Hidetoshi Nakata is in serious danger of turning into the "Plonker of Parma." Or worse still, the Japanese Nigel Clough.
One Italian television analyst called Japan's $26 million dollar man hopeless after Parma went down 1-0 to this season's surprise package Chievo (an Italian version of Wimbledon's Crazy Gang) on Oct. 21. After yet another anemic display from Nakata, the same pundit said, "I've been watching Nakata for three months and he hasn't got a clue." Harsh, but fair. Parma's No. 10 flopped again in Sunday's 2-2 draw against Verona and was substituted in the 85th minute to a cacophony of boos from the home fans. AS Roma must have been laughing all the way to the bank after making a mint off Nakata in merchandizing revenue and then selling the midfielder in July for the sort of silly money that gives soccer a bad name.
A brief history lesson: Clough joined Liverpool in 1993 for $4 million, which would translate to about $12 million in today's inflated transfer market, and was an instant flop. He was soon relegated to the reserves and lost his England place, prompting him to join Manchester City (a desperate move if ever there was one) in 1996 in the hope of resurrecting his career. But it was too late. A year later, Clough ended up joining Sheffield Wednesday on loan, which is akin to buying a time-share bordering on Kabul airport, and hung up his boots in 1999.