P140
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
"K
eep your friends
close, and your
enemies closer." The
original quote (thanks Wikipedia)
has been attributed to, among
others, Machiavelli, whose name
is a byword for devious manipu-
lation.
His fellow Italian Valentino
Rossi has often been consid-
ered Machiavellian, but on the
strength of the above dictum, it
is inappropriate.
He keeps his friends close,
that's for sure. Italian journalists
who know him well speak about
his "Magic Circle," within which
he feels comfortable and pro-
tected.
But Rossi has never made
any secret of his enmities. And
in more cases than not, they
started out as friends.
Well, "friends." Another
great Italian philosopher, An-
drea Dovizioso, once replied
to my question as to whether
he regarded his very close but
unfailingly cheerful rivalry with
then teammate Cal Crutchlow as
a friendship, saying: "'Friend' is a
big word."
Cordial relations don't nec-
essarily stretch that far, espe-
cially when you are competing
at world championship level.
But recipients of the great man
Rossi's very considerable charm
could be forgiven for thinking
DEADLY FRIENDS
