It's barely been mentioned in the media, nor discussed on forums oddly enough, yet I'd wager a heck of a lot has been spoken about it in the dressing rooms at Bulleen Veneto and along alfresco dining strips throughout the country.
I'm no statistician, so please correct me if I'm wrong -- no, really, do it! -- but it seems that Vincenzo Grella has become the first ever Australian footballer to be given the captain's armband for an Italian Serie A club on a long-term basis. I know, I know, I'm way behind the eight-ball, having only found out myself that Vinnie has been made captain of Parma this season thanks to Simon Hill's passing comment during the recent international fixture against Paraguay.
Shouldn't this be major news? I mean, it's sort of passe now for Australians to captain teams at high levels in the UK (Joe Marston, Craig Moore, Mark Viduka, Lucas Neill, Kevin Muscat, Tony Popovic, and probably a bunch of others I've forgotten) and we've had Josip Skoko win a league title in Beligum as captain of Genk, but to earn the honour in Italy, albeit for a struggling team with a new coach, is quite an achievement.
The appointment certainly seals Grella's conviction from a recent interivew with The World Game that Parma has been 'redimensionalised' this season. I guess it's safe to assume Vincenzo is one of those inspirational leaders who does his talking with his maneuvers on the pitch rather than vocally in the change rooms at half-time. Not to disparage the champ at all, we can't all be Shakespeare and nor would the world be even remotely tolerable if that were the case! Bravo Vinnie!
1 comment:
He seems to do a fair bit of talking on the pitch. Particularly when he thinks he or his team mates have been fouled or a ref or assistant miss something.
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