Derby day holds no fears for new boy Dossena
His first-team debut for Verona, the club where he’d been since schoolboy days, was in front of 40,000 baying fans against local rivals Chievo, who had just been promoted to the top division for the first time in their history.
Verona won that match 3-2 from two goals down, but for the club it was the start of a decline that has since taken them to the third division, while Dossena has moved on to better things — first at Udinese and now at Liverpool.
As the solitary Italian among Liverpool’s foreign legion, Dossena might be forgiven for feeling out of place. But although his start at the club hasn’t been easy, he’s confident of handling the pressure — boosted by Marcello Lippi’s decision to pick him at left back for Italy’s World Cup qualifier against Georgia.
“We are Liverpool. Pressure is normal,” he says. “We had it in the Champions League preliminary, and we’ve got it in the league, which we’ve been looking to win since 1990. But they are pressures that don’t weigh on me.”
For someone whose career so far has been with some of Italy’s less fashionable clubs, Dossena seems relaxed at the challenge, but admits that English football takes a bit of getting used to.
“I’m not saying that I don’t feel up to it, but you need time to adapt.”
His first taste came in the pre-season game against Rangers at Ibrox that Liverpool won 4-0, though not before Dossena had prevented an equaliser with a goal-line clearance.
“In Glasgow I realised that here anything goes as far as referees are concerned; they only blow the whistle if someone makes a challenge with both feet off the ground.”
“Everything’s different, both on and off the pitch. The stadiums are nicer, and more modern. And also the style of play. I watched Inter and Roma on TV and the ball was on the ground. But in England players are looking for a physical challenge, there’s more running and less time to think.”
It’s the running that’s impressed him most in training as well, with the focus on speed rather than stamina.
“Just an hour with the ball, but very intense. I don’t know how they do it: compared to us they work half the time and run twice as far. It’s a question of mentality, a different approach. If we Italians ran like they do we’d be world champions all the time.”
Married shortly before his move to Liverpool, Dossena has settled in with his wife, and both are determined to speak English.
“We go to classes together two or three times a week, before training sessions. I can already manage a bit and I’m improving every day. The manager occasionally gives me a bit of advice in Italian, but normally speaks English as he does with all the others. He speaks four languages, and doesn’t shout in any of them.”
Like many Italian players Dossena had to wait patiently for his chance. He was in Serie B with Verona for three seasons, and had a difficult year at Treviso, who were also relegated, before the two seasons at Udinese that brought him to the notice of Rafael Benitez.
Those years mean he is more appreciative of his opportunity now, which could make him Italy’s first choice at left back. Udinese often played with three at the back, with Dossena further forward in support of Antonio di Natale. At Liverpool he’s part of a back four, which gives him a better chance of being picked for his country, even if he’s playing abroad. “It wasn’t my choice to leave Italy,” he says. “But the big clubs (he means Juventus and Milan) had other plans. Instead Benitez called me and asked “Andrea, are you ready?” It took just a week to clinch the deal.”
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