We were telling you last week about Real Madrid refusing to print the first name of their teenage signing from Argentina on the back of replica shirts, the Mastantuono lad somewhat awkwardly bearing the first name Franco.
Italian club Cremonese kind of have the reverse problem – they would be somewhat uncomfortable printing the surname of their loan signing from Lazio on the back of their shirts, so it’s probably just as well that he opts to use his first name Romano. His surname? Mussolini. And yes, he’s the great-grandson of Benito.
The 22-year-old, who made his debut for Cremonese on Friday, was on loan at Serie B side Juve Stabia last season and when he scored his first goal for them, the stadium announcer hailed “Romano!”. At which point some in the crowd began chanting “Mussolini” while giving fascist salutes. Awkward.
“My surname has never caused me any problems and the less said about it, the better,” he said when he joined Cremonese. “I’d like people to talk about me only for how I play.” His favoured position? Eh, the right wing.
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“I think Wolves would sell the tea lady if they got the chance.” Steve Froggatt a touch frustrated about his former club forever floggin’ their finest.
By the Numbers: 108
That’s how many million Euros Jose Mourinho is now estimated to have received in compensation for all his sackings through his career, the latest at Fenerbahce. That would have softened the blows.
Word of Mouth
“Sometimes I hate my players, sometimes I love my players ... sometimes I want to quit, sometimes I want to be here for 20 years. It’s, ‘I want to quit, I don’t love my players, I sometimes hate my kids’. I’m going to be like that. Sometimes it’s a good thing, sometimes it’s a funny thing.” How much is Ruben Amorim enjoying being Manchester United gaffer? Not a lot.
“Just hoping we don’t get Grimsby ...” Bayer Leverkusen’s Twitter account as they waited to see who they got in the Champions League draw. Heartless.
“With Manchester United coming to town, they sent us almost a rider for the manager and it was like, ‘where’s the manager’s changing room?’ And I was like, ****ing hell, the manager’s changing room?! For us, it’s the back of his car.” Grimsby Town owner Jason Stockwood on United seemingly thinking they were heading for the Bernabéu, rather than Blundell Park.
Daily Record takes up L’Équipe’s mantle for harsh ratings
You know the way French paper L’Equipe is renowned for the stinginess of its player ratings? Well, they can step aside, there’s a new kid in town, namely Scotland’s Daily Record. How did they rate the efforts of Rangers’ players in their 6-0 Champions League qualifying defeat by Brugge? Well ...
Goalkeeper Jack Butland got a five out of 10, so that was rough enough, but that was four more than eight of his team-mates were awarded ... and five more than two of them.
Yes, two players got zero, including Max Aarons who “left his team up an excrement-filled river without a paddle” when he was sent off after just eight minutes. Spare a thought for the other zero-receiver, winger Oliver Antman – he was replaced by a defender when Aarons went off, so didn’t even have the chance to be rubbish.
More Word of Mouth
“Before kick-off the referee has deemed the pitch unsafe to play.” Non-league club Spelthorne Sports explaining why their Combined Counties League game against Wembley FC was postponed – the pitch was covered in goose droppings.
“I used this word unintentionally. I thought I have a little bit more credit with you guys, that I do all this in my second language. I did it on the morning after a loss and not a lot of sleep.” Thomas Tuchel trying to explain why he called Jude Bellingham’s on-field behaviour “repulsive” back in June. There followed a tricky phone call to the Real Madrid man.
“He’s playing like ... obviously this is a ridiculous statement ... Messi.” Apart from that, Peter Crouch is trying not to hype Arsenal’s 15-year-old wunderkid Max Dowman too much.
