Moody Blue: The Story of Mysterious Marco

by Marco Negri, Jeff Holmes

Marco Negri was born to score goals - though little did he know that 13 years after cutting his teeth with Serie A side Udinese, he would become a cult hero in Scotland. The road to Glasgow Rangers saw him strike prolifically for Cosenza and Perugia, alerting all the Italian superpowers. However, an opportunity with Lazio - when he was invited along on the day they unveiled Paul Gascoigne - passed him by.

But when Walter Smith shelled out £3.5m for the 27-year-old, Rangers fans were in for a mighty shock. Negri smashed in 33 goals in his first 29 games, breaking goalscoring records galore, reunited with Gazza and in tandem with Laudrup. A match made in heaven? Perhaps not, as an eye injury was soon to halt this goal-grabbing juggernaut. Frustrating injuries, reports of unrest and loan deals ruled the remainder of his time at Ibrox.

Neverthless, Marco Negri's name was already written in Rangers history, his cult status as inevitable as fans' tantalising tales of what might have been. For the first time, here is the astonishing story of one of football's most enigmatic characters.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Tony Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful account of Negri's career and especially his time at Rangers where he started off a sensation and ended as an after thought due to injury. Well worth a read.