beIN SPORTS

By Richard Hall (@Gentleman_Ultra)

When you say that Charles Joseph John Hart has joined Torino for the upcoming season, it does have a ring of yester year about it. You have to think back to the early pioneers like William Garbutt, Herbert Kilpin and James Richardson Spensley, who helped shape Italian football, to find Englishmen who were truly successful on the Peninsula. Some, like Paul Gascoigne and David Platt, had some good times but England’s number one goalkeeper will certainly not be guaranteed success in his new surroundings.  He will need to apply himself and engross himself in his proud new surroundings and if he does, he could soon be one of Europe’s most sought after goalkeepers again.

“I’m very excited to test myself in an important and beautiful league such as Serie A. Everyone knows the history of goalkeepers in Italy, and I’m sure I can learn at Torino.” These were the words from Joe Hart when talking to the Granata’s website and just some of the rhetoric that lead Toro President, Urbano Cairo, to label him as humble and enthusiastic. Hart has certainly arrived in a world poles apart from which he came. Instead of representing a historically unsuccessful club pumped full of Middle Eastern money, he now finds himself at a beautifully historic and iconic team that has been starved of silverware for many decades.

Hart left Manchester City under a cloud as new coach Pep Guardiola decided the England international's style did not match his own. Whether or not the English media were correct in saying that it was the shot stoppers inability to play with his feet and that positionally he was incapable of sweeping, will never really be known. Either way he was out. This simply compounded the 29-year-old’s misery. His poor form at Euro 2016 - a campaign that ended in humiliating defeat to Iceland for Roy Hodgson’s men – was lambasted by English press and fans alike. The decision to leave the British Isles may have been to get away from scrutiny but the fact that he is willing to embrace a new culture is also welcomed as something more English players should try.

Hart will certainly learn in Turin and here he will be under just as much scrutiny as he was in his homeland. He will have to adapt his game more than if he had moved to another Premier League side and despite what some of the English media suggest, this is not an easy way out. Here, by the nature of Torino’s stature he will automatically be under more pressure as the Granata will not be on top of most games like Manchester City are in England. Whist his physical ability and his shot stopping qualities are almost second to none, there will be much more he has to undertake.

Sinisa Mihajlovic’s has assembled a very good team for the 2016/17 season with the likes of Adem Ljajic, Andrea Belotti, Iago Falque and Mirko Valdifiori being just some of the stand out players. However, they also lost a number of defensive stalwarts during the summer and the absence of Kamil Glik, Bruno Peres and Nikola Maksimovic will be heavily noticed in the back line.

The goalkeeping issues that have dogged him will need to be ironed out and none more so than his positioning. Whilst he is very calm at receiving crosses the ball straight down his throat has always been a problem and, as his old Catalan coach is assumed to think, he is sometimes uncomfortable playing outside of his box.

Ironically, one of the places where he can see how goalkeeping is mastered in Italy is down the road at Juventus. Here ‘Gigi’ Buffon showed at times how, when playing in various systems his role has to change. When Juventus played with a back three last term for example and were on the offensive, the veteran would sweep as his defenders played a very high line allowing the wing backs to move forward. Here they would leave the ball to him and the three would break wide allowing the keeper to distribute. When they were under pressure the dynamic changed and when ‘The Old Lady’ were under pressure, they would switch to a back five. Here, Buffon would not even be seen to leave his six-yard box, commanding only this as his defence worked in their own zones.

The tactical difference between the leagues is immense and Hart will have a lot to learn and quickly. His natural ability should see him be able to adapt to any physical challenge but his mental strength will come into question. It could be however, that because Serie A is not played at the same ‘whacky races’ speed as the Premier League, that he will be able to add a few seconds to his thought process. If he can quickly learn the language and communicate (one of his strong points) with his team mates, then he could really shine.

Hart does not need to think about returning to England or the Premier League a better goalkeeper. In fact, he simply needs to concentrate on everything Italian. Only then if he fully embraces his surroundings, can he really make the most of his experience. He is 29 years of age, a youngster compared to Buffon and he has the talent to be one of the best keepers in Serie A.

His arrival is certainly a coup for the Granata but equally they are a fitting match for him also. This Italian adventure could benefit him and turn him into a more cultured and capable goalkeeper, one who embodies speed, excellent shot-stopping ability and aggression in equal measure. He could easily become the archetypal Sinisa Mihajlovic’s player, loved by a loyal and passionate Torino fan base.