They look the same?

Thanks loads to Amanda, who had sent me this article and translated it. This had appeared in the May 2000 issue of Sportif, although this is actually a restatement of other articles. And I think he was just being sarcastic about the Keanu Reeves thing. Whatever. Ah, well, enjoy!

ALESSIO TACCHINARDI

A Spanish-style penthouse is consigned on top of the Turin hill. Inside, there's a computer, digital television, and a small staircase to the only room in the house. There is also a set of unique windows like in children's' fairy tales. This window--whatever the style is--is the best thing to look at the world outside.

This small house is of Italian architecture. It seems that the owner, Alessio Tacchinardi, wants to be given attention. And that is what the fat is. The Juventus midfielder played with all his might and was finally noticed by Dino Zoff, the Italy team's allenatore.

"He has stolen Zoff's attention in the right way," Carlo Ancelotti, the Juventus manager, said. "He has taken a spot that Del Piero usually inhabits in the public's heart."

25-year old Tacchinardi's popularity has defeated that of Alessandro Del Piero. According to a poll that was done by fan clubs, the ex-Atalanta player, who was born in Crema, became the Bianconeri's tifosi's favorite. When he first came to join the Bianconeri six years ago, even up until last season, this handsome youngster was considered nothing.

What changes did this first child of three experience? Why didn't he move to Lazio?

Sportif provides the answers from his interview that was taken from various sources.

After living in this penthouse, you seem to have experienced some changes. Is it a psycho-geographic influence?

"This is the third house I've lived in since I came to Turin six years ago. The two previous houses were lease-houses. Then, I bought this place, so I won't ever move again. Oh, yeah, and the psycho-geographic case...after I moved in to this place, I feel calm. I was fortunate to find this house, a place that makes my life more meaningful."

This actually doesn't look like a football player's house....

"There actually aren't any Juventus pictures here. Here, I release the thing that burden my mind. I separate my personal life from my professional life. I go home, turn on the stereo, switch on the CD player, and my brain is freed from all the problems that I have. I keep all the trophies and the things that concern football in my house in Crema."

Don't you go out often?

"I used to like going to discos or bars. When I had a problem in Juventus, I didn't immediately try to solve it. I gave it some thought later on, and it made me giddy. Now, I feel much calmer. I enjoy waking up late, going to the newsstands, and then having breakfast...."

Are you doing that because you are older?

"I've also been thinking about it. I am 25; I'm more mature. The things that I thought about when I was 20 have been forgotten."

And has this maturity finally affected you on the field?

"Yes, perhaps that is true. Lately, I suddenly like to remedy on the field. The other players know about it. But, they let me do it, because they believe I still have control to play the game."

How important is the call to the national team?

"This is a matter of pride. I can't say how happy I was to join the Azzurri. If you are in a club like Juventus. you have to be ready to compete with many of he best players in the world. There is nothing else you can do except learn from them."

How do you judge your performance and the chances to play in Euro 2000?

"My game has had a meaningful progress. I have high expectations to play in Euro 2000. I've shown what I can do in the friendly against Sweden, and I am sure Zoff remembers it."

In what have you been better?

"(In emotions) about calmness. I haven't any more burdens when I play. I don't care about the critics anymore as well, as for when I play badly."

Six years in Juve and you have only shone now, this season. Why so?

"I was tortured by the public's opinion. Once, I played badly, and for days, they talked about it. No one wanted to know what problem I was having. All they could think about was that I played and behaved badly. This season, I was able to erase that pain in my heart and the realization has made my performance better."

Who gives you inspiration?

"I can name Didier Deschamps and Matias Almeyda. Deschamps may have taken my position when he was here, but from the reserve bench, I could watch his performance, observe his role, and compare his way of playing from mine. One of my dreams is to face him as an adversary on the field one day. But don't think Deschamps granted this position as a gift to me by moving to Chelsea. I have gained it on my own with the agreement from the coach and my colleagues."

Has the thought of moving from Juventus ever crossed your mind?

"I thought about it so many times during those hard times. But I didn't tell my friends. If you want to give a good impression to everyone, you have to be able to behave nicely and properly."

When did that happen, the hard times?

"When Juventus bought Paolo Montero. I felt like I didn't have a place in the team anymore. The coach said that he didn't want to see me play as a libero. I entered the field in anger. At home, I smashed more objects than I have ever smashed before in my entire life."

Do you regret not moving to Lazio?

"Yes. Perhaps it was a mistake to not go to Lazio. They are an ambitious and big club. But I have to say, now, all I have to do is enjoy the result of my decision to stay with Juventus."

What is the result?

"By staying here, you will lack nothing. I could just come to Moggi, Giraudo, and Bettega, and be angry at them. They were the ones who refused to sell me to Lazio. But that means they regard me as a valuable player. I believe in them, like I believe in the Agnellis. They still have faith in me."

What exactly happened between you and Marcello Lippi?

"Forget about it."

We would like to try to discuss this seriously....

"I had five years of glory with him. But, to be honest, I wasn't contented. It's like, there are times when you fight with your wife, right?"

And then Ancelotti came and lifted you up?

"With all due respect to Lippi, in my opinion, Ancelotti is the best. He has never thought of himself. When he came, I said in my heart, 'Bravo!' If Ancelotti hadn't seen me at all, I still would have practiced hard."

But you didn't like it when Sunday Oliseh came?

"When Juventus bought Oliseh, I said to myself, 'I am doomed. I am really going to be kicked out from Juve.' But Ancelotti turned out to choose me."

Are you close with Ancelotti?

"He has a closer relationship with other people in the team than I do with him. They call him with 'tu', while I still call him 'Lei'."

Is he the main factor that Juve has revived?

"It's the team who gave the good results to him. A coach should be able to place himself appropriately in the team so that it won't seem that he's overpowering the players. There are some coaches who believe that they are the most important person in the team, meaning, he works for himself."

Is there a hidden meaning behind that statement?

"You mean Lippi? I don't want to talk about it."

Who is the leader of Juventus (in your opinion)?

"Montero."

How does Del Piero mean anything to you?

"Since Angelo Di Livio moved to Fiorentina, I have made Alex my role model. He's my roommate, and he's a year older than I am. We have been friends since we were sixteen. Every time, I always joke with him by reminding him of the old enmity between us. I say, 'Be careful, Alex, if I ever have to face you as an enemy again.... We will be adversaries once again like when you were still in Padova, and I was in Atalanta.'"

Is it true that you are the cousin of Keanu Reeves?

"Yes. I have an aunt in the United States whom I haven't seen in a long time. She is also a relative of Reeves. You think we look the same? Get real!"

You are handsome. Have you ever thought of being a model or an actor?

"No. I am a footballer, although sometimes, I like to adore my own pictures in various poses. I've never even thought of what I'd be if I weren't a football player."

Keanu: 'Dodging bullets and pickets'

Date:22-Jun-2002
From:Teletext
(The detail is here)

Page 1: Keanu: 'Dodging bullets and pickets'

Reeves: At risk

Keanu: 'Dodging bullets and pickets'

By Our Hollywood Correspondent

Keanu Reeves had to dodge bullets and pickets while making Hardball - and they weren't part of the film's storyline. "One night we had to shut down production because of gunfire just 50 yards from the set," admits the Matrix star.

To give it a more authentic atmosphere the baseball film was shot near Chicago's gang-infested Cabrini Green housing project.

Filming had to be stopped after pickets were organised by Chicago mayor Richard Daley. They were opposing the use of bad language by the child characters.

"We found out they hadn't even read the screenplay - they'd been paid to protest," says Keanu Reeves.

Paramount Pictures donated new new computers to local schools in an effort to get rid of the protesters.

In the movie, based on Daniel Coyle's true-life book, Reeves plays the coach of a little league baseball team on a notorious Chicago housing project.

The 37-year-old actor is proud of the film's message that sport can boost the pride of deprived children.

"It's really a hopeful movie about having second chances and not giving in to adversity," says Reeves.

Page 2: Back to The Matrix

Back to The Matrix Hardball is not Keanu Reeves' first sports-themed film. In 2000, he starred as an American football player in The Replacements. But neither gridiron nor baseball was important to him while growing up.

Ice hockey was the game of choice for Keanu and his peers in Canada.

"I grew up in Toronto and you learn pretty quickly in Canada to play hockey or your peers can make life miserable for you," he says.

The actor recently completed a rigorous shooting schedule on The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both due out next year.

Making the sequels, which were shot together, was more physically demanding than the original, he admits. It included six-hour daily training sessions.

"It was very tough. You wouldn't want to be my knees in the morning before I started limbering up," he laughs.

He knows expectations for both pictures are high. Despite the obvious risk that such overhyped sequels could be a let down, Reeves is confident the writers/ directors Andy and Larry Wachowski will pull it off.

"They have really pushed themselves creatively and technically and we all had to work to our maximum capability," he adds.