Golden Soft Sombrero Moment
with Danny Tiatto
Some Golden Soft Sombrero Moments with Danny Tiatto Tiatto on leading the English PFA fans poll for the best player in the English premiership in 2001…. Diegos: "The Diegos reckon its only right and just that you, a hard running, tough tackling, all action performer from Werribee Australia should be leading the PFA fans poll for the best player running around in the English premiership this season. Being a cult figure in both the western suburbs of Melbourne and in Manchester England must be a huge burden to carry. How are you coping with all the fame?" Tiatto: "It hasn't been too bad. It was a little bit of a surprise really. But I've been working hard this season and it's paying off for me so I'm enjoying it a lot at the moment." Diegos: "This prestigious Professional Footballers Association poll has you ahead of the likes of Manchester United pretty boy, David Beckham and West Ham's crazy boy genius, Paolo Di Canio. A recent disappointing press release from the PFA however appeared quite cynical about your overall chances of winning the award.
Tiatto: "To tell you the truth I'm not too bothered about what people say. I've always got a lot of critics wherever I play. Wherever I go, I seem to be a very controversial sort of player. I do enjoy the publicity but I just try to get on with my game. As long as I perform well and enjoy myself playing football that's the main thing. At the moment I'm just enjoying it, so hopefully it continues to upset a lot of people that I am still leading the award."
Tiatto: "All the boys are having a bit of a laugh. They've been giving me a bit of stick saying 'How can you be in front when you've been kicking everyone all year?' But it's not true. I've just been getting stuck in like anyone would. I'm just being very competitive. The supporters see that I put in more than 100% every game that I play, and they see that I'm very dedicated to the cause of staying in the Premiership with Manchester City. So I think that's why a lot of the Manchester City fans have voted for me this season and that's why they really love me at the moment." Soft Sombrero moment 2001
Diegos: "The Diegos want to thank you for giving David Beckham the bath that we requested in the last Manchester derby. We didn't mention the Neville brothers but its good too see you took the initiative and did the same to them. The next Manchester derby is on April 21st. Beckham is again on our late tackle list but this time we're wondering whether you can slam a couple passed the Red Devil goalkeeper, Fabian Barthez? Just a couple of goals and a kiss on his bald head will do." Tiatto: "Yeah, hopefully I'll still be in midfield by that time. I've scored a couple of goals from there so hopefully when it comes to the Manchester derby I'll be able to do it again and just rub it into them a bit more. I'm looking forward to it because I know that when we play at Old Trafford their crowd is going to get stuck into me every time I touch the ball, but I know that's just going to encourage me even more." Diegos: "In the big match between Leeds and Manchester United recently, the Diegos thought Leeds were hardly done by." Diegos: "We were surprised to see Fabien Barthez stay on the park after the foul on Ian Harte and not happy about his save from the resultant penalty. What's your view? Tiatto: "Yeah, I saw highlights of the match and I did think it was a bad decision. I think he should have gone, but that's the way football is. Sometimes decisions go for you and sometimes they go against you, but Leeds did well to get a draw out of the game. It was a good result for them." Diegos: "But when you're Manchester United the decisions always go for you, don't they?" Tiatto: "Well, they're a very good team and I think the referees are a little bit scared of them at times, so it is a little bit frustrating."
Tiatto on scoring a cracker against Middlesborough that wasn't… Diegos: "In recent times you've developed a taste for goals. You scored a cracker against the mighty Liverpool in a 1-1 draw at Maine Road but then had, what the Diegos nominated as goal of the year, disallowed against Paul Okon's Middlesborough for a dodgy offside decision. You were definitely robbed but what we want to know is whether Paul showed you any sympathy?" Tiatto: "Well after the game, Paul [Okon], Mark [Schwarzer] and I had a bit of a laugh about it. They said it was a goal as well. Basically everyone saw it as a goal. I had no intention of passing the ball. I was going directly for goal. I just wanted to stick it back up [Middlesborough manager] Terry Venables for leaving me out of the Australian squad a couple of years ago so that's why I was so keen to score."
Diegos: "You've been lucky enough this season to have as teammates a couple of genuine world stars. Earlier this season it was former World Player of the Year, George Weah and currently, it's the Russian racehorse, Andrei Kanchelskis. What's it like playing with players you idolized as you were growing up and what do you and Andrei talk about in your spare time? The wars in Chechnya? The Chernobyl disaster? Boris Yeltsin's preferred vodka? His favourite lap-dancing bars? Tiatto: "Andrei's a really good guy, even though he did once play for United! Seriously, he's a really good guy. As a kid, whenever I saw him play on TV, I always thought he was terrific. He's very quick and still very strong. He's a top guy and everyone gets along with him really well. You know, he just calls me "Skippy" every now and again and we have a bit of a laugh, so we enjoy ourselves."
Diego: "Your rise to prominence in Australian Soccer was almost Rocky Balboa-like. You virtually went from the relative obscurity of the Victorian State league, to the national league, to Olyroo and Socceroo representation, all in the space of 18 months. Your soccer journey has taken you to Italy, Switzerland and England. Rocky knocked out Apollo Creed in 'Rocky II' to become world champion, how far do you feel you can go?" Tiatto: "At the moment everything is going well. I'm really enjoying myself with Manchester City. I enjoyed my time in Italy as well but at this point, I'd like to continue my career in England with the view of eventually coming home to settle." Soft Sombrero moment 1998
Diegos: "In Manchester it's the United boys that seem to be the ones who get to go out with the Spice Girls, drive flashy cars and make obscene amounts of money. The City boys on the other hand, appear to do it tough, without as much glamour, trappings and having little or no chance with the Spice Girls. What's it like in a city like Manchester and playing for Manchester City?" Tiatto: "Well that's very much the perception people have about Manchester City around the world but if you spend time in Manchester you'll realize that this is not the case. The majority of 'City' supporters live in Manchester whereas many of the 'United' supporters come from outside the city. They tend to be the people who choose United because they are a winning team. It's really weird. It seems that everyone living in Manchester hates Manchester United, and would rather follow 'City'." Soft Sombrero moment 1998
Diegos: "A huge supporter of Manchester City is the rock band 'Oasis', of course fronted by the controversial and often tempestuous, Noel Gallagher. Have you had the pleasure of meeting the band and given your aggressive nature on the park, has Noel ever asked you to join the band and perhaps add a little more aggro to their press conferences?" Tiatto: " The team haven't met him yet but we are aware that he comes to most of our games. I think I'll steer clear of the band though because l don't like their music. We get free tickets to their concerts but l must admit there aren't too many Manchester City players who are keen to attend." Soft Sombrero moment 1998
Diegos: "In May last year, Aston Villa manager, John Gregory seemed to be keen on signing you. Unfortunately the deal didn't go through. That must have been hugely disappointing for you?" Tiatto: "Yes it was. Towards the end of the season when l was with Stoke City, the Villa manager, John Gregory asked me to play in a testimonial against Port Vale for Aston Villa. At the end of the season l had a slight hamstring injury but on the strength of that performance he asked me to come back during pre-season to have a trial. The Manchester City manager, Joe Royle was also pretty excited about me and made a concrete offer. I felt that with my injury, the fact that l didn't want to go on another trial and that Manchester City was a big and ambitious club, l decided against the Villa offer and came straight to Manchester, and l haven't regretted it since." Soft Sombrero moment 1998
What has brought about the bad feeling between the clubs and as a player do you get worried playing in the type of environment?" Tiatto: "Opposition teams get wound up playing against us because we are a big club. Millwill supporters are generally regarded as undesirable and, with my club also having crazy supporters, there was always a chance of something nasty occurring. I actually played in the game with all the trouble and ended up getting five stitches in my ear. The next time we played them l was desperate to get stuck in and clean a few of them up. Happily l got my chance and l did." Soft Sombrero moment 1998
Diegos: "The British like to regard themselves as a resilient bunch, a tough lot who live hard, drink hard and play hard. It seems though, at times, it is the Aussie players like Kevin Muscat and yourself, who teach the English what real aggression is all about. Are you a bit surprised by the reaction of the English to your "Take No Prisoners" style of play?" Tiatto: "It has been a little bit difficult. I've been sent off twice this season and in my opinion, I only deserved one of the two red cards. Whenever anyone, especially an Aussie, gets sent off in England, the press blows it totally out of proportion. Unfortunately these stories tend to make their way back home where the real story gets distorted." Diegos: " We know for a fact that the English think that the Diegos are a touch 'Il Loco'. What about the players from down-under, do they think that they're all loose cannons and a little mad?" Tiatto: "I think most of the boys that come over to play in England usually have that reputation. The likes of Andy Bernal, Kevin Muscat and myself are probably regarded as the hard men from down-under. But we enjoy it and it's all good fun." Soft Sombrero moment 1998
Diegos: "In the Diego's opinion, it's only a matter of time before you play in the English premiership with a big club. But you have had to, in the meantime, do your apprenticeship in the bread and salami league, the Italian Serie B with Salernitana, and now in the 'bangers and mash' league, Division 2 with Manchester City in England. You've had to do it hard in both competitions. How do both leagues compare?" Tiatto: "In Italy the game is much more tactically based. It was much harder to get a turn and shot on target and it was difficult to take on players because often the defenders were as quick as the forwards. As soon as l came to England, l found it much easier. I found that l had a bit more time on the ball and the attacking long ball style of play suited me. The physical nature of the English game was something l quickly came to terms with." Diegos: " As everyone knows, the Diegos are finely tuned athletes who work pretty hard to perfect their skills for cut throat Aussie backyard and beach soccer competitions. How differently do players in both Italy and England train?" Tiatto: " When l was in Italy l felt l trained much harder. The standard in England is improving however, with all clubs training twice a day. In the past this wasn't always the case. The players are adopting a higher level of professionalism which means that many of them don't go out nowadays, and get as drunk as they have in the past." Soft Sombrero moment 1998
Diegos: " You are in a unique situation in that you have played in both Italy and England. At present we have Olyroo, Vinnie Grella over in Italy with Empoli, Paul Okon is with Lazio and many years ago, we had Frank Farina with Bari. What sort of reception do players from Australia get from Italian coaches, players and spectators in general?" Tiatto: "Being Australian, it was hard to get acceptance from the Italian public initially. Having said that, as soon as they got to know what l was capable of and that l held an Italian passport, it did make things a lot easier." Diegos: " Do they test you out with a 'Double Short Black' to see if you could take it?" Tiatto: " They did try it but unfortunately, l ended up throwing up." Soft Sombrero moment 1998
Diegos: "Every Aussie kid's dream is to earn thousands of pounds a week playing soccer professionally overseas. Can you become financially secure playing in the 2nd division in England and when you retire, will we see you wearing diamond rings, gold chains, an open neck body shirt smoking a big fat cigar, cruising down Lygon street in a custom made Danny Tiatto Porsche?" Tiatto: " Manchester City is a big club in England and the financial part of it, l must admit, is great. It's a terrific way to earn a living, especially in the UK. When l get home, as long as l live by the beach and go surfing everyday, I'll be happy. Bell's Beach is just the place I'd like to be." Soft Sombrero moment 1998 |