Sir Alex Ferguson, the former manager of Manchester United, addressed the world’s media yesterday to promote his autobiography. He had several interesting things to say about Italian football.
His favourite Italian player? Paolo Maldini, the great AC Milan and Italy defender. Ferguson recounted a speculative attempt to recruit Maldini for United.
“I approached his father Cesare [the former Italy and Milan coach] one day. He just gave me a look, that said: ‘Don’t even think about it’.” At that stage, luring the best of Serie A was beyond an English club’s reach.
The 1990s Juventus had been “the model for us”, he said, in terms of the status to which United aspired in the Uefa Champions League. Ferguson’s teams would eclipse Juve in terms of European Cup successes. He also spoke of his admiration for Italian referees, singling out the fitness and authority of Roberto Rossetti, now retired.
He also told a story of a visit he made as a spectator to an Inter Milan-AC Milan fixture. “A senior Inter official said to me: ‘Do you know the difference between the English and the Italians? In England, they don’t think a game can ever be corrupt. In Italy, they don’t think a game cannot be corrupt’.” The Inter official was exaggerating, though only to a degree.
Ferguson is right, and well-qualified, to praise many aspects of Italian football. But his anecdote from the VIP seats of a San Siro derby demonstrates how, within Italy, the praiseworthy is often lost amid a culture of conspiracy-theorising and obsessive suspicion.
sports@thenational.ae
MATCH INFO
Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs
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Investing or establishing a business in Germany offers you a residence permit, which eventually leads to citizenship. The investment must meet an economic need and you have to have lived in Germany for five years to become a citizen.
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Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
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He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
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HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
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