CAMBIASSO EXPLAINS HIS NICKNAME
Saturday, 03 July 2004 17:12:49
MILAN - For a few years now Esteban Cambiasso has had the nickname 'El Cuchu'. "It was a personality on Argentine television," explains the midfielder. "A nice guy famous for his jokes. When 'El Cuchu was hugely popular in my country I was a boy. I was five or six, so I can only just about remember him. Later on it was my teammates that gave me this nickname. I like it because it's true that I'm a nice and warm person every day, but it's different on the pitch. You need to be useful to the team and... unpleasant to the opponents."
Many were expecting Cambiasso to turn up with a different look, with the shaven head of the last few seasons at Real Madrid. Instead, Esteban presented himself in Milan with a new 'haircut'. "I shaved my head after winning the Clausura title with River in 2002. It was a bet and, most of all, a comfortable solution. Then my wife stepped in..."
The next question is inevitable. What will he do if he wins with Inter? "I still haven't thought about this, and quite honestly I'm not thinking about it," adds Cambiasso. "For me my look isn't a priority. The Inter fans will learn to know me, the only thing that really interests me is the match and the preparations for it. For me the rest doesn't count. A lot of things are said in football, especially during the transfer market period. But I choose not to read them and I don't listen to them."
Yet Cambiasso has been the desire of many a club in recent years. "Yes, so they've told me," he says smiling. "But it doesn't matter now. I'm at Inter and the rest doesn't interest me."