Getty ImagesScotland midfielder Scott McTominay’s success at Napoli has seen him celebrated with his own pizza topping that combines Italian ingredients with square sausage.
McTominay has been thriving since his surprise move to Naples from Manchester United last summer, with his impressive performances helping the club as they close in on the Serie A title.
The Scotland international has become a cult hero in the city, with a mural of him already adorning one of the city’s walls, and merchandise carrying his name and image.
Now the home of pizza has dedicated a topping to McTominay, combining Italian and Scottish cooking in a gastronomic tribute.
Pizza chef Antonio Troncone of the Carrasco pizzeria said he had been inspired by watching an interview with the player.
McTominay was nicknamed “McSauce” during his time in Manchester but has picked up other sobriquets since moving to Naples. The 28-year-old has been labelled “McTerminator”, “MacGyvery” and “apribottiglie”, which means “bottle opener” and refers to his knack of scoring opening goals.
The player himself revealed that his favourite is “McFratm”, which translates as “McBro” or “McBrother”, adding that it’s a name given to him by Napoli’s home-grown wing-back Pasquale Mazzocchi.
Troncone said that showed a link with the heart of the city and prompted him to imagine the perfect pizza for the player.
“My idea started from that phrase” he said. “It struck me because it was simple, authentic.
“Here ‘fratm’ is not said by chance. It’s an important word. It’s a way of saying: you’re one of us”.
The McFratm pizza has a white base, fior di latte from Agerola, baked potatoes and lorne sausage and is then topped with flakes of melted cheddar and a drizzle of olive oil.
“I thought that a pizza dedicated to McTominay had to be immediately recognizable, without too many frills” Troncone told Italian media.
“It had to be generous, tasty, but with balance. Strong without being arrogant. Like his way of being on the pitch.
“I also thought about how McTominay would eat it. Without too much ceremony, but with taste.
“It’s a pizza to chat with friends about, to eat with your hands, maybe after a win. But it’s also good when there’s a draw. Because fratm is always fratm.”
Surprisingly, the pizza doesn’t contain tomatoes, after the midfielder raved about local produce earlier this year.
“Oh my goodness,” the midfielder told The Athletic, “The tomatoes. Bellissimo.
“I never ate them at home. They’re just red water. Here, they actually taste like tomatoes. Now I eat them as a snack. I eat all the vegetables, all of the fruits. It is all so fresh. It’s incredible.”
McTominay has scored 11 goals in 31 Serie A appearances with Napoli this season. The team holds a three-point lead over Inter at the top of the Serie A table with three games to play.
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