What’s in a nickname? Plenty, and not necessarily good

Beware the bestowed nickname.

Genoa’s club president surely couldn’t have known the onerous burden he was putting on Gian Piero Gasperini, then the team’s coach, by nicknaming him “Gasperson.”

Getting compared, even loosely, to legendary Manchester United Coach Alex Ferguson in the fond form of a nickname can only backfire. And in this case spectacularly.

Gasperini was fired by Genoa in 2010, having been there since 2006. But the way events are unfolding for Gasperini at Inter Milan, where he replaced Leonardo, he will be lucky to survive for four more weeks, let alone four seasons.

Not only is Inter Milan still searching for its first win after two Seria A games this season, far more damaging was a stunning 1-0 loss at home to Turkish team Trabzonspor in UEFA Champions League Group B play Wednesday.

Trabzonspor reached the Champions League only by virtue of a game-fixing scandal involving Turkish champion Fenerbahce. The Turkish federation substituted Trabzonspor in Fenerbahce’s place.

Those details are beside the point in Italy, where second guessing is second nature and not having an opinion is the exception. You would think Gasperini would understand that, considering his long history as a player and coach. Still he lashed out at the overheated atmosphere after the loss in Champions League.

“When a team like Inter loses it is normal to be criticized but the quality of discussion in these days wasn’t normal,” Gasperini said after the loss to fifa.com. “It seems as if it’s been conducted by people who’ve never spoken about football before. It’s wrong to turn it into a debate about three or four at the back.”

Normal? Awfully hard to say what is precisely normal in Italy when it comes to soccer.

Highlight reel

In the Europa League last week, attacking midfielder Mathieu Bodmer of Paris St. Germain scored on a sensational volley from the top of the area against Red Bull Salzburg.

His one-timed blast came a minute from halftime and made it 2-0. PSG went on to defeat Salzburg, 3-1.

Bodmer’s score is an early nominee for goal of the season. At least until the next round.

Daily dose of David

Speaking of PSG, the big-spending French club became the latest among several teams said to be interested in the Galaxy’s David Beckham. Leonardo, the sporting director of PSG, was quoted as saying the “door is open” for Beckham.

Thankfully, it could mean closing the door on future fun and spoofs on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Beckham posed as a Target employee, pitching his cologne in the store, with DeGeneres issuing directions from her studio show.

Hilarity followed, however briefly.

The problem wasn’t Beckham, who was an eager and game trouper, but that only the skit went on about two minutes too long. Think of the last, often quite painful, half an hour of “Saturday Night Live” in some of the lean years and you get the idea.

lisa.dillman@latimes.com

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