Gervinho: ‘People said I was done but they were very wrong’

Parma’s winger, back in Serie A after a spell in China, on crying when he joined Arsenal and why his upbringing means he has no regrets

Gervinho picked up the ball just outside his own penalty area and started to run upfield. The Parma winger had six Cagliari defenders up against him and only one teammate. By the time he had got to the halfway line he had escaped two wild sliding challenges while keeping the ball under control. One burst then took him past the last remaining midfielder and a final injection of speed left the central defender beaten. Finally, after a 70-yard run not dissimilar to George Weah’s goal for Milan in 1996, he dispatched a right-foot shot that went in off the inside of the post.

The Parma midfielder Luca Rigoni was so stunned that he started applauding rather than celebrating. The whole Parma bench surrounded Gervinho to congratulate him. The Ivorian was back at the very highest level, scoring in the Serie A again, two and a half years after he left for the Chinese Super League.

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