One of the greatest things about the growth of Youtube is that many ex-players are being encouraged to have their own channels and speak to other footballers.
Now when you see Carlos Valderrama and Faustino Asprilla in the same conversation, you can only expect interesting and funny stories to come out of the interview.
The former Newcastle United striker is featured in a video on Valderrama’s channel this week, being called a ‘special guest’ in a chat of 37 minutes.
One of the funniest stories date back to the 1996-97 season, when Asprilla left Parma to join the Magpies, and Hernan Crespo was signed by the Serie A side to replace him.
It turns out that they were friends, and when knowing that the Argentine striker was having some trouble in his adaptation to Europe, Asprilla tried to help him. The quotes have all been transcribed by Colombian outlet Futbol Red.
“When I left for Newcastle, Gustavo Mascardi took Hernan Crespo to Parma. And starting it went very badly, it upset him that he couldn’t stop the fans, people asked who’s this guy. Hernan was desperate. So Gustavo called me and asked me to go to Parma to talk to Crespo.
“One day Newcastle gave us three days off, so I took a plane and went to Parma. We went with Crespo to eat and asked him what was happening to him; He replied that nothing was going on. I asked him who he lived with in Parma, and he told me that with his parents. ‘And the girlfriend?’ I asked him, and he replied that she was in Argentina.
“And how long have you not hit that cuddy toy?’ And he tells me ‘I don’t know, six months ago or what, I don’t know’. So I thought, this is a mental problem.
“Then I had some Colombian friends, so I called Natalia, who was just those days in Parma. I introduced them and asked her to go out with Crespo, and they started dating and a hitting that cuddy toy. And Hernan didn’t stop scoring goals. Problem solved!”
It turns out that Asprilla’s advice may have really helped Crespo, since he ended up being top scorer for Parma in the following years, being sold to Lazio in a €35.5m deal in 2000, becoming the most expensive player in the world at the time.
