So who is February's "Forgotten full back"?
This lovable, bald, Aussie is of course Danny Tiatto. Tiatto was born in Weribee, Australia which is a city located near Melbourne. Danny was a tough tackling left back and not only that was a very colourful character as seen in the photo above.
Danny started his career in Australian plying his trade in the Victorian Premier League with the world famous Bulleen Lions. I am almost certain the football played in that league was far from free flowing or graceful in any way (I may be wrong). This is where he became the player we all knew tough tackling, aggressive, and a warrior. The left back impressed enough to earn a move to NLS team Melbourne Knights, where he found success winning back to back championships. He had spells in Italy and Switzerland before moving to England where he was loaned out to Stoke. This was the first time where we the Great British public witnessed him in all his glory.Tiatto earned a permanent move to England with Manchester City where he spent six mixed years. After leaving City he moved to Leicester City before returning home in 2007. At international level he earned 23 caps for Australia including an appearance in the Olympics.
I know about Danny Tiatto because he played for Manchester United city rivals, but it was not his football that I remember him for. Red cards, outrageous tackles, and another famous Kevin Keegan quote are the real reasons he is my first subject. Here are some examples of Danny's work
In the fifties he would have still been spoken about as a "hard bastard" never mind the era when diving finally reached our shores. Watching Tiatto it seemed as if he threw an elbow every game and was sent off every other, I was unable to find out how many red cards he received throughout his career but it must be in double figures. The tackles, elbows, and sometimes punches saw Tiatto voted into the top twenty hardest footballers of all time, which I am sure he is very proud of. I believe he was playing in the last generation of really 'hard'players that included the likes of Vinny Jones, Ben Thatcher and Tony Adams. If he played today I am not sure he would ever play a whole 90 minutes, or even stay calm due to all the play acting we see nowadays. Just imagine the fury on his face if he saw Nani or Inzaghi rolling around below him after a little tap
His style of play however eventually caught up with him when Kevin Keegan became Manchester City manager. Keegan was asked about Danny Tiatto and a contract extension, which Keegan replied "As Far as I am concerned, Danny Tiatto doesn't exist" Now you could think it is just another stupid Keegan comment to add to the list, but another manager of Tiatto's said "He is not in my plans, he is not an issue" These were the words of Queensland Roar coach Ange Postecoglou. The great part is and why I am now a big fan of Danny Tiatto was his response to his managers comments. In an interview with The Courier Mail he had this to say
"That's why the season has fallen apart . . . I know Ange is working for the future but young boys can only get you so far without the experienced heads around them," Tiatto said.
"I haven't been pushing myself to the fore at training because I can see there is little interest in me playing from Ange in the first place.
"I'm just enjoying the Gold Coast life, having a few beers and easing myself into retirement"
So there it is, the first "Diary of a forgotten full back" and what a character to start with. I wonder what he is doing now? Surely during retirement he will be arrested due to a bar fight or drunken brawl with a ignorant fan. To be honest he should be a bouncer and let all that aggression out or play that dumb Australian sport, Aussie rules. That is Danny Tiatto and that is "Diary of a forgotten full back"
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