers. When coach Walter Smith left, new coach Dick Advocate played him right back. Genaro caught the eye of AC Milan after a season at Serie A club Salernitana. In the summer of 1999, Milan recruited him. In his first Milan derby, he won the hearts of Milan fans by marking Brazilian forward Ronaldo Lima. Coach Ancelotti was impressed with Gattuso's ability to win the ball and promoted him back to midfield, alongside Andrea Pirlo. From then until leaving the club in 2012, Gattuso was the lifeblood of the team's midfield. After finishing his playing career, he became a coach and coached in several clubs in Switzerland, Greece and Italy. He won the first trophy in his coaching career last season, the Coppa Italia. Be it in the life of the player or in the life of the coaching, he has repeatedly shown the mentality of not giving up. He has won several titles for Milan in his playing career, then returned to the team as a coach, took the team to the Champions League a little later, a huge fee of 5.5m from the club was about to be paid when he left the club, but he did not take it. When asked why he didn't take it, he said,
"My relationship with Milan can never be about money."
Earlier, while coaching in Greece, he paid the players' salaries out of his own pocket, and after joining Napoli, during covid he took a pay cut himself so that the club could pay all the other staffs. He might be a harsh man to deal with, but at heart, a great man.
In his long and successful career Gattuso has played a total of 468 matches scoring 11 goals and 20 assists. While his trophy cabinet is something one can only dream of. One world cup, two serie A and Champions League titles apiece. One Coppa Italia, two Supercoppa Italia, one intercontinental cup, two UEFA Super Cup titles. Long list.
The legend celebrates his 44th birthday today. Happy Birthday General Genaro Ivan Gattuso!
