Pato Begins Life As A Superstar By Saying Stupid Things

By: chris | January 8th, 2008

We all know Milan needs some help. Specifically some young(er)help, to bring down the average age of la rosa to a more manageable 47. And the help needs to start up at the top of that Christmas tree where only Pippo can seem to score, and unfortunately it’s not on the field. Didier Drogba and Jose Mourinho have taken up permanent residence in the Milanese rumor mills, where Ronaldinho is looking to renew his 6 month lease. But according to Silvio and Carletto, it’s The Chosen One, Ale Pato, who will take them back to the promised land with 30 goals in the spring. Well, Pato seems to agree that he is just that fricken’ awesome, and has guaranteed that he will not only play against Napoli, but score two goals in the process.

“On Sunday I will play and I will score,” Pato told Milan Channel.

“I will score a goal…actually I will score two goals.”

Honestly, I wanted to like Pato. Despite the whole Calciopoli thing, the Rossoneri are my Milanese team of choice. I haven’t bought into the ownership’s “family” thing, but the quiet class of legends and superstuds such as Maldini, Pirlo, Gattuso (alright, not so quiet), Ambrosini and Kaka makes the squad itself difficult to hate, at least for me. (I’ve managed to keep on truckin’ on with my hatred for all ex-Lazio captains, however.) So having them at the top of the heap is not only preferable when comparing them to their hypocritical, Holier Than Thou little sisters on the black & blue side of town, but good for the league, as well. The ownership sucks, but the team appears to be a bunch of good guys. No one wants to see good guys finish last. (Well, mostly.)

But now? Settle down, kid. Yes, his hype rivals that of The Rapture, which is understandable when you factor in that check Silvio whipped off for him (€22m), but what exactly has he done besides shine in Brazil, some tournaments and training (supposedly)? None of those can even begin to compare to Serie A, not mention Napoli, which has shown its ability to rise to the levels of the big fellas (which they’re a lot closer than many people thought, including myself); with a 3-1 hurtin’ on Juve (marred by some strange officiating, or karma, whichever you prefer), an 8 goal bonanza of a draw at the Stadio Olimpico against Roma, and a 5-0 thumping of Udinese. The three teams which may very likely join Inter in next year’s CL if Milan doesn’t get their act together.

If he’s supposed to be the next Kaka or Messi or Dinho, he appears to be missing one of the greatest characteristics which got those players where they are today: humility and respect. Talent can only get you halfway there. Realizing you have to work just as hard, if not harder, than everyone else over the long term to nourish and extract that talent is the other half. Not everything is going to come as easily against Napoli as it will in training.

No doubt, the kid’s a helluva talent, but I’m not sure he gets it. Maldini got it. Kaka got it. Pirlo got it. Gattuso got it. Ambrosini got it. I just hope that Maurizio Domizzi gives this kid a rude welcoming tackle, stands over him and says “welcome to the big leagues, kid”. Maybe then he’ll shut up and do his talking on the field.

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Category: Europe, Serie A, World Football

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moka

7 goals in an 8-0 match. :| .. While one side of me says WOW, that's AMAZING, the other side tells me, well, who else is going to score?! Inzaghi? (It's not the CL in training) Gila? (mm.. no) Ronaldo? (I doubt he puts any effort)

Look, I'm glad the kid's confident, and that's a result of Ancelotti and crew reiterating how he's gonna be amazing and what not. I trust Ancelotti (only him), when he judges players, soo, I think he's gonna score one on Sunday.

*countdown - 4 days, 7 hours, 36 minutes*
shehan

as a milan fan, the confidence is, umm, promising? but the cockiness is definitely unclassy.

but, at the same time, i am doubting the sources. most of milanchannels' interview transcripts are put up on the official website, and there is nothing of that perpetrated interview on the website. the only possible theory is that goal.com made that up.

but still, the management hailing him as kaka's savior is not the proper way to do things. i guess theyre just doing the bread and circuses game with us milan fans, which is very disrespectful.

quick fact: milan had an offense vs. defense game a month or 2 ago.

score? 8-0 for the offense. pato scored 7...
Dave

I wish the management had that much bravado! "We're going to sign at least one, maybe two players this Sunday."

I'll give the kid the benefit of the doubt until I see him play a real match, but if it's obvious to me, it should be obvious to the management that one player, howEVER good, cannot turn a team around in the second half of the season...
John

I don't know, I mean it could've been translated wrong. He might have been joking around, or maybe berlusconi wrote a script for him.
Hana

"The quiet class of legends and superstuds such as Maldini, Pirlo, Gattuso (alright, not so quiet), Ambrosini and Kaka makes the squad itself difficult to hate, at least for me."

you hit the nail on the head. (hammer on the head? whats the phrase...whatever.) that's why i love being a milan fan. we have a classy bunch (and the family thing is true, really! as contrived as it sounds!). im guessing that oddo is still on your hitlist though.

yeah bonnie, ive been riding the denial train for a while, but i think its time to hop off. ive come to terms with our situation, just hoping we can do something about it.

chris, don't give up on pato just yet. even without the statement (which is admittedly not so smart), he's still been pretty good natured about the pressure otherwise. i really want him to do well (if only to salvage our pride a bit.) well see what happens this weekend.
Bonnie

You'll all feel bad come Sunday when he does score the brace. (As a Milan fan, I have decided to forcefully live the rest of this season in denial.)
Laurie

McTalian, Oh, yeah! The U-20 WC! Now I know where I've seen him play. And I agree with you. A bit of a punk.
Martha

And, of course, the club aren't helping with their "30 goals in the second half!", "he's the messiah!" bullshit, either.
mctalian

sure, pato's got loads talent and a brazilian pedigree that alone tagged some extra zeros on his price tag. But he's still an unproven entity to me, and apparently a pretty cocky one at that. He might be in for a rude awakening.
PS: I remember watching him at the U-20 WC (or U-21 was it?) over the summer and thinking he was kind of a punk, not to mention that he got outplayed and outclassed by Adu in the US/Brazil matchup.
Johnny

Well said. He may have talent but he certainly does not get it. He does need a lesson in humility and respect for sure and I hope Napoli gives it to him.