Romance of the Cup
Ben: I fell in love with Scottish football when I was dating Scots girl back home in Oz ... hope it doesn’t break my heart
BEN GARUCCIO dated a Glaswegian girl in Adelaide only to fall head over heels in love with Scottish football.
Now the Hearts defender is hoping the romance of the Cup is still burning in his heart after a revenge mission against Livingston.
Garuccio didn’t know it at the time but his teenage crush back home in Oz helped give him an early crash course in our version of the beautiful game.
He was smitten from day one – with the footy that is – and is now feeling the love as a Jambos star.
Livingston could be the passion killer tomorrow at Tynecastle – especially if they can follow up a 5-0 win achieved the last time the two sides clashed.
But with a deep-rooted knowledge of what the Cup means to all football fans here thanks to his early Scots squeeze, Garuccio is hoping to set Hearts all of a flutter at Tynecastle. The 23-year-old said: “As a player you want to win silverware. And back home I learned about the Scottish Cup.
“I actually dated a Scottish girl when I was about 13.
“She was from Glasgow and her family were mad Celtic fans. My wife will kill me when she hears this!
“I look back now and think that’s pretty crazy. I used to watch Celtic v Rangers, the Old Firm with them.
“They had all their Scottish family over for it and they were going at it – now I’m here playing for Hearts.
“It’s a little bit ironic but it’s good to be able to play against those teams now and beat Celtic.”
Tomorrow though the focus is all on trying to dump Livingston.
Garuccio suffered the most miserable night of his career as Livi smacked five past 10-man Hearts last month.
And that’s why when asked if revenge was on the cards the Aussie Under 23 cap said: “That’s it. That’s what’s in everyone’s mind.
“We haven’t really spoken about the desire for payback but as a player you remember those results.
“It was embarrassing for us, we want to put things right.
“And this is the best way to do it in front of our own fans.”
Boss Craig Levein, meanwhile, is set to hand striker David Vanecek a debut against Livi and could also start John Souttar. Vanecek’s bow was expected after a January move from Teplice. But Souttar only returned to training this week after a hip op in October and Levein is pondering his options. He said: “John was back on Wednesday in full training and looks fantastic, like he has never been away. The operation has solved a couple of impingement issues he had in his hip.” On righting a wrong against Livi after the hammering last time out, Levein said: “It was sore for me. It is not about revenge but it is about us making up for what we did wrong.”