A fable for Fabio
Fabio Quagliarella is under-fire for apparently apologising for scoring against Napoli. Giancarlo Rinaldi says the Torino striker should brush up on his fables.
Fabio Quagliarella might be well advised to go back and read his Aesop's fables.
The tale of the Man, the Boy and the Donkey - in particular - could strike a chord with him at this moment in time. The essence of its message is that by trying to please everyone, you end up pleasing nobody.
And the Toro striker certainly seems to have precious few friends at the moment.
The event which has prompted his predicament was not so unusual in football, the Italian variety in particular.
The Neapolitan-born hitman converted a penalty for Torino against the team from the city of his birth and chose not to celebrate his strike.
However, he went a little further by appearing to plead for forgiveness from the home support in the San Paolo who had jeered their former player for much of the match. It did him little good as they continued to voice their disapproval whenever he touched the ball.
It might have all ended there but Torino fans, understandably perhaps, took exception to his actions. He had, after all, come through the youth ranks with the Granata and has spent several seasons with the club compared with just one in Naples.
It might have been alright not to celebrate, at a push, but to almost actively apologise for doing so was taking things too far.
So, out came the banner for the next home game of Giampiero Ventura's side. "You haven't celebrated since 2001, for us you are just a 71!" it proclaimed using a number which Neapolitan superstition equates to a man of no worth (it is actually a little more scathing than that).
Then, when Toro slipped behind, the supporters called for the introduction of Maxi Lopez rather than Quagliarella who might have seemed an obvious substitute in a game where they were trailing. Lopez was duly sent on while the Italian forward sat on the bench for the entire match.
The situation raises a couple of interesting questions.
The first of which is whether the non-celebration of goals against former clubs has got a little bit out of hand. Torino's sporting director Gianluca Petrachi said as much ahead of the Empoli game which Quagliarella sat out.
"He is an intelligent boy but he did a stupid thing in Naples," he said. "But it is to his credit that he realised his mistake and made a public apology which is not something we often see. In general, I think this habit of not celebrating after a goal against your former team is a bit outdated. In sporting terms, scoring a goal is the best thing there is and it is only right to celebrate."
I think we would probably all accept that there are shades of grey in this situation.
When, for example, Gabriel Batistuta scored against Fiorentina after nine unforgettable years with the Tuscan club, his tears were perfectly understandable. But when Alberto Aquilani declined to celebrate scoring for the Viola against Milan after a season on loan with the Rossoneri it seemed to be a little bit extreme. He had started just 14 games in Serie A with the side from the San Siro.
The other issue surrounding the story is the power which is still wielded by some sections of support in the Italian game. Scenes of players going "Sotto la Curva" to be berated by their own fans are still quite commonplace. But at the weekend, the Toro hardcore followers appeared to have a big say in picking the first XI and also who should come on as substitutes.
"He didn't play because the circumstances meant he could not be in the right frame of mind to go onto the pitch," explained boss Ventura. "Whoever wears the Granata shirt has to respect the fans, just as they have to respect whoever plays.
Quagliarella made a mistake but he's done a lot for this club, we shouldn't forget that. For as long as he is here, we have to support him. Otherwise, we are just hurting ourselves."
That sounds like pretty lukewarm support for the player and, reading between the lines, hints that he might be moved on elsewhere.
A victory for fan power, perhaps? Or another sign of the fear and trepidation which more volatile sections of a support still inspire in Italy? That probably depends on your point of view.
It would certainly have been a brave move to put him onto the pitch against Empoli but imagine he had scored a goal to grab his team a vital point or, perhaps, hit a double to win the game. Would the fans have done like he did and decided not to celebrate?
The Granata's league form is already poor enough without turning their back on any potential source of goals even if, in truth, he has hardly been in great form.
In the fable of the Man, the Boy and the Donkey - the poor animal ends up drowned because of efforts to try to keep everybody happy. This situation, too, runs the risk of dragging down both the player and the club he plays for.
To move him on elsewhere would be a bit of a cop out but, perhaps, a typical Italian compromise. Better, surely, for Quagliarella to play once again for Torino, score a goal against a former club - ideally Juventus in the derby - and celebrate in the sort of style which leaves no doubt about his loyalties.
Fabio Quagliarella is under-fire for apparently apologising for scoring against Napoli. Giancarlo Rinaldi says the Torino striker should brush up on his fables.
Fabio Quagliarella might be well advised to go back and read his Aesop's fables.
The tale of the Man, the Boy and the Donkey - in particular - could strike a chord with him at this moment in time. The essence of its message is that by trying to please everyone, you end up pleasing nobody.
And the Toro striker certainly seems to have precious few friends at the moment.
The event which has prompted his predicament was not so unusual in football, the Italian variety in particular.
The Neapolitan-born hitman converted a penalty for Torino against the team from the city of his birth and chose not to celebrate his strike.
However, he went a little further by appearing to plead for forgiveness from the home support in the San Paolo who had jeered their former player for much of the match. It did him little good as they continued to voice their disapproval whenever he touched the ball.
It might have all ended there but Torino fans, understandably perhaps, took exception to his actions. He had, after all, come through the youth ranks with the Granata and has spent several seasons with the club compared with just one in Naples.
It might have been alright not to celebrate, at a push, but to almost actively apologise for doing so was taking things too far.
So, out came the banner for the next home game of Giampiero Ventura's side. "You haven't celebrated since 2001, for us you are just a 71!" it proclaimed using a number which Neapolitan superstition equates to a man of no worth (it is actually a little more scathing than that).
Then, when Toro slipped behind, the supporters called for the introduction of Maxi Lopez rather than Quagliarella who might have seemed an obvious substitute in a game where they were trailing. Lopez was duly sent on while the Italian forward sat on the bench for the entire match.
The situation raises a couple of interesting questions.
The first of which is whether the non-celebration of goals against former clubs has got a little bit out of hand. Torino's sporting director Gianluca Petrachi said as much ahead of the Empoli game which Quagliarella sat out.
"He is an intelligent boy but he did a stupid thing in Naples," he said. "But it is to his credit that he realised his mistake and made a public apology which is not something we often see. In general, I think this habit of not celebrating after a goal against your former team is a bit outdated. In sporting terms, scoring a goal is the best thing there is and it is only right to celebrate."
I think we would probably all accept that there are shades of grey in this situation.
When, for example, Gabriel Batistuta scored against Fiorentina after nine unforgettable years with the Tuscan club, his tears were perfectly understandable. But when Alberto Aquilani declined to celebrate scoring for the Viola against Milan after a season on loan with the Rossoneri it seemed to be a little bit extreme. He had started just 14 games in Serie A with the side from the San Siro.
The other issue surrounding the story is the power which is still wielded by some sections of support in the Italian game. Scenes of players going "Sotto la Curva" to be berated by their own fans are still quite commonplace. But at the weekend, the Toro hardcore followers appeared to have a big say in picking the first XI and also who should come on as substitutes.
"He didn't play because the circumstances meant he could not be in the right frame of mind to go onto the pitch," explained boss Ventura. "Whoever wears the Granata shirt has to respect the fans, just as they have to respect whoever plays.
Quagliarella made a mistake but he's done a lot for this club, we shouldn't forget that. For as long as he is here, we have to support him. Otherwise, we are just hurting ourselves."
That sounds like pretty lukewarm support for the player and, reading between the lines, hints that he might be moved on elsewhere.
A victory for fan power, perhaps? Or another sign of the fear and trepidation which more volatile sections of a support still inspire in Italy? That probably depends on your point of view.
It would certainly have been a brave move to put him onto the pitch against Empoli but imagine he had scored a goal to grab his team a vital point or, perhaps, hit a double to win the game. Would the fans have done like he did and decided not to celebrate?
The Granata's league form is already poor enough without turning their back on any potential source of goals even if, in truth, he has hardly been in great form.
In the fable of the Man, the Boy and the Donkey - the poor animal ends up drowned because of efforts to try to keep everybody happy. This situation, too, runs the risk of dragging down both the player and the club he plays for.
To move him on elsewhere would be a bit of a cop out but, perhaps, a typical Italian compromise. Better, surely, for Quagliarella to play once again for Torino, score a goal against a former club - ideally Juventus in the derby - and celebrate in the sort of style which leaves no doubt about his loyalties.
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