Joe Hart reveals his biggest lesson from Torino spell: ‘No idea what’s going on here’ | OneFootball

Former England international Joe Hart has opened up about the biggest lesson he learned during his time on loan in Serie A with Torino, admitting that he often had ‘no idea what’s going on’ due to his lack of Italian.

The recently-retired 37-year-old spent the 2016-17 season on loan in Serie A with Torino following Pep Guardiola’s appointment and the subsequent arrival of Claudio Bravo at Manchester City.

Hart’s time with Torino was not the smoothest, and he later drew criticism from club President Urbano Cairo for some of the high-profile errors he made during his time with the Granata.

What Joe Hart learned from Torino spell

Now a regular pundit with the BBC following his retirement last year, Hart has recently spoken about the biggest lesson he learned during his time in Italy.

He admitted that he thought he understood before his move to Torino, but now fully understands the importance of patience when a new player arrives in a new country, particularly when they don’t speak the language.

Goalkeeper of FC Torino Joe Hart celebrates under FC Turin’s fans at the end of last Serie A match between FC Torino and US Sassuolo at Stadio Olimpico di Torino on May 28, 2017 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)

“Honestly I was understanding before I went and played in Italy, my thought process was it’s not ideal if you don’t speak English, but you pick it up.

“Honestly when I was sat in that dressing room and there were conversations going on around me, and I was in a team meeting and thought ‘holy moly, I have no idea what’s going on here’, nodding like a nodding dog, trying to pick up the odd word.

“What I’m trying to get to is not spoken about in this country. We just arrogantly expect people to walk in, you know, you’ve got six months’ grace and after that you should be interviewing in English. It doesn’t work like that. It’s not a nice place to be.

“You find a way to communicate. Football is beautiful. I found that the amount of conversations I’ve had without actually saying one word in the same language as the other person is brilliant like that.

“Ever since I came back (to England), I’ve made much more effort with people’s families because it’s a lot more of a ripple effect for someone to feel comfortable, to get the best out of them.”