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09/08/00
Exclusive interview with Hernan Crespo
WORLD SOCCER: So, Hernan, how does it feel to be the most expensive player in the world?
HERNAN CRESPO: Well, life's not as quiet as before, what with all these interviews I have to do! But joking apart, I suppose I feel proud, not just for myself but for my folks too. When I found out the price-tag [Parma president] Tanzi had put on me, I was thinking mainly of my family - and the fact that their son is the most expensive will thrill them. I thought how delighted my father - who has just recovered from an illness - will feel when he hears that his son is so highly valued.
Does having such a price put on you make you feel a greater sense of obligation?
If I start by scoring two goals straight away, everyone will say: 'He was worth all that money.' But if I start by not scoring at all they'll say exactly the opposite. I'm already used to such behaviour - it's all part of the game, though I don't think that it's fair. You can be tired or have bad spells even if you cost nothing at all. Did you see the Austrian Grand Prix today? Schumacher went out on the first bend. These things happen - the fact that he is probably the world's best-paid driver could not have prevented it.
Why have you decided to go to Lazio?
I have a motto: 'Work hard in order to improve.' It may sound banal, but every day I work, I train and I focus all my energy on the job. I'm coming to a team that has just won the scudetto so it's a step forward. Months ago, Buffon, Cannavaro and Thuram spoke of there being a pact between the four of you.
Interview with Hernan Crespo continued...
What did they mean?
To stay at Parma for one more year and to try to win the scudetto.
So you broke the pact?
I would have been happy to stay but I had never before seen such persistence as [Lazio owner] Cragnotti showed with regard to buying me. He wore Tanzi down.
And so you are leaving Parma after four years. Any regrets?
With the way the players performed, I think they deserved to win the scudetto and I'm truly sad that I wasn't able to help them bring the championship to the Tardini [stadium].
What will you miss most?
The great kindness of the people of Parma, and the dignity and good manners of the Tanzi family.
I'm talking with my tongue in my cheek here, but how much of the 110 miliardi [£37million transfer value] was due to your first coach at Parma, Carlo Ancelotti, and how much to your second, Alberto Malesani?
When can we talk about something other than money?
Well, it's not every day one gets to meet the world's most expensive player.
All right, let's thinkÉI was two years with Carlo, and two with Malesani, so about half and half, I'd say!
Interview with Hernan Crespo continued...
You're very good with diplomatic answers.
But I must add that if it hadn't been for Carlo, Malesani wouldn't have got anything.
If Ancelotti thought so highly of you, why didn't he take you to Juve?
If he had, then what would he have done with Inzaghi? If he hadn't already got Pippo, well, who knows what might have happened.
You're young, there's time.
This is true. But don't go writing that Hernan Crespo wants to go to Juve.
OK, two more questions about money and then we'll move on. You are now valued at 20 times what you were worth four years ago when you first arrived at Parma. What do you make of that?
[Laughing heartily] I suppose it means that when I'm 29, the age at which I am supposed to be at my peak, I'll be worth 2,000 miliardi! Seriously though, the prices that are being paid today don't bear comparison with how things used to be. Fees keep on going up and football is changing very fast, what with sponsorship, television rights, the stock market etc. In the past four years, so much has changed in football.
Is a player's salary the main factor in changing clubs?
With regard to my salary, it wasn't central to my decision to say 'yes' to Lazio. They are a strong side. I was in the crowd to watch that famous Lazio-Milan 4-4 match, which was thrilling, absolutely magnificent. Then I was at the San Siro to watch the Coppa Italia Final two months ago, when Inter and Lazio drew 0-0 and I saw that 10,000 fans had travelled up from Rome. That's the sort of thing that can really urge you on to win. Then add the fact that they are the Italian champions, that they have a fantastic line-up, and how could I not have come to Lazio?
Interview with Hernan Crespo continued...
And then there's Veron, playing behind the strikers as he always has with Lazio.
It's fantastic - I really can't wait.
Was Veron the deciding factor for your decision to come to Rome?
I think it was an important matter for Cragnotti. He wanted to get us playing together. It's obvious that I was going to come to play with Seba - he's a genius.
You two go back a long way.
We got to know each other in 1996 at the Atlanta Olympics. Before that, we'd always been opponents - I was with River Plate and he was with Estudiantes, and then Boca Juniors. A few weeks after the Olympics, we both found ourselves in Italy - he was on his own at Sampdoria and I was in the same situation at Parma. We used to encourage each other if we were feeling low. It was the first time we had left our home country, and we had left behind the way of life that we knew so well. So that's how our friendship started.
Do you remember the whistles you used to have to put up with at Parma in that first year there?
Yes, I remember them in the second year too, at least in the early part. But they are basically decent people, the Parma fans. And I did miss a number of goalsÉ
What are your happiest memories from Parma?
Qualifying for the Champions League in the first year I was there. And the goal in the 90th minute against Juve. The whole Tardini seemed to shake.
Finally, how do you regard yourself as a player now?
It may sound strange that although I feel I have made many changes for the good in my short career, I don't consider myself a truly great player. Batistuta has extraordinary power, Zamorano has formidable determination, Ronaldo has amazing speed - but can you honestly say that I have any of these qualities? These things cannot be easily achieved; in fact, some of them are simply innate. But I can work very hard, every day - I always have done, it's my way of life.
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发表于 2004-2-23 17:57:00
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发表于 2004-2-25 10:43:00
