Sergio Porrini

Name: Sergio Porrini

DOB: 08/11/68

POB: Milan,
Italy

Position(s): Right back, centre back

Clubs: Milan, Atalanta,
Juventus, Rangers, Alessandria,
Padova, Pizzighettone

International Caps: 2

Tear down after a winger, lunge at his feet, take the ball
(and the man) and see the spherical object smash off the advertising boarding
before the supporters roar in appreciation. Logically it can make little impact
on the game, but for whatever reason British crowds love to see a touchline
slide-tackle and such an act, performed with heightened intensity, can
immediately get the support onside and a team with momentum firmly behind them.
It also helps if the full-back in question is one hard bastard.

Shuffling, squirming, fresh-faced and absent in confidence;
characteristics you could never imagine Porrini having when he first reported
for training as a Milan
youth player. It stands to reason that, like everyone, he was once like this,
but it is seems equally believable that he was born with a five o’clock shadow
and would make other children literally shit themselves with one look of that
bushy eyebrow glare.

His ability to frighten the life out of the fleet footed was
obviously not appreciated at Milan
with no senior games to his name in three years as a full-time professional.
Atalanta acknowledged his abilities and over four seasons he became a mainstay
in the Bergamo
club who’d fully established themselves a top-flight team.

In ice hockey there are wonderfully talented and thrilling
players who delight the crowds and earn the big money. Then there is a rough
looking headcase whose only responsibility is to intimidate opponents so that
they refrain from indulging in any sort of envious foul-play when encountering
the hero of the piece. For every Del Piero and Zidane you need a Sergio
Porrini.

That’s not to say the man was merely a thug in studs. You do
not receive two caps for Italy
for purely being a hardman. He knew his position at right back and he knew it
well. His positioning was often immaculate. Many right backs, even at the
highest level, give you the impression that they are in little way suited to
the position, but they are either talented ball-players or shrewd defenders
whom the management have been unable to shoe-horn in anywhere else. This was
not Porrini, he was born to be a right back.

Like so many Italians, thanks to the nature of the Serie A
game, he was comfortable on the ball. It would not have been noteworthy in his
native land but it was an attribute that really stood out once he made the
switch to Scottish Football, signing for Rangers (for £4million) in 1997. I
mean, how many Scottish defenders have the ability to drill a half-volley into
the bottom corner of the net?

There’s a favourite Only An Excuse joke about Paul Lambert
crying at his Celtic press conference having just left the European champions
to sign at Parkhead, but what is forgotten is that Porrini started in the European
Cup Final as well. Incredible to think two players of such high calibre coming
to Scotland
so soon after the peak of their careers. Today’s equivalent would be Rafael and
Xabi Alonso lining up for the opening kick-off of the 2013/14 SPL season.

For two seasons he remained a constant in Rangers defence,
sometimes lining up at centre back but often fitting in nicely in his familiar
position on the right. However, his time at Rangers isn’t just remembered for
the consistent displays on the Ibrox turf. If you listen to the official events
of the story he is a bit of a wayward shot on the squash court. If you believe
the rumours you’ll know he is more than ready to punch your face in should you
ever make the mistake of sleeping with his wife, which Marco Negri allegedly
found to his cost halfway through the 1997/98 season. Personally, we cannot
believe the second version of events. Negri may have looked like a moping moron
but surely even he would not have been stupid enough have slept with this man’s
wife?

Injuries curtailed his involvement during the 2000/01 season
with a series of makeshift deputies covering at the right back position. At the
age of 32 the club saw waiting on his return to full fitness as too steep a
gamble and instead opted for the dependable services of Fernando Ricksen for
the 2001/02 campaign. Having played fleetingly Porrini left Ibrox at the end of
that season to return to Italy.

Astonishingly, despite nearing his 33rd birthday when he
left Rangers he went on to play another eight years after returning home. First
with Alessandria
then Padova before finally retiring in 2009 with Pizzighettone.

Where is he now? Porrini continued the coaching work he
began while still a registered player at Pizzighettone and took over the club’s
youth team. He picked up a similar role at Pergocrema before becoming his own
man as manager of Serie D side Colognese. This summer he switched Lombardy clubs by moving to fellow Serie D rivals
Pontisola.

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Obsession