LoveItIfWeBeatU Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2012/05/29/newcastle-s-latest-gallic-acquisition-amalfitano-has-a-full-ensemble-of-talents-61634-31065289/ Newcastle’s latest Gallic acquisition Amalfitano has a full ensemble of talents by Mark Douglas, The Journal May 29 2012 Romain Amalfitano can be Newcastle United’s next French fancy. Chief sports writer Mark Douglas gets beneath the skin of the Magpies’ latest signing IN France, they have a word to describe a player like Romain Amalfitano. He would be known as a ‘polyvalent’, the literal translation of which is ‘multi-purpose’. It sounds a lot better when you try it in French, which is a pretty neat metaphor for Alan Pardew’s Newcastle United at the moment. Amalfitano – French-born but with Italian parentage – became the fifth member of United’s Gallic brigade when he inked a three-year deal last week. According to those with an inside knowledge of Amalfitano’s journey to England, he may just end up being the best – despite the relative lack of fanfare that was attached to his long-anticipated signing. After signing the biggest contract of his professional life last week, Amalfitano set off for Mauritius for a fortnight’s break with his family – who had accompanied him to England to complete the formalities of the deal. The 22-year-old had already been sold Newcastle’s five-year project at a series of meetings on the other side of the channel but, after seeing the stadium himself, he was left in no doubt that he had made the right decision in turning down a legion of Ligue 1 clubs to commit to United. He also resolved to cut short a planned three-week beach break. He had lightly figured for Reims in the final months of the season and, anyway the hard work – as he told close friends at the back end of last week – starts here. But Amalfitano has several things in his favour as he attempts to break into Newcastle’s first-team plans ahead of next season, not least the fact that he has genuine ability – and is over-flowing with the sort of versatility that goes down so well at St James’ Park these days. In France, players are assigned a position but drift or move about as the game develops. England’s damning obsessions with defined positions and tactical rigidity means that one of the first questions we are bound to ask is: where does he play? With Amalfitano, the question would be better re-framed as ‘where can’t he play?’ Having been tucked in behind the striker on occasions he graduated to a central role in his days at Evian. But he is equally adept on either flank, and saw out his final days at Reims playing on the left – and doing it pretty handily too, judging by the two assists in his final two games. That is part of the schooling that he received at his first professional club, the second-tier outfit Chateauroux. A pretty little town that gave the world Gerard Depardieu, there isn’t much to do there apart from work on your football. As a 16-year-old, Amalfitano was part of the youth team while the senior team – which regularly outperforms bigger French clubs – benefited from the talents of one Papiss Demba Cissé, who spent a stint on loan at Stade Gaston Petit from FC Metz. Amalfitano impressed enough to catch the eyes of scouts from Evian – before moving on to Reims after playing nearly every game of the 2009-10 season. His continued progress was beginning to attract interest from abroad, and scouts working on the behalf of English clubs had begun to notice him. Chief among them was one Graham Carr, someone who had first been briefed about him when he was working under Sven-Göran Eriksson for Manchester City. Newcastle’s network of French spotters were alerted to his availability at the start of last summer, when they began building a new network of soon-to-be out-of-contract players. And when the call first came, it was something like a bolt out of the blue for the younger Amalfitano brother. The first question he asked friends was: “How do they even know who I am?” Given Newcastle’s burgeoning scouting network in France, it was perhaps not that surprising that they would have been tracking the progress of such a technically gifted player, but it still revealed an impressive attention to detail that impressed the player. Negotiations were straightforward, but Newcastle were not alone in making their pitch to Amalfitano. Several La Liga clubs contacted his advisers, while there was also firm interest from Saint-Etienne and Nice, two of France’s bigger sides. But Amalfitano’s mind was made up – much to the chagrin of Reims, who proceeded to drop him from the side for a chunk of their promotion campaign. Eventually they relented and he illustrated his ability in the run-in, playing a key role as the Champagne-Ardennes club secured a return to the French top flight after a break of 33 years. So what have Newcastle brought apart from another player comfortable turning his hand to any role across the midfield and forward line? Technique, of course. Those close to him note an ability to pass the ball as well as Yohan Cabaye, the man that Laurent Blanc is building a France midfield around, but he can also mix it with the best of them. His older brother Morgan is a France international currently playing for Marseille who is known as an “assassin” on the field. Despite surrendering five years to him, Romain has never once flinched in the face of a challenge against his elder sibling. One of Amalfitano’s closest associates told The Journal it may be six to nine months before he is fully adapted to the English game. But he is diligent on and off the pitch, and has enough intelligence in his game to make a success of any assigned position. Alan Pardew has been handed the materials to turn him from a good player into an exceptional one. Given the success he has had with the rest of his French ensemble, the odds are in Amalfitano’s favour. 10... professional goals during spells at Evian and Reims. 36... starts for Reims during a two-year stint in the Champagne region. 1... the amount of full French internationals already in his family (his brother, Morgan) 0..... the transfer fees that have been paid for him. 4... number of positions he played for Reims last season. 1... number of Newcastle players he’s played with before (Papiss Cissé) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Oh, mercy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimburst Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Who wrote that? Terrible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Flash Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 "Amalfitano – French-born but with Italian parentage – became the fifth member of United’s Gallic brigade when he inked a three-year deal last week. According to those with an inside knowledge of Amalfitano’s journey to England, he may just end up being the best – despite the relative lack of fanfare that was attached to his long-anticipated signing." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimburst Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Fucking Douglas, man where does he get this shit? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Fucking Douglas, man where does he get this shit? Probably Lee Ryder. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole_Toonfan Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Douglas hyping up Amalfitano again Mark Douglas @MsiDouglas Another contact waxing lyrical abt what a fine signing Amalfitano is. 'Terrific passer of the ball, great football brain'. Encouraging #nufc Hope its true mind Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ketsbaia Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Anyone who thought those Amalfitano chant ideas were a waste of time, take a look at this... He said that seeing Cabaye and Ben Arfa’s names sung filled him with “excitement” – and made him determined to make a success of his move to England. “I have been watching Newcastle United matches ever since their interest first became known,” he said. “I have watched nearly every game and I have been really, really impressed by the way the fans treat the French players in the team. They seem to love Yohan (Cabaye) and Hatem (Ben Arfa), and that support would excite any player in the world. “There seems to be a real love and affection for those French players and that is a real motivation for me. I would love to have that kind of support from the fans. I can’t wait for the first chance to go out and play in front of 51,000 fans. To have them singing my name like they do for Hatem and Yohan would be a dream.” Shit got just real, guys. http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2012/05/30/romain-amalfitano-wooed-by-nufc-fans-french-affair-61634-31073061/ Apparantly we beat St Etienne, Lille, Malaga and Sevilla to get him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbers Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 "Inked" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorJ_01 Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 The fans effectively pushed through that deal then, nice Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Swift Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 3 or 4 year deal then? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Oh, oh, oh, He's magic! You knoooow, He's Romain Amalfitanooooooo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Nobby Solano Hatem Ben Arfa Amalfitano Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Five o Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Nobby Solano Hatem Ben Arfa Amalfitano I read it in the tune of Macarena Ohhhhhhh Amalfitano. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest taps01 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 http://www.nufc.co.uk/articles/20120621/support-swung-it-for-romain_2281670_2818616 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
toontownman Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Great article: - pressures and sells the club to our foreign targets who might be Unsure. - pressures and calls for fan to buy tickets and fill the stadium every week. Perfect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest henrique Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I see he’s into that moncler stuff. Another addition to our group of sexy frenchmen. Can’t wait to see him play. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest henrique Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 And that lass in one of the pictures, I assume his gf, is beautiful! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SweMatt Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Gambling on the market obviously, but quite interesting. Surely he is supposed to be competing for a place on the left alongside Cabaye? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Cabaye on the left? Ye on smack? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SweMatt Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Cabaye on the left? Ye on smack? I wish I was. No, left as in to the left of Cabaye with Tiote a bit deeper. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowlingcrofty Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Now officially a NUFC player. Welcome aboard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bard of Byker Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 This lad's going to be a legend. I'm sure of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 The interpreter on his nufcTV interview! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliMag Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 The interpreter on his nufcTV interview! I have not seen it. Did they get Olivier Bernard to act as inetrpreter again? OB looked suave as f*ck last time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now