Urbano Cairo admits the prospect of “fresh attention to Torino” partly contributed to Joe Hart’s arrival as the goalkeeper presented “a very important opportunity”.
Torino President Cairo was speaking at Hart’s official unveiling as a Granata player on Friday, despite the Manchester City loanee having already debuted in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Atalanta.
“It’s great to be here to present Joe, I also wanted Gianluca Petrachi to be here because so much of the credit is his,” he began.
Urbano Cairo admits the prospect of “fresh attention to Torino” partly contributed to Joe Hart’s arrival as the goalkeeper presented “a very important opportunity”.
Torino President Cairo was speaking at Hart’s official unveiling as a Granata player on Friday, despite the Manchester City loanee having already debuted in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Atalanta.
“It’s great to be here to present Joe, I also wanted Gianluca Petrachi to be here because so much of the credit is his,” he began.
“I really wanted us to have a goalkeeper of his level, who has brought a lot of fresh attention to Torino.
“When this opportunity was presented to us, I immediately said ‘yes’ because he’s a great goalkeeper.
“Joe has very high technical quality, but also on a personal level. Football isn’t only a game on the pitch, but also about the people in the dressing room.
“He even wanted to have the Press conference with his teammates because he’s very respectful of the group.
“For us, he’s a bit of an exception because for years we’ve signed young players and not used the loan system much.
“Hart was a very important opportunity, but I’m not forgetting Padelli, who gave us so much and is a goalkeeper for the national team.
“He made some mistakes, like everybody, but his contribution was great and he can still give so much.
“Torino’s objective remains to have young players who can grow and mature. Sometimes, someone’s sirens attract them and you have to let them go, while others stay with us for a long time.
“Then there’s a great academy that’s doing very well. Aramu and Barreca are two examples, the Coach asked me to keep them strongly, despite enquiries.
“We’ve loaned out others who will gain experience and then come back even stronger.”