DENIS Law’s time in Italy with Torino was brief and blighted by turmoil.
Off the pitch, the Scotland striker experienced difficulties with his wages being paid on time and in full, megalomaniacal directors, an intrusive media and the militaristic training regime.
On it, he found himself ill-suited to the negative style of football that most teams favoured at that time and a frequent victim of the dirtiest defenders he had ever encountered and would ever encounter in his career.
Nearly losing his life in the serious car accident he was involved in with his team mate Joe Baker was just one of many unfortunate escapades which he got embroiled in during the season before he joined Manchester United.
He ended up, after being sold to their bitter Turin rivals Juventus for £160,000 without his knowledge, walking out, returning home to Aberdeen and running the very real risk of being frozen completely out of the game.
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Yet, when Law emerged from the tunnel at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino during Il Toro’s centenary celebrations back in 2006, the supporters roared just as loudly as they had when he scored each one of his goals during that tumultuous 1961/62 season.
“History is very important for Torino fans,” said Gianluca Oddenino, an Italian sports writer who reports on his boyhood heroes’ exploits for Il Stampa newspaper in Turin. “They remember the Suparga air disaster in 1949 when the entire first team and 31 people in total died. That memory is particularly important for them.
“But they also remember that Denis Law was a great player for them. They know that he wasn’t at the club for very long, only a season. But they also remember that he scored 10 goals in Serie A. He created a legend that has been passed down generation to generation.
“When the club marked its centenary back in 2006 there was a great party at the stadium and Denis Law came to it. There was an incredible homage to a mythical figure that day.”
Che Adams, who signed for Torino after leaving Southampton last summer, will be doing very well to attain the same sort of iconic status as his illustrious compatriot. Who could ever emulate The Law Man? Truly, we will never see his likes again.
“There is a link, a strong feeling, between Torino and Scotland,” said Oddenino. “They have the same ideas, the same structure, the same approach to a match. A long time has passed since Denis Law was at Torino. It is a different era now. But Che Adams being here is like a new chapter of a beautiful book.
“In my opinion, Che the perfect player for Torino because he is such a fighter. He never stops trying, he never relaxes. The fans absolutely love him because of that. Whenever the team plays there are always the flags of Scotland in the stadium. There is a great feeling about him.
“Choosing to go to Italy was a good solution for Adams and also for Torino. It has been like a honeymoon, a long honeymoon, between Torino and Adams this season. The fans see that he fights for them in every match and that is very important for them.
“His success has been a pleasant surprise as well. He has been an exceptional signing for Torino because he didn’t cost anything. He has supplied precious goals for a team that often struggles to score. The goal that he scored against Empoli in December was a masterpiece. He is an idol of the fans now, is always the most applauded player.”
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Adams equalled the haul of goals which former European Footballer of the Year Law netted during his solitary season in Italy when he opened the scoring for Torino in a Serie A win over Udinese at home last month.
Oddenino was, due to the changes which manager Paolo Vanoli, the former Rangers player, had been forced to implement, unsure if the forward would ever reach the elusive 10 goal mark.
“At the start of the season, Torino under Vanoli played with a 3-5-2 with Duvan Zapata and Che Adams up front,” he said. “In my opinion, it was the perfect system. Zapata is the first forward, the bomber, but a technical player too. Alongside Zapata, Adams can play a different role.
“But when Zapata got injured back in October you saw that Torino had great difficulty changing the way they were playing. Adams also started a new role. In my opinion, it is not the correct role for him,
“There was a definite switch in the Udinese v Torino game in December. Vanoli changed the team to a 4-2-3-1 and Adams became the only forward with midfielders like Eljif Elmas and Nikola Vlasic behind him.
“It was a good solution for the team at the time. But for me Adams needs another forward alongside him to play at his best. He is a great player, a great forward, a great fighter. But he does not have the physicality needed to be the only forward in the team. He needs another man next to him.”
“It is important to understand the great history that Torino has,” he said. “In the last few years, the club has stayed in the middle of the table. But they have won Serie A many times before and fans want the club to have a different role. The president, Urbano Cairo, is very ambitious to achieve that.
“To win the Scudetto is very difficult, impossible even, now. But can they challenge for a place in the Champions League? That is certainly the goal. That is still very difficult. Having a lot of money is still very important when it comes to building a team.
“But sometimes having a different idea can by key. Atalanta and Bologna have had smart ideas, outstanding players and a great coach and they have had great success. It is possible, they can dream.
“Adams has a great relationship with Vanoli, who played in Scotland with Rangers and appreciates his spirit and attitude. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for them.”
