After a shaky debut, it is all going well for Joe Hart in Serie A. After all, when a fans unveil a huge banner with your face on, it is usually a good thing.
After enduring the most testing period of a career that has rarely encountered adversity, Joe Hart could do with a bit of affection.
Mere weeks after a suffering a barrage of abuse as his weak wrists subjected Roy Hodgson’s England to one of the most humiliating defeats in the nation’s history, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola swiftly waved goodbye without a second glance.
A horrible flap on his Torino debut, then, was hardly the fresh start Joe Hart would have wanted. Instead of escaping the glaring limelight, Hart found himself at the centre of a social media storm, his dropped corner retweeted relentlessly and taken as a sure sign of his demise.
Suddenly, Torino had an English audience beyond the hipsters and Football Italia romantics. Every media outlet in the land appears to be dedicating weekly column inches to some voyeuristic ‘Hart-watch’, cameras following his every move and replaying his moments of misjudgement in unforgiving HD.
Therefore, they could hardly fail to notice the huge, draping banner, adorned with Joe Hart’s face, swathed across the Stadio Olimpico before Torino’s impressive 3-1 hammering of Roma.
It turns out not everybody despites Joe Hart these days. His new manager, Sinisa Mihajlovic, certainly doesn’t. Especially not after the two-time Premier League champion made a series of fine stops to deny former Etihad team-mate Edin Dzeko.
“We signed Hart for his enthusiasm, spirit and experience,” Mihajlovic said after the game, according to Football Italia.
“Before he arrived, I spoke to him to understand his spirit. He is a great guy and a wonderful professional, an international level goalkeeper with great charisma.
Mihajlovic reckons Hart’s arrival makes the rest of his team feel more confident. By the looks of things, that could work both ways.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
