Gattuso and Allegri: the story behind a kiss

The gesture was intended to convey a sense of distance through a kiss. Before the Napoli v Lazio match, Gattuso kissed Allegri on the head, with the warmth of a true friend. Allegri, looking almost taken aback, appreciated the gesture and smiled. Gattuso is an empathetic man; he always knows how to win people over. Despite his direct and crude (in the sense of unrefined) language, he is able to draw out others’ feelings and mould them as if he were a craftsman working with clay. His sincerity begins with his name; so much so that when you say ‘Rino’, you immediately think of ‘truth’. Rino and ‘truth’ go hand in hand, constantly in search of a feeling – let’s call it love. Sometimes, lost in the haze of life, weary, Gattuso disappears, only to return exactly as he was before. Whilst he’s away, one wonders who he really is. Is he really that sincere? Is he really that good a manager?

Someone once said that Rino and ‘the truth’ don’t always see eye to eye. This individual—whether adversary or ally—has failed to grasp that ambiguity is his strength. An empathetic person always knows how to conduct himself, whether slowly or quickly; how to dress, whether casually or elegantly; and which compliments to offer or withhold. He knows when to attack or defend, to love or hate, to stand out or blend into the crowd. This duality is the strength of the empath. Rino Gattuso knows how to engage with everyone, because he possesses a dual register, a dual version of himself. Being this way, he has won over Lotito (what a Spanish-sounding rhyme!) and reignited the motivation of a team in complete disarray, made up of outcasts, players sidelined by the critics, the invisible ones.

Allegri is different; he is not as empathetic as he would like to appear. An empathetic person cares about others; Allegri cares above all about himself. Even when he protects the team, he does so to defend his own job. A manager knows full well that if the players stop following him, they turn the dugout into a stage where the lead singer has lost his voice. Consequently, Allegri operates predominantly on the counter-attack, adopting simplistic stances that players can navigate without the slightest doubt. As a native of Livorno, he knows the language of the streets and never gives up. He knows how to endure, how to react, and how to survive even in difficult situations. Where Gattuso loses his way in the face of adversity, Allegri thrives. Whereas Rino requires constant reassurance of affection, Max shuns it, as if such love, however expressed, were a weakness. Here is the kiss, here is the smile. Here are two men who appear identical yet are profoundly different.