LORENZO AMORUSO'S cult status at Ibrox is beyond question. The Italian centre-half spent the prime years of his career at Rangers, winning three league titles, a trio of Scottish Cups and a hat-trick of League Cups during a seven-year spell in Govan.
But it all could have been very different. Amoruso left the club in 2003 for Blackburn - "I knew the club wouldn’t be able to offer me a new contract because of the financial problems" - and the Italian says it was a heartbreaking moment in his career.
However, the former Fiorentina defender admitted that he came within a whisker of leaving Ibrox in 2001 after his relationship with his manager, Dick Advocaat, resulted in the defender trying to force through a move to leave Rangers. The relationship between the captain the Dutch coach was fractious from the very beginning, due to Advocaat's strict approach when it came to discipline.
"It was really hard at the start when the new manager came in," Amoruso told the Rangers website. "He wanted some really strict discipline and that was good to begin with, but after a year or two the players got a bit fed-up about it as we were treated like kids.
"He was using the stick all the time and some can react well to that, others can’t. He was never ready to compromise his attitude, and one day I went to his office to sort the problems between me and him.
"He told me he didn’t like the way I had been playing or the way I had been talking and that he should change the captaincy.
"It was a personal attack, and I wasn’t happy. I said to him, 'If you think I’m the scapegoat then do it, no problem. But if you think I’m the main problem, leave me out of the team'.
"He never did that and that’s why I think it was a personal attack on me. He wasn’t happy with the way I was talking to the players and the way I was trying to get him to talk to the whole team."
Eventually, Advocaat called Amoruso's bluff and stripped him of the captaincy. Barry Ferguson, then 22, was given the armband but the Italian felt that it was the wrong decision - and pushed the defender towards the exit door at Ibrox.
"No disrespect to Barry Ferguson but he got the captaincy after me and he was only 22," Amoruso explained. "He was a good young player but I think it was too big for him at the time.
"Eventually, he got much better and was a really good captain of the club. But at the time, with all the problems we had, it was really difficult for him and we didn’t do any better that season.
"It hurt me a lot and my first instinct was to stop playing for Rangers. I got on to my agent and told him, 'Get me out of here, I can’t work with this man'.
"That wasn’t the case though. I had talks with Sunderland and West Ham, but there was no agreement between me and them or the two clubs.
"Eventually I stayed but I didn’t want to stay. Not because of Rangers, but because of Advocaat."
The centre-half would be rewarded for his loyalty. By December 2001, the Dutchman resigned from his role and was shortly replaced by Alex McLeish. Amoruso insists that changing the man in the dugout gave everyone at the club a lift.
"At the start of the new season [2001/02], I signed a new contract," he said. "Performances were OK but Celtic were going really, really well.
"We did really well in Europe, but in November, after a few bad results, I got a call from the club to say that Alex McLeish was the new manager.
"Advocaat became the director of football, but I saw it as an elaborate way to sack him. I was in Italy as I was suspended but after only a few days I got a phone call from Alex McLeish.
"I had a really good relationship with him and we ended that season with two trophies and beat Celtic again after going a year without doing that.
"All the workers at Rangers, the physios, the ladies in the kitchen and the groundsmen, all got a lift when Advocaat took a step away.
"The way he was acting and the way he was talking to everyone was really disappointing. The dressing room changed completely. Alex is a man who will give you something, but he always wants something back. That is the way he started with us and the results showed that in his first year and a half."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel