Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Barry knew he’d when Italian duo
DUNDEE lege nd Ba r r y Smith has lifted the lid on how he adapted to Bonettis’ “off-the-cuff” approach to life at Dens Park.
It’s 20 years since the managerial duo of two enigmatic brothers, Ivano and Dario, arrived to take charge at the Dark Blues.
Having played under some of the biggest names at the biggest Italian clubs, challenging for league titles and European trophies, the pair arrived with a burgeoning contacts book and plenty of ambition.
An influx of foreign players followed, with Claudio Caniggia, Juan Sara, Fabian Caballero, Marco de Marchi and Georgi Nemsadze arriving in the first year.
The second saw the likes of Temuri Ketsbaia, Julian Speroni and Fan Zhiyi come in.
The excess that funded all of these big names eventually caught up with the club as they failed to sell them on and administration beckoned a year after the Bonettis departed.
Prior to their appointment, the Dark Blues had enjoyed a positive campaign under Jocky Scott.
But huge changes lay ahead and former club captain and manager Smith knew he had two options – leave or get with the programme.
He said: “There was probably a mix of anticipation and trepidation among the players, we really just didn’t know what to expect.
“We had a good squad when they came in, we had finished a point off fifth under Jocky Scott but the first day back in pre-season there were a few new faces around.
“I always said that if you think your face doesn’t fit then it’s up to you to make it fit. My plan was to work as hard as I could to be part of the team.
“If they wanted things done a certain way then I was going to do that to the best of my ability, then, if it doesn’t work out, I’ve done all I can.
“There were big changes to training but going away for three weeks in pre-season to Italy was a big one. Usually you’d only be away for a week but this was a long time.
“They did lay everything that was to happen out in front of you, though. However, there was a strict menu on offer – if you didn’t like it, you’d go hungry.”
Training, too, was completely different as Dundee adopted a football strategy that had served the Bonetti brothers i n their homeland.
As a future coach and boss, Smith says he learned a lot during their time in the City of Discovery, even if some elements of their approach were difficult to get to grips with.
“The way they structured training was completely different as well but different managers all have different views,” he added.
“Training time would change but