Gennaro Ivan "Rino" Gattuso (born 9 January 1978) is an Italian footballer of Romani heritage[1] who plays for Serie A club Milan. He mainly plays as a defensive midfielder, however, he can also play as a right midfielder. Gattuso is a hard tackling defensive midfielder and widely regarded as one of the most aggressive players. During his career at Milan, he has won the Champions League, in 2002–03 and 2006–07, and also the Serie A title in 2003–04. Club career Early career Gattuso started his career with Italian Perugia, but transferred in July 1997, at the age of 19, to the Scottish team Rangers. Walter Smith, who brought Gattuso to Glasgow, left the club in 1998. Smith's successor, Dick Advocaat, did not favour Gattuso and, after being played out-of-position as a right-back, the Italian was sold in October 1998 to then recently promoted to then Serie A club Salernitana for £4 million. Despite his good performances, it was not enough to prevent the relegation of his side. Milan Milan signed Gattuso for £8 million in 1999. His style allowed Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti to place midfielder Andrea Pirlo in a more attacking position. Gattuso plays deeper in midfield. He will often move forward to win the ball for the forward players and then return to his defensive position. His style of play is characterised by fierce tackling and hard work — a style which has earned him the nickname of Ringhio (the Snarler). He signed a contract extension in June 2003[2] and in October 2004.[3] Gattuso playing for Milan. In a UEFA Champions League group stage match against Ajax in September 2003, he was sent off during second-half injury time after slapping Ajax striker Zlatan Ibrahimović in the face with the back of his hand. His temper has caused him further problems when in December 2005, at the final whistle of Milan's 3–2 defeat of Schalke 04 in the UEFA Champions League, Gattuso was seen seeking out and taunting Schalke's midfielder Christian Poulsen[4] as a reaction to Poulsen's fierce marking of Kaká in the first leg. Gattuso insisted though that the press exaggerated the significance of the incident. He played his 300th game for the club in a goalless Champions League draw against Lille on 26 September 2006, and he extended his current deal with Milan until 2011 on 1 February 2007.[5] On 23 May 2007, Gattuso won the Champions League for the second time in his career when Milan beat Liverpool 2–1 in the final. On 27 December 2007, Gattuso trained with his former club Rangers to regain fitness during the Serie A winter break whilst his wife was visiting family in Scotland over Christmas.[6] The following December, Gattuso suffered a torn Anterior cruciate ligament early on in the 1–0 league win against Catania. However, despite the injury, Gattuso played the entire 90 minutes before being diagnosed by the club doctors after the match. He underwent surgery to repair the damage on 19 December 2008, in Antwerp. He was expected to miss up to 6 months of action, but managed to return to the Milan bench on 10 May against Juventus, a month ahead of schedule. After much speculation, that during the European winter transfer window Gattuso would leave Milan, to pursue his carrier elsewhere,[citation needed] it was confirmed by AC Milan on the 14 December 2009 that Gattuso would remain a Milan player until 30 June 2012, added one more year to his current contract.[7] International career Gattuso has been capped seventy times for his country and played in the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004, the 2006 World Cup, Euro 2008 and the 2009 Confederations Cup. He is one of the key players for the Italian team, winning the Man of the Match award in the 2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage match against Ukraine. He and Pirlo formed a formidable partnership in the heart of midfield. In the Euro 2008, when both of them had to miss the quarterfinal match against Spain due to accumulated yellow cards, coach Donadoni had a hard time finding replacements as none of the reserve players could match the lung-bursting contribution of the Milan duo. Italy went on to lose 4–2 in the ensuing penalty shoot-out. Gattuso achieved a measure of notoriety for his post-match celebrations after Italy won the World Cup in 2006, during which he removed his shorts and ran around the pitch in his underwear, until FIFA officials forced him to cover up. Personal life Gattuso is married to Monica Romano, whom he met while playing for Rangers at an exhibition game in Toronto, Canada. The couple dated for a long while before marrying. They have a daughter, Gabriella, and a son, Francesco. Monica is the sister of GMTV's Los Angeles correspondent Carla Romano. Gennaro's mother and wife both are Sinti.[9]
Gennaro Ivan "Rino" Gattuso (born 9 January 1978) is an Italian footballer of Romani heritage[1] who plays for Serie A club Milan. He mainly plays as a defensive midfielder, however, he can also play as a right midfielder. Gattuso is a hard tackling defensive midfielder and widely regarded as one of the most aggressive players. During his career at Milan, he has won the Champions League, in 2002–03 and 2006–07, and also the Serie A title in 2003–04. Club career Early career Gattuso started his career with Italian Perugia, but transferred in July 1997, at the age of 19, to the Scottish team Rangers. Walter Smith, who brought Gattuso to Glasgow, left the club in 1998. Smith's successor, Dick Advocaat, did not favour Gattuso and, after being played out-of-position as a right-back, the Italian was sold in October 1998 to then recently promoted to then Serie A club Salernitana for £4 million. Despite his good performances, it was not enough to prevent the relegation of his side. Milan Milan signed Gattuso for £8 million in 1999. His style allowed Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti to place midfielder Andrea Pirlo in a more attacking position. Gattuso plays deeper in midfield. He will often move forward to win the ball for the forward players and then return to his defensive position. His style of play is characterised by fierce tackling and hard work — a style which has earned him the nickname of Ringhio (the Snarler). He signed a contract extension in June 2003[2] and in October 2004.[3] Gattuso playing for Milan. In a UEFA Champions League group stage match against Ajax in September 2003, he was sent off during second-half injury time after slapping Ajax striker Zlatan Ibrahimović in the face with the back of his hand. His temper has caused him further problems when in December 2005, at the final whistle of Milan's 3–2 defeat of Schalke 04 in the UEFA Champions League, Gattuso was seen seeking out and taunting Schalke's midfielder Christian Poulsen[4] as a reaction to Poulsen's fierce marking of Kaká in the first leg. Gattuso insisted though that the press exaggerated the significance of the incident. He played his 300th game for the club in a goalless Champions League draw against Lille on 26 September 2006, and he extended his current deal with Milan until 2011 on 1 February 2007.[5] On 23 May 2007, Gattuso won the Champions League for the second time in his career when Milan beat Liverpool 2–1 in the final. On 27 December 2007, Gattuso trained with his former club Rangers to regain fitness during the Serie A winter break whilst his wife was visiting family in Scotland over Christmas.[6] The following December, Gattuso suffered a torn Anterior cruciate ligament early on in the 1–0 league win against Catania. However, despite the injury, Gattuso played the entire 90 minutes before being diagnosed by the club doctors after the match. He underwent surgery to repair the damage on 19 December 2008, in Antwerp. He was expected to miss up to 6 months of action, but managed to return to the Milan bench on 10 May against Juventus, a month ahead of schedule. After much speculation, that during the European winter transfer window Gattuso would leave Milan, to pursue his carrier elsewhere,[citation needed] it was confirmed by AC Milan on the 14 December 2009 that Gattuso would remain a Milan player until 30 June 2012, added one more year to his current contract.[7] International career Gattuso has been capped seventy times for his country and played in the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004, the 2006 World Cup, Euro 2008 and the 2009 Confederations Cup. He is one of the key players for the Italian team, winning the Man of the Match award in the 2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage match against Ukraine. He and Pirlo formed a formidable partnership in the heart of midfield. In the Euro 2008, when both of them had to miss the quarterfinal match against Spain due to accumulated yellow cards, coach Donadoni had a hard time finding replacements as none of the reserve players could match the lung-bursting contribution of the Milan duo. Italy went on to lose 4–2 in the ensuing penalty shoot-out. Gattuso achieved a measure of notoriety for his post-match celebrations after Italy won the World Cup in 2006, during which he removed his shorts and ran around the pitch in his underwear, until FIFA officials forced him to cover up. Personal life Gattuso is married to Monica Romano, whom he met while playing for Rangers at an exhibition game in Toronto, Canada. The couple dated for a long while before marrying. They have a daughter, Gabriella, and a son, Francesco. Monica is the sister of GMTV's Los Angeles correspondent Carla Romano. Gennaro's mother and wife both are Sinti.[9]
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