Dhorasoo Gets a Job!

You know when your chronically unemployed relative (we all have one, right?) finally lands a series of interviews? And you don’t want to say anything, because everybody’s been disappointed before, plus you don’t want to jinx it?

That’s how I’ve been with Vikash Dhorasoo. There have been rumors in the French and Italian press for a couple of weeks now about a contract with Livorno, but I was kind of waiting for it to show up in the English-speaking press. My assumption being that English-speaking readers don’t care enough about Vikash to spread unsubstantiated rumors. (Yours truly excepted, of course.)

In case you’ve forgotten, here’s a quick re-cap on our Vikash’s year from hell. (And I’m going by memory here, so forgive me if I leave something out.)

To start with, Vikash is thirty-three. That’s the first thing you need to keep in mind. He was named to the France World Cup team last year, but played only sixteen minutes. He used the opportunity to make a film of the experience (the critically lauded “The Substitute”) and in the process ticked off everybody at the France NT. He was outspoken about the way he felt he was being treated at Paris St. Germain, which resulted in his being the first player sacked in France in…oh, what? Twenty years? Thirty? This resulted in free agent status, which brought about a lot of interest during the January transfer window and a trial at Fulham. But an ankle injury brought those dreams crashing down as well. And then this summer he was linked for a brief period to Sochaux, but that too came to nothing.

So, yes, I was hesitant to report any not-quite-verified happy news about Vikash until it was a sure thing. Which (knock wood and cross your fingers) it seems to be at last. Depending on which source you read, Vikash has apparently signed either a one- or two-year contract with the Italian team Livorno.

Granted, Livorno isn’t Milan, his team from 04-05. But it is Serie A. And it does allow him to be, still, a “footballer by trade” — those words that gave me such maternal pangs back in January. And we are choosing to completely ignore those little words in the English article: “Livorno have inserted a clause in the contract, allowing them to sever ties with the player should he fail to meet the required physical standards.” Because it won’t happen. Right?

So go, Vikash! We’re proud of you! I’m quite certain that this one will work out!