Matteo Darmian interview: Italian has the drive to stop Manchester United pining for Gary Neville

The Italy right-back has had a mixed time at Old Trafford since arriving in the summer but, he tells Kevin Garside, unlike a lot of his compatriots he is eager to crack the Premier League

Matteo Darmian (GETTY IMAGES)

The half-time hook is almost a rite of passage for full-backs at Manchester United. Patrice Evra, arguably the greatest left-back to grace the borough of Stretford, lasted only 45 minutes on his debut. At least Matteo Darmian made it to his sixth game before understanding a little more about the demands of playing in the zero-tolerance environment of one of the world’s most demanding sporting institutions.

On Wednesday morning at Carrington, Darmian was among the group who did not start the previous night’s Champions League fixture against CSKA Moscow. He was hardly in the stiffs but nevertheless removed for one session at least from the frontline warriors who had delivered United’s most coherent attacking display of the season and who were recovering away from view in another part of the vast Aon training complex.

Darmian is three months into his Premier League immersion and is rattling through the range of professional emotions, from the player of the month award in August to unused bench warmer on Tuesday. There was no sense of dejection as he jogged through the Manchester mist the morning after the night before in a group that included Ander Herrera, Marouane Fellaini, Memphis Depay and Andreas Pereira.

Passed over by Milan as a teenager, Darmian was forced to travel to establish a presence in the game and even at Torino, where he spent four rewarding years, he had to climb out of Serie B before getting wider attention. The point is he got there in the end. There is no fear of the challenge in the 25-year-old right-back and when he eventually settles into the pattern of Mancunian life the pining for Gary Neville might be over at last.

“It is normal that when you play for a big team full of champions, that there will be more competition,” he says. “Plus in the English league, you play practically every three days and hardly ever get a break so it’s normal not to play in every game. Something which I have always done and I will continue to try to do is give my all to the team when called upon.”

Darmian is not only adjusting to a new footballing culture but to life in a northern town. Manchester might share some characteristics with the post-industrial landscapes of Milan and Turin, but the Pennines are not quite the dramatic backdrop formed by the Alps, and where he grew up the pasta sauces do not come in a can.

“It’s a little different compared to Italy, like the weather, the food,” Darmian admits. “They are only small things but I love what I do and I think that these things are secondary. Plus I have my girlfriend [with me] and enjoy spending time with her and she helps me get by. It’s going well. Everyone here at Manchester United such as my team-mates and the staff have all helped me feel at home right from the beginning given the change of scenery.”

There is a view that Darmian has suffered as much as anyone from the loss on the other flank of Luke Shaw, whose broken leg in September forced a brief switch to the left-back post. Darmian began life as a centre-back and has patrolled both flanks in Italy as a full-back, but in a new home and a new league, stability is the quickest way to nirvana.

“The Premier League is a tough league and much more physical compared with the Italian league and perhaps less tactical. I think these are the main differences. I think the pace of the game also, it is much faster here as all the teams are trying to win the game.”

The intensity and depth of competition is the Premier League’s selling point. That is felt particularly keenly at United, whose hauteur is a universal source of motivation for the opposition, and not just at home. The United story has penetrated the four corners of the earth and has particular resonance in Turin, a city that mourned the tragic loss of 31 victims nine years before the 1958 Munich disaster, including the entire Torino team, when a flight returning from a friendly in Portugal crashed.

The Torino of the day, Serie A champions for four years on the spin immediately after the war, was pretty much the Italy national side. The club never recovered its pre-eminence. United did, of course, and when Darmian was coming through the ranks they were re-engaging the world under Sir Alex Ferguson and leaving a big impression on him.

“When you think of Manchester United you don’t just think it’s one of the biggest clubs in England but one of the biggest clubs in the world, an illustrious club which is full of history and used to winning lots of trophies. So it’s normal that when you play for a club so big there is more pressure and given the history of Manchester United, everyone expects you to win every game. It’s not easy but as far as I’m concerned we aim to win every game, and for me personally, to play a part in this.”

The absence of an Italian social network inside Old Trafford has meant an obvious leaning towards his Spanish cousins in the squad, though, as he points out, there is a deeper, universal language, understood if not spoken, that allows him to communicate with and learn from the principal players at the club.

“At the start Paolo Gaudino who is part of the backroom staff, helped me a lot to be honest during meetings. But also the Spanish group who have similar personalities to us, a little more open and a more similar culture to ours as well as similar language. They have helped in terms of integrating me in the team. I think I now have a good relationship with pretty much all of the team not just the Spanish group but also with the likes of [Daley] Blind and Morgan [Schneiderlin] too.

“I think it’s great to have the chance to play alongside great champions like [Wayne] Rooney, [Bastian] Schweinsteiger. I think they are two great players who have won everything during their career. They are also great people and I think before being a great player, you have to be a great person. It definitely gives me great pleasure and further motivation to keep improving as a player.”

Darmian passes the time of day, if not interviews, in English. The club have settled him in the footballer belt south west of the city, the kind of soft landing that promotes integration. And as every ex-pat will tell you, wherever you are in the world, a countryman will eventually sound you out. “When I’m out or go to a restaurant I see that there are many Italians around. And sure initially, it’s comforting and helps you feel at home and so that was a nice surprise. And yes, there are lots of restaurants. I will sometimes go to Italian restaurants but I also like to try different cuisines.”

And so in his interests as well as his profession there is a sense of adventure that he likes to indulge. Italy is a hard country to leave, especially for an established member of the national side, even if United are the team on the other end of the phone offering a few euros more. He acknowledges this point when pondering why more Italians are not beating a path to England’s most important clubs.

“It’s different for every player. There are those who perhaps don’t want to try new things or those who don’t feel right for this league. I’m not sure. I think it’s a great experience and I would honestly suggest it to anyone. They don’t want to leave Italy. I was obviously very happy [at the United approach]. I think anyone in my place would have done the same. I think it’s difficult to refuse an offer of this kind.”

The international break will see Darmian repatriated after today’s fixture against West Bromwich Albion, but he won’t be going home. Darmian is an honorary Manc now, and, when no-one is looking, has the odd chip with his calamari. “It’s fair to say that I had big expectations, as everyone in the world speaks very highly of Manchester United, and these expectations were met.”

Matteo Darmian was speaking at the launch of the new Manchester United headwear collection by New Era, available now at www.neweracap.co.uk