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The Gabriele Marcotti Q&A Interview
Exclusive to talkSPORT1089.co.uk

Gabriele Marcotti is talkSPORT's passionate European football expert and
can be regularly heard arguing the toss with Adrian Durham when they
co-host Evening Kick-Off every Monday night between 7:00pm-10:00pm,
and alongside Graham Beecroft on Sunday Final Whistle on talkSPORT.

When not working for talkSPORT, Gabriele writes for the Financial Times,
The Daily Mail, Sports Illustrated's in the USA and La Stampa and Corriere
dello Sport in Italy. He is also a pundit on British Eurosport for their live
coverage of Serie A and has penned the autobiography of good friend
Paolo Di Canio, ex-Celtic, Sheffield Wednesday and West Ham legend.

Having worked as a travelling journalist, which country have you enjoyed
working in the most out of the UK, USA, Italy, Germany and Spain?
While I lived in many different places growing up, since I started making a
living off journalism I've only lived in New York and London, plus a six-week
stint in France for the World Cup. Personally, I really like Britain as there is a
vibrant media and a variety of viewpoints. As a football journalist however it's
not always easy: access to players is far more limited than in the US or countries like Spain, Italy or Germany.

Was working for talkSPORT your first experience on radio or had you worked of been a guest on any other station in the UK before? Perhaps for the BBC or another commercial station?
Actually my very first experience on British radio was when I was asked to do a phone interview with a regional BBC station which shall remain nameless (let's just say it's in the North of England). I was going to talk about a well-known Serie A manager who was being linked to a Premiership club. The guy who first rang me up was very nice and everything was set. They called me at the appointed time and the producer came on. After I said hello, he realised my accent was American. This troubled him to no end. He uhmmed and aahhd for a while and then asked me if I could put on an Italian accent and being young and naive, I acquiesced. Though I promised myself I would never do something like that ever again!

You had been on other programmes on talkSPORT as guest but not at any great length. How did you get your role as permanent co-host on Football First in Europe?
A couple years ago I got a call from a producer who invited me in. Back then, Football First in Europe seemed to rotate around the schedule and wasn't always on Monday. I guess he liked what he heard kept getting invited back and am currently a regular guest on various talkSPORT progammes.

You co-host Football First in Europe alongside broadcaster Adrian Durham. What is your honest opinion of Adrian and his contribution to the show on talkSPORT?
As opposed to my on-air opinion? When I first met Adrian, I thought he was one of that rare breed of Englishmen who assiduously followed international football, dating back to the days before Gazzetta Football Italia. You know, those hardy souls who tried to follow what went on elsewhere, pre-Internet, pre-Sky, etc. This was because his knowledge of world football was so well-rounded and thorough, especially for a guy who spends most of the week talking about the Premiership and lower divisions.

Later I realised that Adrian isn't a foreign football swot, he simply works his butt off researching every show. He is exceptionally well-prepared and one of the hardest working people I have worked with. He likes to wind people up, but it's all in the name of discussion. And, what I like best, he is usually very honest in his opinions. If he and I share the same view, he won't take up an opposing opinion just so we can have a discussion in the studio. He's not afraid to agree in other words and I like that.

In addition to Adrian Durham on Football First in Europe, you work alongside Spanish Football Expert Guillem Balague. Do you get along off-air as you always seem to be arguing on the show?
Haven't you noticed Guillem has been AWOL the last few weeks? Seriously, Guillem and I get along very well, though we argue just about as much as on the show. I think there is a deep-rooted respect there, even though we often view things differently (and not just in football).

Since Football First in Europe began in 2001, the show has developed a larger audience with more correspondents and guests. Do you think TV coverage of European football in the UK has influenced this?
Absolutely. Football has changed, mainly as a result of the rising importance of the Champions League and the Bosman ruling. When I last lived in England between 1989 and 1991, coverage of foreign leagues was minimal and largely ill-informed, both in the papers and on the airwaves. With the exception of the odd Dutchman or Scandinavian, there were very few foreigners.

Now, of course, there are so many overseas players here and the role of foreign journalists (like myself, Guillem and also Xavier Rivoire & Raphael Honigstein) has grown. Many foreign players are more willing to talk to the foreign media (many are distrustful of the UK media) and this has given us a privileged position.

Also, there is greater interest in foreign leagues. Not just Italy, Spain and Germany, who are on television, but also other countries, mainly because players from those leagues are transfer targets and because English clubs face them many more teams in the course of a season. This has provided us opportunities to work.

At the same time, I think the nature of football fans has changed a little bit. There is a definitely a dedicated core of fans who follow Spanish and Italian football. They may not be in the millions, but they are well-informed, and desirable to advertisers. Football First in Europe definitely caters to them and think we do it well.

Apart working on digital television station British Eurosport on their live Serie A coverage, what other organisations do you work for outside of talkSPORT?
My main job is serving as UK correspondent for Corriere dello Sport, Italy's second largest sports daily. I also write a column every two weeks for Sports Illustrated's website and I cover the Premiership and European football for the Sunday Herald in Glasgow. This upcoming season I will also be writing a weekly world football column for The Times (taking over from Simon Kuper - a friend and an inspiration).

Last season you were working on Eurosport's coverage of Italian Football, how did you find the transition from radio to TV broadcasting?
You mean apart from discovering how Eurosport's unflattering camera angles and being next to two midgets like James and Robbie made me seem much fatter than I really am? Seriously, I thought it was an interesting learning experience, I had never had a regular gig on TV before. Working with a seasoned pro like James Richardson made it a lot easier. In TV things seem to be more structured and you're working with tighter time constraints. This forces you to make your point in a clearer and concise manner and that was useful to learn.

Which European League do you think is better: La Liga or Serie A?
Top-to-bottom, Serie A has more depth and better players. You only have to look at the number of guys who flop in Italy but succeed in Spain. The reverse hardly ever happens. Having said that, Spanish teams have been better over the last few seasons, proving that winning games isn't just about having better players.

Which team do you actually support?
I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you... seriously, when people ask me that I take the wimpy option and say I'm a fan of Monza (Italian third division, but we've been as high as Serie B) which is true. I do sympathize with certain clubs around Europe, usually underdogs.�

What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in England?
I like the cosmopolitan nature of Central London, BBC Radio 4, parks and greenery in general, football grounds, the way English people live sports (which is much healthier than other countries, where it is taken very seriously), the variety in the English media, the variety of restaurants in Central London. However, I dislike the motorways, the way you guys sway from triumphalism to defeatism, with little in between, crappy, expensive hotels in the provinces.

Who was your sporting idol as a child and who do you consider to be the best Italian Football of all time?
I had several, including Inter striker "Spillo" (the Needle) Altobelli, Michael Spinks, Diego Maradona. The best Italian footballers include Giuseppe Meazza and Giampiero Boniperti, but they were long before my time. In my era, it would have to be Franco Baresi.

Why did Paolo Di Canio choose you to help write his autobiography?
I'm not sure. I had interviewed him a few times both for Italian and English papers and I guess he felt I treated him fairly. Also, he was looking for someone who was a native Italian speaker but could write in English and I guess that narrowed the field.

Are there any books that you would like to recommend?
The sports books that I would recommned are Football Against the Enemy (Simon Kuper), If I Don't Six (Elwood Reid) Road Swing (Steve Rushin). Non sporting books include Stiffed (Susan Faludi), The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald), Bonfire of the Vanities (Tom Wolfe), Kaputt (Curzio Malaparte).

What CD's have you recently bought?
The most recent was TATU, but that's kind of a lark. It's probably a sign of old age, but I don't really like anything after Jane's Addiction (except for Rage Against the Machine). My favorite acts are Madness, Public Enemy, Bruce Springsteen, Ani Di Franco, Living Colour and Guns and Roses.

What's your favourite Angelina Jolie movie?
Easy! Gia. It's a made for TV classic which went straight to video in the UK. But it's definitely worth watching!

Who's the most famous person you have in your address book?
Sven Goran Eriksson, Paolo Maldini, the actress Elizabeth Banks, Nick Hornby... I have Michael Owen's cell phone number too, but I've never called him (besides, he has probably changed it by now)

Thanks to Gabriele Marcotti for the chance to interview him. You can hear Gabriele on Football First in Europe with Adrian Durham and Guillem Balague every Monday between 7:00pm-10:00pm on talkSPORT.

The Gabriele Marcotti Q&A Interview
Football First in Europe
July 2003