Camoranesi Interview
The divine ponytail
Kevin Azzopardi
Juventus and Italy footballer Mauro Camoranesi is sidelined because of injury until the end of the month, but he will still be joining the Italian giants for a training camp in Malta this evening.
With his distinct South American looks and long, dark hair, Mauro German Camoranesi is one of the most instantly-recognisable faces in Italian football.
Born and bred in Argentina, Camoranesi has made a name for himself thanks to his exploits in Serie A, predominantly with Juventus where, over the years, he has established himself as one of the pillars of the team.
In so doing, the talented winger has endeared himself to the Juventus faithful but his decision four years ago to pledge his international future to Italy rather than his native country stirred mixed reactions among the Azzurri fans.
Early scepticism about the true motives behind Camoranesi's allegiance to the Italian national team receded amid the euphoria surrounding the country's World Cup 2006 triumph.
As one of Juve's leading lights, Camoranesi was inevitably linked with a move away from Turin in summer last year after the Bianconeri were demoted to the Serie B for their involvement in the match-fixing scandal.
His penchant for forthright, at times controversial, comments only served to heighten speculation over Camoranesi's future with Juventus last year, but contrary to expectation, he stayed and helped the team bounce straight back into Serie A.
"Last season, we had to play in an inferior division but we triumphed despite the points' penalty (Juventus were initially docked 17 points but their penalty was reduced to nine on appeal).
"Credit is due to the whole squad because we have worked hard without ever losing our concentration and keeping alive our objective of winning promotion to Serie A."
After securing an immediate return to the top flight with plenty to spare, Juventus have silenced their critics with an extraordinary start this season.
Their presence in the top end of the league table - Juventus are third with 35 points from 17 matches - is testimony to their consistency besides casting a positive light on the tough measures the club had to take last year to combat the ill-effects caused by the team's relegation to Serie B.
A spate of injuries prevented Camoranesi from making his mark on the team this season, but the performances of experienced players like captain Alessandro Del Piero, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, French striker David Trezeguet - Serie A's leading scorer with 13 goals - and Pavel Nedved as well as the hefty input of up and coming youngsters, have instilled fresh hope and enthusiasm among the Juve supporters.
This was not the case last year when the club, spearheaded by new director general Jean-Claude Blanc, had to let go of a host of top players, the likes of Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Patrick Vieira, Emerson and Gianluca Zambrotta.
Camoranesi, who scored the team's equaliser in the home 1-1 draw with Inter after coming off the bench, is not surprised by Juventus' strong start to this season.
"The club conducted a good transfer campaign last summer. Some great players have arrived and the campioni who had chosen to tackle Juve's Serie B campaign together have stayed. I expected a competitive and motivated squad.
"It's clear that the other squads are settled and only need to fine-tune some small mechanisms, but we will play every game with a lot of heart and determination," he says.
Everyone seems to be placing their bets on Inter, the Serie A pace-setters, to retain the title but murmurs of a Juve tilt for the scudetto have grown louder in the past few months.
Juventus officials and players have thus far refrained from commenting on their title chances and Camoranesi himself claims that qualification for the Champions League remains the team's primary target.
"Our main objective is to claim a top-four finish and qualify for the Champions League," Camoranesi says.
The draw for the first knockout phase of this season's Champions League has thrown up a string of mouth-watering ties like Inter vs Liverpool, Milan vs Arsenal and Real Madrid vs Roma.
Most of Europe's football heavyweights are in still in the race to lift the coveted European Cup but Camoranesi has tipped Inter, Juventus' arch-rivals, to complete a double of Italian Serie A title and the Champions League.
"Inter have a very strong squad, one that is well-equipped to win in Italy as well as in Europe," Camoranesi says.
"However, the league campaign is very long and the other pretenders for the title - us for starters - will try to make life difficult for them."
Football never fails to produce new stars and the modern game is certainly blessed with some fine talent, not least Milan's Brazilian midfielder Kaka - who scooped this year's top individual prizes, the FIFA Player of the Year award and the Golden Ball - Manchester United's attacking duo of Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, and Barcelona's Lionel Messi, to name but a few.
Camoranesi rates Kaka as the best player in the world at present.
"Kaka is the player that excites me most. He's a mixture of strength, agility, rapidity and fine technique. It's right that Kaka has recently been named winner of the Golden Ball.
"As for the best player ever, I cannot but cite a name above all others: Diego Armando Maradona."
Like any footballer, Camoranesi has had his ups and downs but he is in no doubt as to which was the happiest moment of his footballing career.
"Football has always given me great satisfaction, but certainly the best moment of my career was when Italy won the World Cup in 2006," he reminisces.
On that memorable night in Berlin on July 9, Camoranesi celebrated Italy's nail-biting victory over France in a penalty shoot-out by taking a seat in the middle of the pitch as ecstatic team-mates swooped to cut his ponytail. Camoranesi had promised he would abandon some of his long locks if Italy won the World Cup.
As for the low points of his career, Camoranesi says: "I believe negative moments are part of life. You just have to do your best and look ahead while taking stock of the mistakes committed... without making a drama of them."
Having begun his professional career with little-known Mexican club Santos Laguna, Camoranesi turned out for a host of South American clubs before moving to Italy to join Verona in 2000.
After three positive seasons with Verona, Camoranesi finally fulfilled his ambition of playing for a top club by signing for Juventus.
Now aged 31, Camoranesi has spent the best years of his career with the Italian giants despite touted interest from a host of other clubs outside Italy but the winger has no regrets.
"I wouldn't change anything about my career, especially my association with Juventus," Camoranesi declared. "In Turin, I have realised all my dreams and it is in these colours that I want to keep winning."
These words from Camoranesi will go down well with the millions of Juve fans around the world, not least those in Malta whose fervour for the 'Old Lady' is expected to be in full evidence over the coming days.
Juventus' first-team squad, the injured Camoranesi included, are due to land in Malta tonight ahead of their much-awaited five-day winter training camp and friendly match against Valletta on Wednesday.
Camoranesi is looking forward to Juventus' visit to Malta.
"We received the news about our winter training camp in Malta from our team manager, Gianluca Pessotto, and I'm very pleased about coming over," Camoranesi remarks.
"In Malta, we will find an ideal climate for our training sessions and great affection from our numerous fans. I can't wait to train amid the air of enthusiasm of the Maltese supporters."
Camoranesi is often talked of as an outspoken, mercurial person, the type who has difficulties keeping his emotions in check.
Such perception stems from a sequence of incidents when Camoranesi made the news for the wrong reasons like when he lost his cool and earned a red card in a Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal in 2006.
Yet, judging by his description of his typical day, it seems safe to assume that Camoranesi is more laid-back in his private life. "I'm a simple person," Camoranesi says.
I like to spend time with my wife and children and play golf, a sport that helps me to relax and enjoy myself."
Football in Italy is a national obsession but widespread violence in and outside stadiums has tarnished the image of il calcio.
Last month, fans rioted in several Italian cities after a Lazio fan was accidentally shot dead by a police officer at a service station near Arezzo.
Camoranesi has called for a concerted effort from all the stakeholders in Italian football to stamp out violence.
"I'm very sad about the violent incidents that occurred recently," Camoranesi says.
"Football doesn't deserve all this. There's a pressing need to work constantly to eradicate the plight of violence from our stadiums. This can only be achieved with a bold effort from everyone... an effort by the players, who must be role models not only on the pitch but also in everyday life, as well by the institutions."
Italian football's ongoing struggles to clamp down on violence have not weakened the nation's ability to strike success on the field of play both at club and international level.
Having won the 2006-07 Champions League with a 2-1 win over Liverpool in the final, Milan recently added the Club World Cup title to their growing list of honours following their success in Japan.
At international level, Italy, fresh from their astounding World Cup triumph, were all but written off for a place in the Euro 2008 finals after a shaky start to their Group B qualifiers, but they roared back to clinch one of the two qualifying spots along with France. The world champions sealed their qualification with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Scotland in Glasgow where Roma defender Christian Panucci snatched a last-minute winner for Italy. Camoranesi was in Roberto Donadoni's starting team that evening, playing for 83 minutes before being replaced by Juventus team-mate Giorgio Chiellini.
"Once the game in Glasgow was over, I joined my team-mates in celebrating the accomplishment of our Euro 2008 mission," Camoranesi says. "Italy fully deserved to qualify, finishing our group commitments with 29 points from 12 matches. This was a record!
"As far as the Euro 2008 finals are concerned, I fear Germany and France. We have played them on more than one occasion and I think they are two formidable teams."
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