Gattuso: Gers move made me
MILAN midfielder Gennaro Gattuso believes he became the player he is today by moving away from Italy to join Scottish side Rangers.
Gattuso made the shock decision in 1997 to leave Perugia for Rangers and he feels it has benefited him in the long run.
"I played eight games with Perugia and the coach was Nevio Scala. Perugia waited for me to make ten games in Serie A and then to give me a contract but Rangers offered me a four-year contract and so much money," Gattuso told Planetfootball.com.
"Then I became a real player, a true one, they trusted me."
Despite being a full Italian international Gattuso is not well liked in Italy and the player himself is unsure as to why this is.
"It is true and I don't know why," he added. "Only in Italy I feel they are against me, outside Italy they consider me a lot."
Gattuso feels that he is overlooked in Italy because of the high competitive nature of the game in Serie A.
"Here if you play two games not at a high level they kill you. It is because of this that you can never stop, that you have to work harder and harder each day, otherwise you cannot survive," added Gattuso.
The 25-year-old has a reputation as something of a hothead, but Gattuso insists he has calmed down a lot with the help of his team-mates and manager.
"He (Carlo Ancelotti) says nothing to me before the game, I'm hot enough," revealed Gattuso.
"One day with Rangers Walter Smith tried to motivate me and after 20 seconds of the game I was sent off, I was too motivated.
"It is true that (Paolo) Maldini and (Alessandro) Costacurta have calmed me down and shown me the right way."
The former Salenitana man has come in for some fierce treatment from referees and he believes that the Italian officials should maybe follow the more lenient example of their English counterparts.
"I saw a few days ago Aston Villa versus Birmingham, in Italy a game like that would have finished seven against seven. Maybe we could find a middle road, but I would like to say I have never put a player in hospital," said Gattuso.
Gattuso, who grew up watching former Italy star Salvatore Bagni, admitted he is big fan of Juventus rival Edgar Davids, who he rates as the best in the business.
"My idol was Salvatore Bagni, but today the role model is Davids he can put his all in for the team. He is impressive, really impressive," added Gattuso.
