Micah Richards’ efforts at translating a Romelu Lukaku interview from Italian into English left Thierry Henry in stitches.
Lukaku was in the headlines on Wednesday night after coming off the substitutes’ bench to score a winner for Inter Milan against Porto in the Champions League. The Belgian striker has struggled for fitness this season but has now scored in his past two matches for the Italian side.
He tapped in a rebound in the 86th minute after his initial header struck the post. After the match he was chosen to give a post-match interview by Italian broadcasters. Lukaku is known for his language proficiency, with the 29-year-old able to speak French, German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Flemish and Italian.
Lukaku was therefore very comfortable conducting an interview in Italian. The same cannot be said for Richards, who spent one season on loan with Fiorentina in the 2014/15 season but is not quite as fluent.
While covering the Champions League for CBS Sports, Richards was challenged to translate what Lukaku was saying for the English-speaking audience. Armed with some very detailed notes, he gave it his best shot while being distracted by fellow pundit Henry and presenter Kate Abdo.
“Passion, joy, anger – what was there in that shot?” he said, translating the interviewer’s question, before giving Lukaku's response: “Truthfully there was satisfaction, we got the win which was really important that we gained the result tonight. We still won.”
At this point Henry came over and tried to scrunch up Richards’ notes on the desk in front of him, which he appeared to be reading off. “It was very important for the squad, and for the win,” he continued. “I went through tough months with injury but I am happy and available for the team to reach our goals until the end of the season.”
After finishing his translation attempt, Richards said: “Kate, you don’t do that to Thierry do ya? You put me off! I’m trying to get into the swing of things!”
Henry responded: “I can’t any more.” With none of the other people in the studio able to pass judgement on his Italian, Richards concluded: “The viewers will tell you, I was magnificent. I was brilliant.”
The replies under CBS Sports’ tweet suggest most were impressed. “He got the gist. Squad played great and got an important win,” one reply said. “Still got it @micahrichards,” wrote another. “Micah is beyond hilarious,” concluded another.
Over on BT Sport, Lukaku’s performance prompted a very different type of analysis, with Rio Ferdinand urging Chelsea to give the Belgian a chance this summer. “If he can get back fit again, this guy is proven to be a goalscorer, simple as that,” he said. “I think: new manager, give him a chance. You’ve got no-one in there that you trust at the moment – [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang isn’t even in the European squad.
“This guy, he’s just a goalscorer, he knows how to score goals. He’s not fit and he’s carrying a bit more weight than normal – than what he would like, what the club would like – yet still comes in and scores two goals in the last two games.”
