[Archived] Corrado Grabbi

[kevinyahoo100]

Hello - I'm writing an article about Corrado Grabbi and I'd like to get Rovers fans' memories and opinions about his time at Ewood Park.

Some of you may remember I did something similar last season on Paul Warhurst: https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/blast-past-no-27-paul-100033619.html

So any memories or opinions you have of Corrado, please share them here. For anything I use in the article I will credit BRFCS.

Many thanks! Kevin

[MCMC1875]

Goal shy.

[Jock]

Scored a good header against Liverpool.

[OJRovers]

Lot of money. You've got to question agents' involvement in it with Souness.

Had a goal disallowed against Man Utd I think which should've stood (Bartez messing around with the ball).

I think if that had been allowed as a goal then it could have been the spark that he needed.

[J*B]

An icon. Gave an interview on Radio Rovers 'i like the ball at my foot'. Stuff of legend.

I still maintain he could have worked here. That header against Liverpool, cracking stuff.

[Dunnfc]

Isn't he now a youth coach at Juventus?

He didn't have any pace, looked awkward but I remember him having a good touch.

Had Socks to small for him so he could reveal some dodgy Chinese tattoo.

Gave me a good night though against Liverpool.

[DE.]

I remember him being desperately unlucky a few times early on - hitting the woodwork multiple times. After that never really recovered and became one of many failed transfers around that period.

[jim mk2]

I thought he looked out of his depth. The pace and power of the Premier League seemed to intimidate him.

A poor buy and waste of £6m or whatever we paid.

[tomphil]

Definitely had ability but was too work shy to make a go of it in English football. His head went down and stayed down.

The type of transfer that would have calls for the FBI to investigate these days, good old Souey the dodgy git

[oldjamfan1]

Lightweight, not particularly quick, and a bit timid. Always got the impression he was easily intimidated.

[1arC]

I think we nicknamed him Chico for what it's worth.

[davulsukur]

Someone once took it upon themselves to edit his Wiki page to say that he was a professional footballer, who played in the striker position and was partial to group masturbation.

(something along those lines anyway)

[the original david brent]

He started at Derby away in our first game back in the premier league, with high expectation amongst the large away following. He got subbed shortly into the second half for Nathan Blake who I recall scored that day. His debut was something of a damp squib, which summed up his short career with Rovers.

Digressing but my abiding memory of that game is we scored an equaliser in injury time, leading to wild celebrations in the away end, only for the ref Durkin to disallow it!

[Tom]

I think we nicknamed him Chico for what it's worth.

Ciccio!

Two events were brutal to him, the time he robbed Barthez and looped it in only for it to be disallowed for no reason and the free kick he hit that nearly broke the crossbar would have made him!

[funny-old-game]

I remember him being desperately unlucky a few times early on - hitting the woodwork multiple times. After that never really recovered and became one of many failed transfers around that period.

Oh to have those times again.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I thought he had ability. He was desperately unlucky to have that really clever " goal " against United disallowed. There was nothing wrong with it apart from being against United , obviously that was never going to stand. He'd missed a real sitter earlier on that game, an air shot off a good cross inside the six yard box. It was easier to score than miss the ball but he did. Anybody else remember that one ?

I remember the header against Liverpool and he got another good goal against Everton in the League at Ewood. He picked the ball up in the old inside left position about 25 yards out, ran at the centre halves, dipped his shoulder, moved the ball onto his right foot and calmly slotted the ball into the far corner. Easy , Peasy, like he'd been doing it all his life and he could do it again anytime he felt like it.

Didn't he score against CSKA Sofia as well ? I'm pretty sure he scored at the Blackburn End against one of our European opponents.

Was he worth the dosh we paid ? No . Was he a decent player ? I thought he could have been given a fair wind. One thing is for sure - he was better than anything we've got up front now.

[tomphil]

You could see he had technique but he came from the Italian second division I think so to jump into the English Prem overnight was a massive task for anyone.

[Amo]

A confidence player. Showed glimpses of class but was poorly man-managed by Souey.

[Baz]

Slower than Kevin Davies, as physically robust as Niko Kalinic, goalscoring instincts of Jason Roberts.

Once Fabian Barthez tried to dribble round him, and missed, so Ciccio tapped the ball into the net forgetting that any united player gets a free free kick for their first 3 errors in a game.

Wavy hair, wore an alice band, bandy legs. Looked a bit like Tugay from behind. Ended up playing in Swiss semi-professional football if I remember correctly.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I can see why someone would rate him going off a highlights video. That's what I heard happened.

[TBTF]

I thought he had ability. He was desperately unlucky to have that really clever " goal " against United disallowed. There was nothing wrong with it apart from being against United , obviously that was never going to stand. He'd missed a real sitter earlier on that game, an air shot off a good cross inside the six yard box. It was easier to score than miss the ball but he did. Anybody else remember that one ?

I remember the header against Liverpool and he got another good goal against Everton in the League at Ewood. He picked the ball up in the old inside left position about 25 yards out, ran at the centre halves, dipped his shoulder, moved the ball onto his right foot and calmly slotted the ball into the far corner. Easy , Peasy, like he'd been doing it all his life and he could do it again anytime he felt like it.

Didn't he score against CSKA Sofia as well ? I'm pretty sure he scored at the Blackburn End against one of our European opponents.

Was he worth the dosh we paid ? No . Was he a decent player ? I thought he could have been given a fair wind. One thing is for sure - he was better than anything we've got up front now.

God Tyrone !! I remember seeing him going to his car once on the Blackburn end car park with a huge Italian style coat and a massive cravat type thing. He looked like something out of a Charles Dickens film!!! His bird was pretty tasty I seem to recall.

CSKA Sofia away we were 3 up (Ostenstad!!) and brought him on . He nearly cost us the bloody game with some ridiculous passes .We ended up winning 3-2 in the end.

But it never looked like his football was going to get in the way of a bit of celebrity status!! Bit of a comedy/panto villain character I remember him as .

[bellamy11]

I remember him doing an interview afterwards saying he felt like a real outcast, and only Tugay was particularly friendly with him. Also said that he felt as though striker was not his best position - that he was more effective playing on the left and cutting in. Maybe the solution was to drop Duff...?

The crappy decision in the game against Utd seems to have gone down in folklore. These things just seemed to happen to him - I remember when we beat West Ham 7-1 he had a goalbound shot turned in on the line by Damien Johnson. Poor guy could barely buy a goal.

Unless I'm remembering incorrectly, the fans never really got on his back. He got a lot of support, and I think the supporters warmed to him as a character, even if he was totally out of his depth as a footballer. I think he just had one magic season in Serie B and found himself somewhere he had no right to be.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

God Tyrone !! I remember seeing him going to his car once on the Blackburn end car park with a huge Italian style coat and a massive cravat type thing. He looked like something out of a Charles Dickens film!!! His bird was pretty tasty I seem to recall.

CSKA Sofia away we were 3 up (Ostenstad!!) and brought him on . He nearly cost us the bloody game with some ridiculous passes .We ended up winning 3-2 in the end.

But it never looked like his football was going to get in the way of a bit of celebrity status!! Bit of a comedy/panto villain character I remember him as .

I was referring to the home game against CSKA, am I right that he scored ?

[Ricky]

Wasn't there a rumour at the time that Souness signed the wrong player? I can't remember but I had a feeling it was supposed to have been corrado (sp?).

[A cup of beans]

Souness gave an interview to the telegraph where he said : Grabbi is a god at Ternana.

Ipswich away, I remember him looking to the heavens and praying when their keeper made a fine save.

Bradford away in a friendly (Greer scored for us) I remember Dunny hounding him and shouting at him to be quicker and hold onto the ball.

He gave a TV interview where he told how him and Tugay went to Blackpool Where he said : "Hey, Tugay... it's like Las Vegas"

He called us Blackpool Rovers in a different interview too.

But I'll forgive him.