Hart aims to get whatever he can from his Italian job
IT has been back to basics for Joe Hart after his world was turned upside down this summer.
Despite winning five trophies in the last five seasons at Manchester City and being the undisputed No.1 for his country, Hart just wasn’t the man for Pep Guardiola.
The new City manager wanted a different style of goalkeeper to Hart, and so in came Claudio Bravo from Barcelona.
Regardless of the fact that Hart was a fans’ favourite at the Etihad and was a strong voice in the dressing room, Guardiola did not hesitate to axe him.
Faced with having to make a swift decision on his future, Hart signed up for a season’s loan at Torino.
With a heavy heart, the 29- year- old recognises that his time at City is all but over. His style may not be to Guardiola’s liking, but it won’t stop Hart in his quest for perfection.
“I have to think selfishly about the whole thing and try to be what I’m capable of being,” he says.
“People have their opinions and will make statements on how things are and what they are.
“They may be right. Some people you struggle to argue with – they have a lot of strong backing to what they say and what they do.
“Football is a game of opinions. Some people have a great opinion of me and some probably think I’m absolutely useless.
“Unfortunately for me, the opinion of one of the guys in charge of my club wasn’t as strong as it needed to be.
“So I needed to find someone who had an opinion of me, who thought I could help their team.”
As well as coping with the shock of his departure from City, Hart has spent the last month adjusting to a new league, a new language and a new culture.
Torino may not be one of Serie A’s powerhouses, but that does not stop the England goalkeeper from wanting to make the most of his opportunity.
And following in the footsteps of former England stars such as Paul Gascoigne, David Platt and Paul Ince, Hart’s move to Italy has created plenty of interest.
“I had a situation at City where my
I wasn’t given much time, so when the opportunity came I was really, really grateful
playing time was going to be limited, so I had to look elsewhere,” he explains.
“It was pretty quick. I wasn’t given much time, so when the opportunity came, I was really, really grateful.
“I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t sat there with 25 options. But Torino was a very good option for me and it definitely excited me to go and play in Serie A.
“How this season plays out, or what comes of it, will be however it ends up.
“But I’m at Torino with a commitment to the club and I’m going to give it my all.
“It would be amazing to achieve what some of those English players did. But I’m only five games into my time in Italy.
“I can’t really look and compare, I need to live in the zone. Our last two results were fantastic, beating Roma at home for the first time in 26 years and then Fiorentina.
“Previous to that, away to Pescara, we went down to nine men and nicked a 0-0 draw.
“That’s not big news to anyone outside of Torino, but that was big for us.
“My aim is to get whatever I can out of the experience. I am always going to reach for the stars. Whether I am playing Sunday league or Serie A, I’ll look to improve.”
Hart’s next aim before he flies back to Italy is Tuesday night’s World Cup qualifier in Slovenia.
It has been all change with England since his move to Italy, with the departure of Sam Allardyce and Gareth Southgate in temporary charge.
Southgate is Hart’s fifth national team boss as the search for success goes on.
The humiliation against Iceland at this summer’s Euros is still fresh in everyone’s minds and Hart did not have a good time in France, making a crucial error in that game and against Wales.
Someone has to pick up the pieces with England and get them pulling their weight in international football.
But Hart is adamant on one thing going forward.
“It’s definitely down to us to create an identity of the team we are trying to be,” he states.
“Win, lose or draw, we need an identity of why we won, why we lost or why it didn’t go very well.
“That’s a big thing for me. As I am learning more and more about the game, it’s easier to move on if you know why things happened.
“Obviously our intentions are to win every game. But what we want to get out of it is a structure and a way of playing and a comfortable way of knowing what we are doing.
“It’s easier to be a team and a group when everyone knows what is expected of people.
“Germany were brave and strong when they were at a low ebb – and now they are World Champions.”