Del Woppio
08-11-2005, 13:30
An Italian footballer has become a hero on and off the pitch for asking his team to pay him only the minimum wage.
While some of his team-mates at Roma football club earn millions, Damiano Tommasi has requested a salary of €1,500 (£1,013) a month. After being out of the game for months with a knee injury, the 31-year-old player said he simply wanted to return to playing football at the highest level and economic considerations were low on his list of priorities. A modest salary was enough for his needs, he said, and he was still earning more than many ordinary Italians.
His gesture has led to him being lionised in football-mad <?:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region>, with even the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Vatican</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s official mouthpiece L'Osservatore Romano congratulating him for not pursuing an exorbitant salary or re-signing fee, like other players.
An editorial called the player a fine example and said his was an 'unusual decision... in a world where others earn hundreds of thousands of euros and in which those who already earn millions ask excessive amounts to renew their contracts'.
The remarks have been taken as a pointed criticism of the avarice of today's footballing stars. Tommasi's Roma team-mate Francesco Totti, for example, earns €12 million a year and another multi-million euro player, Antonio Cassano, is benched because he is still trying to negotiate a new contract.
Midfielder Tommasi spent almost all of last season having treatment for an injury that happened during a game with <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Stoke</st1:PlaceName> <st1:Place w:st="on">City</st1:place></st1:place> in 2004. But he battled back and made his first appearance for Roma in a match last week against Ascoli. Tommasi's team won 2-1.
The player, who has had 10 consecutive contracts with Roma but whose future is uncertain, said he had signed on at the minimum salary for the rest of the season 'because I love football'. He made it clear that the salary, the minimum amount laid down by the footballing union, was at his request.
Websites devoted to Roma, one of the biggest clubs in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>, have been full of praise for Tommasi's gesture. 'His head is never in the clouds, his words are always moderate, he has strong moral values,' enthused one website.
Tommasi - a former altar boy and practising Catholic, has always been a favourite of the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Vatican</st1:place></st1:country-region> - but the public endorsement of the player is unusual. In its editorial, the newspaper said: 'Damiano has always thought that a famous footballer has a responsibility as an example to young people and he has always modelled his behaviour with this in mind.'
Speaking recently before a group of young people, the player said: 'Kids see us as idols and we have to give a good example. I do a job that I love and I get a lot of money for doing it. This is a joy but also a big responsibility.'<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
While some of his team-mates at Roma football club earn millions, Damiano Tommasi has requested a salary of €1,500 (£1,013) a month. After being out of the game for months with a knee injury, the 31-year-old player said he simply wanted to return to playing football at the highest level and economic considerations were low on his list of priorities. A modest salary was enough for his needs, he said, and he was still earning more than many ordinary Italians.
His gesture has led to him being lionised in football-mad <?:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region>, with even the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Vatican</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s official mouthpiece L'Osservatore Romano congratulating him for not pursuing an exorbitant salary or re-signing fee, like other players.
An editorial called the player a fine example and said his was an 'unusual decision... in a world where others earn hundreds of thousands of euros and in which those who already earn millions ask excessive amounts to renew their contracts'.
The remarks have been taken as a pointed criticism of the avarice of today's footballing stars. Tommasi's Roma team-mate Francesco Totti, for example, earns €12 million a year and another multi-million euro player, Antonio Cassano, is benched because he is still trying to negotiate a new contract.
Midfielder Tommasi spent almost all of last season having treatment for an injury that happened during a game with <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Stoke</st1:PlaceName> <st1:Place w:st="on">City</st1:place></st1:place> in 2004. But he battled back and made his first appearance for Roma in a match last week against Ascoli. Tommasi's team won 2-1.
The player, who has had 10 consecutive contracts with Roma but whose future is uncertain, said he had signed on at the minimum salary for the rest of the season 'because I love football'. He made it clear that the salary, the minimum amount laid down by the footballing union, was at his request.
Websites devoted to Roma, one of the biggest clubs in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>, have been full of praise for Tommasi's gesture. 'His head is never in the clouds, his words are always moderate, he has strong moral values,' enthused one website.
Tommasi - a former altar boy and practising Catholic, has always been a favourite of the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Vatican</st1:place></st1:country-region> - but the public endorsement of the player is unusual. In its editorial, the newspaper said: 'Damiano has always thought that a famous footballer has a responsibility as an example to young people and he has always modelled his behaviour with this in mind.'
Speaking recently before a group of young people, the player said: 'Kids see us as idols and we have to give a good example. I do a job that I love and I get a lot of money for doing it. This is a joy but also a big responsibility.'<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
