Amato

Zizou

Well-Known Member
Been watching a lot of old matches on YouTube during lockdown and some of his goals and got me thinking how do we rate him looking back?i personally thought he was a good player for us who should of got more of a run of games but know a few people who said he was ok and was a reason he never started all the time.
His 2 goals against the tims will always hold him in high regard for me.
Would love us to have a player like him in the current team.
 
He was very slow/sluggish. His skill was without question though. Don't know what his application was like but remember pictures of him smoking a bong pipe.
 
I loved him, remember the old firm game at Ibrox he scored a header and the nutmeg on Stubbs.

Was disappointed when he left but advocaat didn’t really fancy him.

Loads of skill and loved a trick, reckon if he had pace he wouldn’t of signed for us.
 
I really liked the guy. Could turn defenders inside out with ease but just lacked a bit of pace. Scored some cracking goals and that drag back against Parma to cross for Durie to miss a sitter was sublime!
 
The main problem was his lack of discipline off the park, he became a standing joke in the dressing room due to the amount of fines he clocked up. If he had screwed the nut he could have improved as a player under Advocaat.

All that being said he did produce some brilliant moments including against the stinky ones.
 
The main problem was his lack of discipline off the park, he became a standing joke in the dressing room due to the amount of fines he clocked up. If he had screwed the nut he could have improved as a player under Advocaat.

All that being said he did produce some brilliant moments including against the stinky ones.
Didnt know that just thought advocaat didn’t rate him as much as other players.
 
Not a lot of pace and missed some real easy chances, but was a very good team player.

If he had more of a poachers instinct he'd have been a dream.

Good memories of his time
 
just not sure the scottish game suited him. altho the plauers back then were better than the now he needed a leauge were it wasnt so much kick and rush. thot he was a excellent player tho and was gutted never got more out of him tho
 
Brilliant player, I remember him coming off the bench at Dens park in the 2nd half, completely changed the game. He had incredible skill, but not much pace.
 
I remember Advocaat saying that if we were playing in the Spanish league, Amato would be his number one striker. Just wasn’t really suited to the Scottish game.

Really enjoyed watching him, had some amount of skill, will never forget him ripping them to shreds on the by line.
 
He was either sugar or shit. There was no inbetween.

Some absolutely brilliant moments of skill which masked weeks and months of poor fitness, no goals and no end product.

He was clearly a talented player who wasn't consistent enough to perservere with. Compare his contribution to Johansson and Wallace that season. Even the much maligned Guivarc'h only scored two goals less than him

He had a good run into the 98/99 season (5 goals in last 6 games) which glosses over that he had only scored 4 goals all season (2 in Europe, 2 in Scotland) until the 25th April.
 
I really wanted him to get a chance in the team the way he turned Blicky Bill inside out at corner flag was a thing to behold. Apart from Aribo there’s not many players with that kind of close control in the team. It’s something they don’t seem to practice now but players like C Ronaldo practice all the time after training, that’s why he’s the best. I would also like to see players forced to practice on their weaker foot more. The amount of time chances come and then go because they’re trying to get it on their stronger side, not a problem for wee Hagi, he strikes me as someone who practices technique even after training. We (used to)play against lumps of wood every week, we should be a class above that.
 
I remember Advocaat saying that if we were playing in the Spanish league, Amato would be his number one striker. Just wasn’t really suited to the Scottish game.

Really enjoyed watching him, had some amount of skill, will never forget him ripping them to shreds on the by line.

Exactly he was a bit of a round peg in a square hole. Just didn’t really fit in with the Scottish game or the style we were trying to play. As some else said if he had pace we’d have been speaking of him in the same breathe as Laudrup but then again we’d have never got him.
 
Not sure about Advocaat not fancying him. He bought him. So lack of discipline would seem to be issue. Not something that’s always easy to scout. Left us with some great memories, though.
 
i loved Amato when he was with us and really wanting him to stay/play more. As said above if he had pace he'd have been amazing, but then we probably would have got him.
 
I think in the modern game he would be your number 10 and would thrive, so skilful but little pace hampered him. Has quite a poor scoring record for us for the money we paid, very very nice to watch back the moments though.
 
He was either sugar or shit. There was no inbetween.

Some absolutely brilliant moments of skill which masked weeks and months of poor fitness, no goals and no end product.

He was clearly a talented player who wasn't consistent enough to perservere with. Compare his contribution to Johansson and Wallace that season. Even the much maligned Guivarc'h only scored two goals less than him

He had a good run into the 98/99 season (5 goals in last 6 games) which glosses over that he had only scored 4 goals all season (2 in Europe, 2 in Scotland) until the 25th April.
Spot on mate, was his finishing erratic or was it that his movement etc wasn’t good enough off the ball to manufacture chances ?.
 
Spot on mate, was his finishing erratic or was it that his movement etc wasn’t good enough off the ball to manufacture chances ?.

I think fitness let him down more than anything. He was knackered more often than not after about 60 minutes. He simply did not look fit enough for 90 minutes of football week in week out.

I don't think the lack of pace hindered him as much as people think. His ability on the ball more than compensated for his lack of speed and enabled him to get out of tight spots (Remember Mjallby in the cup final ?)
 
I think fitness let him down more than anything. He was knackered more often than not after about 60 minutes. He simply did not look fit enough for 90 minutes of football week in week out.

I don't think the lack of pace hindered him as much as people think. His ability on the ball more than compensated for his lack of speed and enabled him to get out of tight spots (Remember Mjallby in the cup final ?)
As widely accepted perhaps a league with slower tempo would have suited him better alas Spain or Italy. Believe we bought him off the back of 13 goals for betis, la liga at that time was Serie A in the 90s so seems a bit strange to me with Hind sight.
 
He's a bit like Advocaat's tenure - most remember it as brilliant, when in reality there were a lot more lows than we care to recall. Great skill and a few brilliant goals to reminisce about but he wasn't consistent enough.

Saying that, one of my best memories of Amato was when he absolutely ripped Mjällby in the Scottish Cup Final with the wee step on the ball and pirouette. Beautiful.
 
I really liked him as a player but he didn't want to work hard, if he applied himself in training he would've been an even better player.
 
Super skillful, but slow as Boyd 2nd time. It was rarely dull when he came on

But as SDF says, for every great turn, there were three weeks of him being dropped and looking spent
 
Loved Amato. Always remember wanting him to play more and get a run in the team. Loved how you wanted him to get the ball to see what he was going to do. Turned it on against the mhanks as well.
 
Talented guy, scored some belters, some great celebrations. Pity he was towing a caravan.

Played his part and was a fans favourite.
 
I loved him. Despite all his known bits of skill on video etc. I remember one outrageous turn he did at tannadice that may have actually been against Dundee (?). The ball went out for a throw but somehow with his back to the opponent he let the ball come through his legs and flicked it past the player to his right. While Amato spun round the player to his left. It came to nothing but it was outrageous.
 
As mentioned not much pace but loads of skill, he was also very strong on the ball, I really liked Gabby as a Rangers player & wish he’d been at Ibrox longer.
 
When he was at Rangers he used to wear coloured boots that were banned by Advocaat, had to be black ones only. He used to pay a months fine up front and waltz in to training with the coloured boots on every day then wear black ones on matchday :D
 
I loved him, remember the old firm game at Ibrox he scored a header and the nutmeg on Stubbs.

Was disappointed when he left but advocaat didn’t really fancy him.

Loads of skill and loved a trick, reckon if he had pace he wouldn’t of signed for us.
How bad was Advocaat at man management,no one is questioning his success,but his treatment of certain players is appalling. Albert's and Amo and now Amato,who was quite a good player,but he doesn't come close to Caniggia.
 
I loved him as a player, one of the most technically gifted footballers we have had in my years watching Rangers.
From memory he was generally better in European and Old Firm games - the blood and thunder of domestic football didn’t at all suit his style.
 
Really liked him, and was extremely disappointed when he left. I always remember that second half against Parma in 98 UEFA Cup; their defence simply could not live with him.
 
A good player for us, a gifted and very talented footballer. Lacked a bit of pace and fight but if he had pace he would have been a superstar playing somewhere else anyway.
 
I don't have much of a memory of him playing any particular games, other than him being really skillful as I was only about 7 or 8. My only real memory of him is being nearly put on my arse when he pushed by me when I asked him for an autograph.
 
Really liked him ,as a few people have said he lacked a bit of pace. However if he had pace he probably would not have been with us. Can't remember why we let him go.
 
At his best he was unplayable. Great close control and strong which made it a nightmare for defenders trying to win the ball off him.
 
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