While his debut may not have gone totally to plan as he made a mistake that cost his team a goal, Joe Hart is earning new fans in Italy.
They say that one of the biggest things you can do to endear yourself to fans in a new country is to prove that you are serious by trying to learn the new language. Of course, it doesn't always work out well, see David Moyes at Sociedad and the abuse he took on social media, but Joe Hart has seemingly done well this time.
During his first press conference as a Torino player, Hart addressed the Italian media in their native tongue, and received applause after he said his piece.
Fair play to him. He could have settled for a Premier League loan, but chose an adventurous offer that few English players would seem to fancy, and then when he arrived, he could easily have phoned it in and not bothered considering he's only there on loan.
And just look at how relieved he was to say his piece and have them understand what he meant:
Here is what he said, earning even more brownie points in the process:
Hello everyone. Thank you all for coming to my presentation.
I am studying Italian. Today I am preparing to talk with my players, Me, you, left, right, pass, carry, give, leave - it's going well.
Thank you to our dear president, thank you to all and excuse me if I respond [now] in English.
He's got the basics covered anyway...
