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Fabricio Coloccini (now retired)

BeloEmre

by BeloEmre
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Tooj

Tooj

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Posted

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/newcastle-united/8827958/Fabricio-Coloccini-playing-a-key-role-to-keep-Newcastle-on-song.html

Fabricio Coloccini playing a key role to keep Newcastle on song

Newcastle United have failed to keep too many heroes to contemplate Fabricio Coloccini joining the exodus.

 

By Luke Edwards

 

11:00PM BST 14 Oct 2011

 

Kevin Keegan lasted less than a year as manager before he fell out with owner Mike Ashley, Alan Shearer lasted only eight games.

 

Andy Carroll, the Geordie heir to the club’s No 9 dynasty, left for Liverpool, inspirational captain Kevin Nolan and Jose Enrique, the hugely popular left-back, said goodbye in the summer. Even English football’s anti-hero, Joey Barton, brought an end to his loyalty charade when he signed for QPR in August.

 

Every parting has been painful, every departure has sparked debate. Some accused the players of greed, most preferred to point the finger at the club’s hierarchy for a lack of ambition.

 

Not everyone, though, wanted to abandon a ship that looked likely to sink under the weight of all the gloomy pre-season predictions.

 

Coloccini wanted to stay. And the defender, once described as the biggest folly of the Ashley regime, has enjoyed a remarkable season, playing a key part in Newcastle’s unbeaten start to the campaign. Tomorrow, sitting fourth in the table, they play Tottenham.

 

Costing £10.6 million from Deportivo La Coruna three years ago, the Argentina international looked about as suited to the Premier League as a Sunderland shirt on a Saturday night out in his new city.

 

Smaller than most centre-backs (he is only 6ft 1in), Coloccini was knocked off the ball too easily, unable to hold his own in the air and disrupted by four managerial changes in his first season. Most expected him to use Newcastle’s relegation to the Championship in 2009 as an excuse to leave but there he found his feet – and he has dazzled ever since.

 

There is even a song in his honour, which not only pays homage to his curly locks, but also offers the 29 year-old the opportunity to sleep with the wives of every single Newcastle supporter.

 

“I can’t remember the game, but I remember Kevin Nolan came to me in the dressing room afterwards,” said Coloccini. “He told me what they were singing about me, I couldn’t believe it. It’s so funny. It moves me. It makes me feel very special. Thankfully my wife thinks it’s funny.

 

“When I hear it I want to turn and clap, to show them I love them. But I have to stay focused. My way to say thank you is to play well.”

 

That is something he has done regularly and his polished performances persuaded Alan Pardew to make him captain, despite a less than fluent command of English.

 

“There were a lot of players I thought were ahead of me,” says Coloccini. “Steve Harper, Shola Ameobi, Joey Barton, these are all Englishmen, big characters in the dressing room.

 

“I’m foreign, I didn’t think I would be given such an honour but I’m so proud. My dad could not believe it. I think he has told half of Argentina.

 

“To be an Argentinian, playing in the Premier League and to be captain of Newcastle United. It is unusual, no?”

 

There is more to his rehabilitation than performances on the pitch. With two young children, Octavia, 8, and Thiago, 4, it is their happiness in England that has given him stability.

 

“It was a challenge for me to adapt but I never wanted to quit. That first year was difficult. I didn’t speak the language, it was a new culture, new country, new style [of football] and I signed for a club with a lot of problems.

 

“Relegation was hard. I felt like a failure, I was ashamed, but I never thought it was a mistake to come to England. I wanted to prove myself to Newcastle, to English football. If I had left that summer I would have been a failure. It made me more determined.”

 

It is determination that will be rewarded with a new contract, a four-year extension that could mean he ends his career on Tyneside. It is a decision that will go down well at home.

 

He added: “I love Newcastle. I don’t like the winters, they are hard, but I like the way of life. When I was young I loved the English language. I went to an English school, but in the afternoon I played football so I missed my lessons.

 

“It was always in my mind that I would like my children to learn English and my little girl, she is fluent. She teaches me. My son, he has a small problem with language, but he is better than me. They make me a proud father.

 

“They have English friends, my daughter has a Newcastle accent. Sometimes I can’t understand her.

 

“They went to Argentina for three months and they couldn’t wait to come back to Newcastle. They missed their friends.

 

“There is a story I tell all the time in Argentina. My dog Choco ran away and I thought I would never see him again. The next day, a policeman came to our house. He said there was a fine, but my dog was back. Nobody ever believes me when I tell that story: in Argentina there are so many stray dogs, they are killed, disappear.

 

“In England the streets are clean and it is safe for my family. If they are happy I am happy.”

 

For the man himself, meanwhile, there is no doubt about what will deliver the professional satisfaction he craves.

 

“I want to stay – and I want to get Newcastle back into Europe.”

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teohgk

teohgk

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Jose Enrique “I still believe I can get better and I intend to do that with Newcastle,” “I have seen a few things about other clubs being interested in me, but they shouldn’t bother. For me, I only want to play for Newcastle.”

 

“I’m happy here and I want to stay. If other teams want to buy me they have to speak to Newcastle, but I don’t want to go. The only way I will go is if Newcastle need the money.”

 

“I don’t know what the situation is, but I don’t think so. If they want to sell me that’s not my problem, but I want to stay here and I have told everyone that as well.”

 

“Next year will be my fourth season at Newcastle and I have enjoyed my time here. It is a happy club now. I know some players have not liked Newcastle, foreign players, but I don’t understand why.”

 

“I like the city, I don’t listen to people who say it’s not good.”  “It is a big club and it can be an even bigger one. The Premier League is a better league with Newcastle in it. I think the Premier League has missed us.”

 

Joey Barton"I don’t want to leave. My family is settled and I Iove living in Newcastle. I’ve got a great working relationship with everyone at the club. I love being there and I've got no ambition to leave.

 

:shifty:

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Colos Curls

Colos Curls

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It always strikes a cord when players take to newcastle so well (for me anyways). I like when a player comes and embraces his surroundings and buys into what newcastle is all about because it is a fantastic city!, This doesnt count for james perch or anyone of that ilk though :shifty: haha

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Mike

Mike

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/newcastle-united/8827958/Fabricio-Coloccini-playing-a-key-role-to-keep-Newcastle-on-song.html

Fabricio Coloccini playing a key role to keep Newcastle on song

Newcastle United have failed to keep too many heroes to contemplate Fabricio Coloccini joining the exodus.

 

By Luke Edwards

 

11:00PM BST 14 Oct 2011

 

Kevin Keegan lasted less than a year as manager before he fell out with owner Mike Ashley, Alan Shearer lasted only eight games.

 

Andy Carroll, the Geordie heir to the club’s No 9 dynasty, left for Liverpool, inspirational captain Kevin Nolan and Jose Enrique, the hugely popular left-back, said goodbye in the summer. Even English football’s anti-hero, Joey Barton, brought an end to his loyalty charade when he signed for QPR in August.

 

Every parting has been painful, every departure has sparked debate. Some accused the players of greed, most preferred to point the finger at the club’s hierarchy for a lack of ambition.

 

Not everyone, though, wanted to abandon a ship that looked likely to sink under the weight of all the gloomy pre-season predictions.

 

Coloccini wanted to stay. And the defender, once described as the biggest folly of the Ashley regime, has enjoyed a remarkable season, playing a key part in Newcastle’s unbeaten start to the campaign. Tomorrow, sitting fourth in the table, they play Tottenham.

 

Costing £10.6 million from Deportivo La Coruna three years ago, the Argentina international looked about as suited to the Premier League as a Sunderland shirt on a Saturday night out in his new city.

 

Smaller than most centre-backs (he is only 6ft 1in), Coloccini was knocked off the ball too easily, unable to hold his own in the air and disrupted by four managerial changes in his first season. Most expected him to use Newcastle’s relegation to the Championship in 2009 as an excuse to leave but there he found his feet – and he has dazzled ever since.

 

There is even a song in his honour, which not only pays homage to his curly locks, but also offers the 29 year-old the opportunity to sleep with the wives of every single Newcastle supporter.

 

“I can’t remember the game, but I remember Kevin Nolan came to me in the dressing room afterwards,” said Coloccini. “He told me what they were singing about me, I couldn’t believe it. It’s so funny. It moves me. It makes me feel very special. Thankfully my wife thinks it’s funny.

 

“When I hear it I want to turn and clap, to show them I love them. But I have to stay focused. My way to say thank you is to play well.”

 

That is something he has done regularly and his polished performances persuaded Alan Pardew to make him captain, despite a less than fluent command of English.

 

“There were a lot of players I thought were ahead of me,” says Coloccini. “Steve Harper, Shola Ameobi, Joey Barton, these are all Englishmen, big characters in the dressing room.

 

“I’m foreign, I didn’t think I would be given such an honour but I’m so proud. My dad could not believe it. I think he has told half of Argentina.

 

“To be an Argentinian, playing in the Premier League and to be captain of Newcastle United. It is unusual, no?”

 

There is more to his rehabilitation than performances on the pitch. With two young children, Octavia, 8, and Thiago, 4, it is their happiness in England that has given him stability.

 

“It was a challenge for me to adapt but I never wanted to quit. That first year was difficult. I didn’t speak the language, it was a new culture, new country, new style [of football] and I signed for a club with a lot of problems.

 

“Relegation was hard. I felt like a failure, I was ashamed, but I never thought it was a mistake to come to England. I wanted to prove myself to Newcastle, to English football. If I had left that summer I would have been a failure. It made me more determined.”

 

It is determination that will be rewarded with a new contract, a four-year extension that could mean he ends his career on Tyneside. It is a decision that will go down well at home.

 

He added: “I love Newcastle. I don’t like the winters, they are hard, but I like the way of life. When I was young I loved the English language. I went to an English school, but in the afternoon I played football so I missed my lessons.

 

“It was always in my mind that I would like my children to learn English and my little girl, she is fluent. She teaches me. My son, he has a small problem with language, but he is better than me. They make me a proud father.

 

“They have English friends, my daughter has a Newcastle accent. Sometimes I can’t understand her.

 

“They went to Argentina for three months and they couldn’t wait to come back to Newcastle. They missed their friends.

 

“There is a story I tell all the time in Argentina. My dog Choco ran away and I thought I would never see him again. The next day, a policeman came to our house. He said there was a fine, but my dog was back. Nobody ever believes me when I tell that story: in Argentina there are so many stray dogs, they are killed, disappear.

 

“In England the streets are clean and it is safe for my family. If they are happy I am happy.”

 

For the man himself, meanwhile, there is no doubt about what will deliver the professional satisfaction he craves.

 

“I want to stay – and I want to get Newcastle back into Europe.”

 

:smitten:

 

Quoted for new page . Love the bits in bold especially,  :love: :love: :love:

 

Fuck. God damn I love this dude. Christ.

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Beren

Beren

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Posted

So commonplace, that it's easy to overlook - but how much class does this guy have. My memorable two moments:

 

1. Adebayor beats him for pace, as expected, down the line - so he gets all Maldini on him, executes a beautiful hooked slide tacke, and then does him with a skill down the line.

 

2. Two on two, and I'm not even worried because Colo is up against Kyle Walker. As expected, he completely embarrasses Walker.

 

#Colocinnnnnnnni.... :smitten:

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