Finding his feet in the Premier League once again with Burnley, Joe Hart has had plenty of time to reflect on a chaotic few seasons. On a season-long loan spell with the Italian Serie A side Torino, Hart experienced a side of professional football hitherto unknown to him - the ultras!
Twice a Premier League winner, Hart's club future with Manchester City had once seemed as assured as his stranglehold on England's #1 jersey.
A mainstay under every manager from Sven-Goran Eriksson through to Manuel Pellegrini, the arrival of Pep Guardiola in 2016 signaled an end to Hart's favour at the club.
With that went his international career. Ever-present during England's run to the 2018 World Cup, Joe Hart, in a situation that would have seemed so unlikely only a few years earlier, didn't even make the 23-man squad Gareth Southgate opted to take to Russia.
Earning 75-caps during a 9-year international career, Hart's career has been a successful one; even if it reached its nadir a little earlier than he may have suspected.
Speaking to The Times from his new Lancashire outpost of Burnley, the goalkeeper has had some chance to reflect on a chaotic time. Taking the plunge and plying his trade in a foreign league, Hart followed the lead a number his British predecessors set and took his chances in Italy.
Although it is a long time since Paul Gascoigne, David Platt and Paul Ince ventured over these in the 90s, one thing hasn't changed; the club's ultras.
Reflecting on a 5-0 away defeat to Napoli, Hart quickly understood that due diligence had to be afforded to these important club members.
"A big part I really loved about the culture of Italian football, especially Torino, was their ultras had a big say in the club — in a good way.
"One time we conceded five away to Napoli. It is a long way from Torino but 300 fans went, partied the whole game, they were there for us, and a few of the guys didn’t go and clap the fans at the end, because they were a bit disheartened.
“The fans contacted the powers that be at the club and said, ‘We want to meet with the players.’ The fans were waiting for us in the car park [at training].
"The fans took over our team meeting. They didn’t storm it, they just addressed the captain and said, ‘We’re not having that.’ We all had to stand and listen, and we apologised because they were right.”
A familiar story from the ins and outs of domestic Italian football, Hart, unlike many others one suspects, was hugely impressed with the passion that surrounded such a slight misunderstanding.
