On the one hand his Como who goes to Serie A, on the other his Novara who plays in the playouts in Serie C and is saved from relegation. Giacomo Gattuso almost makes no distinction between the two emotions he has experienced in recent weeks. Also because after all it took him a long time on this incredible journey of Como.
Jack, how are you?
Good, great. Finally relaxed and so happy for everything that happened.
Where do we start?
From the chant that I heard from the stands in the match in which Novara was saved, “There is only one captain”. And there is no doubt about it, that is a choir that I would recognize anywhere.
They were Como fans who came to support you.
And yes, incredible, I didn’t expect it. With Como having just been promoted they came to cheer for me. Beautiful. And you have no idea how many messages I received from Como, how much gratitude towards me too. By far, however, one pleased me more than all of them.
Meaning what?
That is, Cesc Fabregas’ message. But not a two-line message, not a formal message. No, they were heartfelt words, full of important content, of very beautiful things about me and my work. It really was a huge pleasure.
Perhaps an implicit thanks for what you also did at Como…
Definitely a message of great esteem towards me.
Do you also feel this Serie A is a bit yours?
From the first moment, from the first interview, when I sat on the Como bench, I have always said this. That I put Como in front of me. I wasn’t the protagonist, but the good of the team was important.
Among other things, you were chosen as a temporary solution.
And the situation wasn’t even simple, there were many difficulties. We didn’t have the Mozzate field yet, there was Covid, and many other difficult situations. What we did, both the year of the promotion and the year after, was truly an achievement. Even though the value of this company was immediately understood, everything that led to this point was starting to be built.
Promotion to Serie B and salvation the following year were a crucial point in this journey.
Having been a participant in this journey is the greatest joy for me. I really gave everything, even a little health… but it was worth it given what we managed to achieve. I am truly overjoyed, for the players, for all the fans.
Your players, some guys in your group made it. Would you have said that?
They had already been heroic in many difficult moments, and they demonstrated once again their technical and moral qualities. But we could already understand the impact that some of them could give to the team, real leaders. Capable of a lot of work and an extraordinary attachment to the shirt. And I will thank them all my life, them and the club, for allowing me to be part of all this, to win together with them. And to experience together what was already perceived, an increasingly stronger participation from the fans and the entire environment.
But you never went back to Sinigaglia to see them…
No, and for a specific reason, apart from my commitments with Novara. I haven’t made it, so far, because I was afraid of getting too emotional. I would have liked it, I would have liked it, but I was struggling, I admit it. Now with Serie A sooner or later I have to succeed.
Didn’t it bother you to go back to Serie C?
No, even though many people called me crazy, they criticized my choice. Going down a category, in a team that needs to save itself… instead I needed to test myself, to face a challenge, to win it. And then I did it anyway in an environment that I knew well, and which allowed me to get back on track in the right way. It was important for me.
Is Como a regret today or still a dream?
First of all I am a Como fan. So at this moment I think with joy about what has happened, and about what can happen with this company. However, if you ask me what my greatest wish is…
Please, let’s reveal it.
I have only one dream, to return to Como. What I want most of all, I say it sincerely, is to be able to work there, in the youth sector. I would really like. Maybe together with Centi, recreate something similar to our old nursery.
Isn’t it just that Fabregas’ message…
No, there is nothing already planned. But my relations with Como certainly remained good. I still have to talk and understand with Novara, my immediate future is still to be decided. But with Como already last year when I left the bench we still said to each other that the door remained open. I needed to test myself again, and it was right to make the choice I made. But if one day, in a month or in five years, Como called me and I could return there I would be the happiest person in the world. In Como, and nowhere else.
