Calciomercato.com

Rino has come a long way since that Joe Jordan episode: now is his chance to prove it

Rino has come a long way since that Joe Jordan episode: now is his chance to prove it

  • Jordan Russell (@JordRuss96)
In the immediate aftermath of that now infamous Champions League match between AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspur which saw Joe Jordan and Gennaro Gattuso come to blows, the Italian was called every name under the sun by disapproving onlookers the world over. He was vilified – quite rightly so – though it is a shame that this alone has clouded so many people’s overall judgement of him as a player, and as a man.
 
Unfortunately for Rino – not that he will care too much about this – he is mostly remembered by football fans in the United Kingdom as nothing more than a thug, whose only footballing attribute was his willingness to run through a brick wall for his teammates. In actual fact, he offered a fantastic Rossoneri side so much more than that, and now he has been presented with the chance to prove it as a coach.
 
You only had to listen to a few minutes of his first press conference earlier today to understand the message he will try to instill in his players: the importance of Milan’s DNA. While he spoke at length about this, he did also come across as a modern-thinking coach with clear ideas about how he will set his team up and the way in which he aims to get the best out of each individual player at his disposal.
 
Rino now has the opportunity to prove to the cynical football world why he is a better and more intelligent man than the majority of fans (particularly in Britain) remember him as. While his head-butting of Joe Jordan is never to be condoned, it is important to take a balanced approach on incidents like this.
 
Gattuso did wear his heart on his sleeve as a player, and undoubtedly does the same on the touchline. Does that make him a bad man? No, as long as his aggression is controlled. Maintaining his own discipline will be vital as he looks to catapult his beloved Diavolo back to the Champions League, where he and so many others quite rightly feel they belong.