One of the players playing extremely well at the moment is Genoa fantasista Raffaele Palladino. Palladino has always been a player that could do things with the ball that others could only dream of doing, but he never had the consistency to show that talent at a high level. Palladino is now an important part of Gian Piero Gasperini’s Genoa side, and he’s the one that can make the difference up front for the Rossoblu. It looks like now at the age of 25 he has finally reached the point where he can be consistent enough to show his incredible skill.

Palladino grew up in the Juventus youth system, and in 2004 was sent on loan first to Salernitana, where he had an excellent season in Serie B, and then the following year to Livorno, where he had a decent season in Serie A. He immediately became an important part of the Italy U-21 side, first under Claudio Gentile and then under Pierluigi Casiraghi. With Juventus’ relegation to Serie B, he was taken back to the home base and played a role in Didier Deschamps’ Juve side that won promotion. At first he didn’t play as much, but his versatility led him to play many games, as he could play as a second punta, a winger, or as a trequartista. The following season he stayed with the Bianconeri on their return to Serie A, but with the purchase of Vincenzo Iaquinta, Palladino was essentially the 4th striker. When he did play he showed good things, and Roberto Donadoni even gave him a shot in two national team games. He even earned the nickname “Raf Alladino” (Raf Aladdin, because of the magic tricks he worked with the ball) from fans. However, Palladino needed to play, and so in the summer of 2008 his old Juventus youth team manager, Gian Piero Gasperini, brought him to Genoa on a co-ownership deal, and gave him a chance to show his stuff.

His 2008-2009 didn’t start well, as a bad knee injury kept him out for most of the first part of the season, but upon his return he worked himself back into the side and played a very important part towards the end of the season, scoring a crucial winning goal vs. Juventus and then making some nice assists for his teammates. This past summer, Genoa decided to renew the co-ownership deal and keep him for one more season. The start of this season was also injury troubled, as a bad virus kept him out until mid-September. But Palladino was back with a bang. He immediately started playing really well, and against Fiorentina scored an amazing back-heeled goal against Sebastian Frey. Palladino has continued to play well, and now that he is healthy and motivated he seems to be finally showing his talent.

If he can continue, a return to the national team is a possibility. Palladino’s mix of speed, technique, and ability to do whatever he wants with the ball at any instant can be of great use to a national team lacking in creativity. However, we’ll have to see if he can keep it up all season, as consistency has always been his problem.

After the international break, the man of the moment is undoubtedly Alberto Gilardino. The Fiorentina striker scored 4 goals in 2 matches with the Azzurri, including the impressive hat trick in 14 minutes vs. Cyprus. He now has 16 goals in 38 appearances (now level with Gianluca Vialli and Luca Toni) for the Azzurri and looks to be the headline striker heading into South Africa this June. His time at Milan may have hurt his reputation, with many fans saying he was just a one hit wonder, he could only score for small clubs, he couldn’t handle the pressure of a big team, he can’t score in Europe, he was a diving cheat, etc. However now at Fiorentina he is pretty much silencing all those critics, as he is one of the top goalscorers in Serie A and scores in the Champions League as well. Scoring goals for Fiorentina isn’t easy, and Gila is showing that he truly is one of Italy’s greatest goalscorers. Let’s hope he continues to shine, because the Nazionale needs a reliable striker. Gila video after the jump.

Let’s start by saying that Roberto Baronio isn’t exactly a household name in Italian calcio. The casual fan may not even know who Roberto Baronio is or what position he plays (Baronio is a classic regista that plays in front of the defense and dictates the play. His passing skills are excellent, especially his long passing, and he is good at set pieces). However, he was supposed to be a household name. I would never even think I would be dedicating an article to Roberto Baronio, but his story has caught my eye at the start of this season. Coming up as a youngster in the Brescia youth system, Baronio was touted to be one of the best talents Italy would produce in the late 90’s and the next great Italian midfielder. Baronio made his Serie A debut with Brescia as a 17 year old in 1995 and in the summer of 1996 many clubs wanted his signature.

Lazio (then owned by free-spending Sergio Cragnotti) won the race and signed the young 19 year old and Italy U-21 international (with whom he debuted in 1995 and remained a mainstay in midfield for 5 years, winning the 2000 U-21 European Championship) for 10 million lira. His first season at Lazio was ok, making 15 appearances and used mainly as a sub. He was loaned to Vicenza for the 1997-98 season but he couldn’t break into the first team. His return to Lazio in 1998-99 was worse because that’s when Lazio started to become a force in Italy and he had to compete for a place in midfeild with players like Matias Almeyda and Dejan Stankovic. Baronio wasn’t getting enough room and he couldn’t explode onto the scene like he was expected to. In the summer of 1999, Reggina decided to co-own Baronio for 2.5 million lira. Reggina had also obtained a young Andrea Pirlo on loan from Inter, and so Reggina’s first choice center midfield pairing was Baronio and Pirlo.

This season was finally when Baronio lived up to his potential. Together with Pirlo, the 22 year old midfielder was a star in midfield for the Amaranto, playing 31 times and scoring 3 goals, and Reggina avoided relegation. For his efforts, Baronio also won the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year award in 2000. Lazio had to buy him back fully for 10 million lira (the same amount they had bought him from Brescia for originally) and he signed a new 5 year contract. However on his return to Lazio, who had just won the Scudetto, he had players like Juan Sebastian Veron and Diego Simeone in front of him and he only made 12 appearances.

Then the loans started. First to Fiorentina, where he did well and made 21 appearances, but the club went bankrupt at the end of the season. Then to Serse Cosmi’s Perugia, where he didn’t feature as much, only making 11 appearances. It seemed that Baronio would never confirm the awesome season he had in Reggio Calabria. But then he was thrown a lifeline- Chievo. From 2003-2005 Baronio spent 2 seasons on loan in Verona, collecting 50 appearances and putting in great performances for the Flying Donkeys. Baronio became one of the most consistent players in Serie A and in the summer of 2005 his play was rewarded with a national team call-up by Marcello Lippi for Italy’s North American tour. (Baronio played for Italy at Giants Stadium vs Ecuador, I was actually at that game).

With Baronio’s renewed confidence he returned to Lazio looking to be a protagonist. However the next roadblock to Baronio’s career arrived in the summer of 2005: Delio Rossi. For whatever reason, Delio Rossi simply did not like Roberto Baronio. First, Fabio Liverani was already at Lazio and is a very similar player to Baronio. Second, since Rossi preferred Liverani, Baronio was left most of the time on the bench or in the stands. He only made 7 appearances in the first half of the season and to find space was loaned to Udinese for the rest of the season. In Friuli he made 10 appearances, but was nothing spectacular.

In the summer of 2006, with Liverani on his way to Fiorentina, Baronio returned hoping to finally have a first time place solidified. However, yet another roadblock. Delio Rossi brought Cristian Ledesma, who he had managed at Lecce, to the Biancocelesti. And therefore, Ledesma was preferred as the midfield orchestrator. Baronio made a couple of appearances but again spent most of his time watching from the bench or the stands. In the summer of 2007 he was considered surplus to requirements by Delio Rossi and was close to moving to Spanish club Levante, but the transfer fell through at the last moment. So having to stay at Lazio, Baronio spent the entire season in the stands and became one of Lazio’s famous “esuberi” (the players that were no longer wanted by the club and forced to train on their own, having almost no contact with the first team.) Baronio himself said that “Delio Rossi never spoke to me. He only did when he was forced to but that was it. Lotito treated me well though.”

On the last day of the Summer 2008 transfer market, Baronio was handed another lifeline. This time it was hometown club Brescia who saved him, and acquired him on a season long loan. So after 12 years, Baronio finally returned to the club that he grew up with and his job was to lead them back to Serie A. Baronio immediately became an important player and started almost every game, playing 31 times and scoring 2 goals. Brescia reached the promotion play-off final, but lost to Livorno. Baronio returned to Lazio yet again, but this time things were looking bright. First, Delio Rossi had left the club and Davide Ballardini was hired. Second, Cristian Ledesma wanted to leave desperately, so Lazio would need a player like Baronio in midfield.

Because of the long transfer saga, Ledesma was frozen out of the squad along with Goran Pandev, and in pre-season Ballardini started to use Baronio. Surprisingly, Baronio started in the SuperCoppa win vs. Inter in August and even played very well. Now we are 3 weeks into the season and Baronio has been a pleasant surprise for Lazio fans. He has started every game and has given excellent performances so far (his latest being today’s Europa League loss). He is now an irremovable part of Ballardini’s midfield and finally showing Italy all of his skill and talent. It took a long time, but it looks like now at the age of 31 Baronio is finally showing all of the calcio world what he is made out of. As the saying goes, better late then never.

Most Italian soccer fans should be familiar with the name of Andrea Russotto. As a youngster he was dubbed as “the next Roberto Baggio” and “Antonio Cassano with a level head” but up until now he has not even been close to living up to those names. His story is a bit particular, and for those of you that don’t know it here it is. In 2004, Russotto, already a regular in the national youth teams and a rising star in Lazio’s youth system, was approached by GEA World (probably the biggest Italian football agency, Marcello Lippi’s son Davide was the head of the organization and was brought into the Calciopoli scandal on accusations of illegally handling player transfers) who wanted to represent the rising star. The agency basically told Russotto that if he wanted to have an important career, it was in his best interests that he sign with one of their agents. Russotto refused the pressure from GEA and to get away from their continuing pressure escaped to Switzerland, where he signed for AC Bellinzona, a team from the Italian part of Switzerland that were playing in Swiss Second Division at the time (they are now in the Swiss Super League).

Starting the 2004-2005 season at Bellinzona, the 16 year old Russotto made 9 appearances and 1 goal until January, when he was sent on loan to Roman club Cisco Roma (then called Lodigiani) where he made 1 appearance the rest of the season. That summer Russotto then showed all of his talent at the U-17 World Cup with Italy, and many Italian clubs were interested in bringing him back to the peninsula. Treviso FBC, who had just been promoted to Serie A, acquired his services on loan but made him play with the Primavera side all season (with Robert Acquafresca). However Russotto did make his debut in Serie A that season as a 17 year old and finished the season with 4 appearances. Famed magazine World Soccer even inserted Russotto on the list of the top 50 young players in the world.

The following season Treviso extended the loan (although they had been relegated to Serie B) and Russotto finally started to show signs of a potential explosion. He made his Italy U-21 debut at the age of 18 (he has 9 appearances and 2 goals with the U-21’s to date) and racked up 32 appearances and 4 goals that season. Treviso extended his loan for one more year in 2007-2008 but even though he played 31 times and scoring 1 goal, Russotto failed to perform at a high level like the previous season and was used mainly as a sub. In the summer of 2008, he finally returned to Bellinzona, but it wasn’t a long stay as Napoli decided to take a chance on him. Napoli saw a potential superstar and decided to take him on loan for the season with the right to buy him in June 2009 for 3.8 million euro. However the young fantasista was used sparingly by both Edy Reja and Roberto Donadoni and even though he always did well and showed good things when coming on, he never gained the full trust of either manager.

This past summer, Napoli decided not to exercise the buy-out clause and therefore Russotto was sent back to Switzerland again. Despite remote interest from clubs like Udinese, Lecce, Piacenza, and Gallipoli, nobody took the risk on the 21 year old Russotto. Today on the last day of the transfer market I expected a club to take a chance on him at the last minute, but nobody did. For the 2009/2010 season, Andrea Russotto is playing for Bellinzona of the Swiss Super League (where he has the shirt number 20 and has already made 2 appearances in the league). It is a little strange that no club in Italy wanted to take a chance on him. It’s mind-boggling that one of Italy’s more talented youngsters is plying his trade in the Swiss Super League. But then again, maybe there’s something we don’t know. Maybe he has an attitude problem. Maybe he doesn’t put effort in training. We don’t know, and quite frankly I don’t think we ever will. Will Russotto ever explode? It’s hard to tell. His move to Switzerland definitely puts him off the radar. He certainly has the talent to do so, but as of now, it’s still a mystery.

Russotto Video:

Often we see a young player explode onto the calcio scene and everyone turns heads and says “Where did this kid come from?”. Well, now is your chance to gain some knowledge about some promising Italian young players and maybe in a year or two when one of these players starts to do some good things on the pitch you’ll know who they are. Calciomercato.com has compiled a list of the 30 best talents Italy has to offer at the moment. Now you won’t see already established names like Giuseppe Rossi or Mario Balotelli or Alberto Paloschi on this list, these are players that are mostly still playing for their club’s Primavera or Allievi sides and are all born in 1988 or later. So we’ll see the players after the jump. Remember these names.

birth dates are Italian-style: day first, then month, then year.

GOALKEEPERS

Vincenzo Fiorillo (13.01.1990): His debut in Serie A with Sampdoria wasn’t all that great, but everyone bets that he will be the new Buffon. At the last Under-19 European Championship he won the award for best goalkeeper of the tournament. Expect him to be an Italy Under-21 regular this coming season.

Mattia Perin (10.11.1992): One of the big jewels of Genoa’s youth system. Goalkeeper with great technique, he impressed at the U-17 European Championship for Italy. He is undergoing preseason training with the first team this summer despite being only 17 years old.

DEFENDERS

Michelangelo Albertazzi (07.01.1991): Milan made a great investment a year ago buying him from Bologna and beating Arsenal and Manchester United to his signature. A high class center-back, in a few years he should be an Italy international.

Vincenzo Camilleri (06.03.1992): A fast center-back and excellent at anticipating the play, Camilleri was poached by Chelsea in the summer of 2008, but he was unhappy in England and returned to Reggina after 6 months. His value is immense, the big English clubs rarely buy foreign players for their academy that won’t turn out to be potential superstars. Should get some first-team opportunities with Reggina this season, despite only being 17.

Matteo Darmian (02.12.1989): Was the captain of Milan’s Primavera side, very fast and compact defender, he also can play right-back. Will be a part of Milan’s first team this season.

Federico Maria Erba (04.06.1989): Central defender with a big physique, owned by Roma. Spent last season on loan at Lanciano in Lega Pro, and this summer will most likely be loaned out again or sold in co-ownership.

Marco Davide Faraoni (25.10.1991): Elegant central defender that can also play on the right. He has brilliant skill, but hasn’t debuted in Serie A yet. Lazio has a lot of faith in him, as well as the youth national teams.

Fabio Lucioni (25.09.1987): Emerging talent from Lega Pro, 29 games and 5 goals with Noicattaro, he was probably the best defender in the Italian third division. Very attentive and compact, he has a lot of offers from Serie B. He is owned by Ternana.

Andrea Signorini (31.01.1990): Coming off a good season, with Genoa’s win in the Coppa Italia Primavera and making his Serie A debut with the Rossoblu. He won the award for the best Primavera defender last season and it seems he has the ability to follow in the footsteps of his father Gianluca, the former captain and idol of Genoa fans.

Simone Sini (09.04.1992): Captain of Roma’s Allievi squad, he is a confident defender and very good on set pieces. It seemed that Manchester United was interested in him, but Roma are not letting this talent slip.

Alessandro Tuia (08.06.1990): Central defender that resembles Alessandro Nesta both physically and technically, but Tuia is also a free-kick specialist. Captain of the Lazio Primavera, he will get some first-team experience at Monza this season.

MIDFIELDERS

Federico Carraro (23.06.1992): The star player of Fiorentina’s Allievi side that won the Scudetto this season, he is also gaining an important place on the national team level as well. He can play as a second striker or as a winger, he is a free-kick specialist and is one of the most talented players of his generation. He is gaining comparisons to Antonio Cassano.

Alessandro De Vitis (15.02.1992): A quality midfielder, captain of the Under 17 national team. Very good at reading the game and breaking up the play as well as starting it, he is another gem of the Fiorentina youth system.

Marzo Ezio Fossati (05.10.1992): Central midfielder with delicate feet, he made the move from Milan’s youth system to Inter’s. He knows how to create the play and can play as a deep-lying playmaker or as an attacking midfielder. Gets compared to Andrea Pirlo.

Andrea Poli (29.09.1989): Along with Luca Cigarini he is considered one of Pirlo’s heirs in Italian football. Tons of quality, skill, and tactical sense, had an excellent first year as a professional with Sassuolo last season. Sampdoria has a lot of faith in him.

Silvano Raggio Garibaldi (27.03.1989): A classic “incontrista” like Gattuso, Raggio Garibaldi is excellent at winning balls in midfield. Last season on loan at Pisa he didn’t do anything spectacular, but Genoa has a lot of faith in his ability.

Nicola Rigoni (12.11.1990): Brilliant product of the Vicenza youth system, he was bought by Palermo this summer despite Udinese’s interest. Central midfielder with an intimidating physique, he has an excellent sense of positioning and has drawn comparisons to Massimo Ambrosini. Next season he will play on loan at Vicenza to gain experience.

Marco Augusto Romizi (13.02.1990): A complete midfielder,voted the best of the 2008/2009 Primavera season. Another gem of the Fiorentina youth system, he has been compared to David Pizzarro, he knows how to break up the play as well as start it, he has excellent long passing ability and can shoot from long distance. Corvino is sure he will become a great player, he just needs some time.

STRIKERS

Gianmarco Zigoni (10.05.1991): Son of ex-Verona and Juve striker Gianfranco Zigoni. Milan beat Juve to his signature and signed him from Treviso. Tall and elegant, he has skills similar to his father and is a very promising target man-type striker.

Giacomo Beretta: (14.03.1992): When Milan signed him Galliani said they signed the “best Italian player born in 1992″. Giacomo Beretta has a incredible knack for scoring goals and was highly praised by AlbinoLeffe coaches. The Varese-born striker scored loads of goals for the AlbinoLeffe Primavera, even earning call-ups to the U-17 and U-19 national teams.

Camillo Ciano (22.02.1990): Leader of Napoli’s Primavera side and top scorer of Group C of this year’s Primavera season. He sees the goal well and also can score from free-kicks. Napoli has faith in his talent.

Simone Dell’Agnello (12.04.1992): Star of the U17 National Team, with Inter’s Allievi side he has scored boatloads of goals. Next year he will play with the Primavera. He is a very promising center-forward, strong with his head, but also good with his feet. Inter director Paolillo recently said “He reminds me of Luca Toni.”

Mattia Destro (20.03.1991): A true definition of the Italian term “bomber”, Destro is a complete and courageous striker who never stops scoring. His Primavera teammate Luca Caldirola likened him to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a bold paragon, but one that the young striker can handle. Mourinho is said to like his talent very much and he is currently in preseason training with the first team and will be a part of the first team roster for this season. Maybe Inter have found the new Santon or Balotelli.

Stephan El Shaarawi (27.10.1992): Born in Savona to an Egyptian father and an Italian mother, El Shaarawi is one of Italy’s most promising strikers. Elegant and very technical, he is a star of Genoa’s Primavera side at only 17 years of age and is a star for the Italian national youth teams as well. Debuted in Serie A vs Chievo this season at only 16 years of age.

Alberto Libertazzi (01.01.1992): Big physical striker owned by Juve, impressed for the Allievi side this season. Many scouts say he is a very similar player to David Trezeguet.

Federico Macheda (22.08.1991): We already know everything about him, those goals for Manchester United made him famous. Should get more playing time next season and Casiraghi said he will be a part of the new Italy U-21 side.

Guido Marilungo (09.08.1989) Second striker or attacking midfielder, the Sampdoria jewel had a good debut in Serie A, 6 appearances and 3 goals. He won the Golden Boy award for being the best player at this year’s Viareggio Tournament, and will gain experience at Sampdoria this season learning form Antonio Cassano. He will also probably be a part of the new U-21 side.

Ettore Mendicino (11.02.1990): A very aggressive and courageous striker, he knows how to move around the attack and play on the offside line. He could be a revelation for Lazio.

Gianvito Misuraca (02.04.1990): Attacking midfielder or second striker, Misuraca has a good physique and excellent technical ability. One of the stars of Palermo’s Primavera Scudetto victory. He has drawn comparisons to Francesco Totti in style of play and will play at Vicenza next season to gain experience.

Manuel Nocciolini (18.05.1989): One of Fiorentina’s best youth products, in his first season in Lega Pro he scored 6 goals for Cuoiopelli Cappiano. He will spend another year on loan to gain more exprience, but Pantaleo Corvino is a big fan of the young striker, who plays on the offside line like Inzaghi and knows how to finish.

Today it was reported that at 35 years of age, Roma striker Vincenzo Montella has decided to retire. Montella was one of the best strikers Italy has ever produced and one of Italy’s deadliest strikers in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Short in stature and nicknamed “L’Aeroplanino” (Little Airplane) for his trademark goal celebration (pictured), Montella had a lethal left foot and seemed to find the net from any angle, scoring some beautiful goals. Along with his finishing ability, Montella had awesome technical ability for a pure striker, technique that you would often see in attacking midfielders, not a clinical finisher like him. The one problem Montella had was injuries. He was too frail to take himself to the top level of the game. However he still made an excellent career for himself. Montella story after the jump.

Vincenzo Montella was born in Napoli, but like many Neapolitan players (Antonio Di Natale, Francesco Lodi just to name a few), made the move to Empoli’s youth system at a young age and was brought up in Tuscany. At the time Empoli was in Serie C1 and he made his debut at 16 years of age in 1990, and stayed for 5 seasons scoring 26 goals in 51 appearances. In 1995 he was transferred to Genoa, who were in Serie B, and as a 21 year old he scored 21 goals in 34 appearances, proving that he was a very bright prospect. However that summer, Montella wanted to play in Serie A, and he got his wish but was transferred to Genoa’s rivals Sampdoria.

At first Sampdoria fans were a little skeptic of Montella, since he was a Genoa player, but Montella quickly became a fan favorite, in large part because of the 22 goals he scored in 28 games. That goalscoring record is still the best ever for an Italian debutant in Serie A. The following season he scored another 20 goals in 33 games, but in his third season suffered injury problems and without their star striker Samp were relegated. In the summer of 1999 Roma won the battle for his signature.

In his first season (also Fabio Capello’s first season) with the Giallorossi Montella was a starter and scored 18 goals, which earned him a place in Dino Zoff’s Italy side for Euro 2000. The following season was different however, because of the arrival of Gabriel Batistuta. At first the trouble started when Batistuta wanted the number 9 shirt (Montella refused to give it up, forcing Batistuta to take 18). Then, Capello didn’t seem to like the Montella-Batistuta partnership and favored Delvecchio-Batistuta instead. So the first part of the season wasn’t a good one for L’Aeroplanino but in the second part of the season he proved to be crucial, scoring important goals and finishing the season with 13 goals and a Scudetto. In 2001-2002, he had the game of his life in the Rome derby, scoring 4 goals vs. Lazio, which is still a record. He also had his best game with the National Team, scoring 2 goals vs. England to lead Italy to victory 2-1 in a pre-World Cup friendly at Elland Road. He represented the Azzurri at the World Cup, playing in the last group game vs. Mexico.

After that Montella started to decline a bit, but came back in full force in the 2004/2005 season, scoring 24 goals even though Roma had a disappointing season. This also gave him a return to the Azzurri (but that was his last appearance). He became more and more of a bench player, and in January of 2007 was loaned to Fulham in the EPL, where the fans loved him but he only could score 3 goals in 10 games. In the summer of 2007 he returned to Sampdoria on loan, and even though he started brilliantly, injury troubles again kept him out most of the year, only notching 12 appearances and 4 goals. Last season he stayed at Roma but again little injuries nagged him and he couldn’t beat other players out for a starting place so he only made 12 appearances. And now he has decided to call it quits. Roma have just announced that Montella will take charge of the “Giovanissimi Nazionali” youth team (which are 15 year olds).

Overall, Montella has scored 141 goals in 288 appearances in Serie A, good for 27th all-time. Montella videos:

Sampdoria

Roma

When you read news about Serie A you always hear about the big stars and how they are performing, but you rarely hear about other players that are having a good season. We always hear about Kaka, Ibrahimovic, Totti, Del Piero, Buffon, etc but we never hear about Consigli, Guarente, Sorrentino, Marcolini, and Padoin for instance. For those that do not know, Gaetano D’Agostino has been one of the top midfielders in Serie A this season and has definitely been the best deep-lying playmaker in the peninsula (yes, even better than Andrea Pirlo). At times the Sicilian-born midfielder resembles Pirlo on the pitch and this has truly been the year of his (long-awaited) consecration. D’Agostino story after the jump.

Gaetano D’Agostino was born in June of 1982 in Palermo and in 1990 entered the rosanero youth system. His talent was obvious and after finishing a season where he totaled 100 goals (yes, 100), Roma bought him in 1998 at the age of 16. Fabio Capello gave him his first team debut at the age of 18 during the Scudetto-winning 2000/2001 campaign. In the summer, his co-ownership rights were sold to Bari in the Antonio Cassano deal.

It was a good move for D’Agostino, as at the age of 19 he became a regular starter for Bari in Serie B and started to impress and was one of the most promising young players in all of Italy. D’Agostino at first was a pure trequartista who was best in support behind the strikers. He wasn’t much of a scorer and his best qualities were his excellent passing ability. While at Bari, D’Agostino became a protagonist for the Italy U-21 side, inheriting Andrea Pirlo’s number 10 shirt. D’Agostino was the main creative force for that side and they won the UEFA U-21 championship in 2004.

In 2003 he was brought back to Rome but could not break into the starting eleven as he had so many good players in front of him. He made 22 appearances in 2 seasons. In January of 2005 to get more space Messina bought half of his rights and he stayed on the next season as well, collecting 5 goals in 42 appearances. At this point of his career, D’Agostino looked like just another one of the young prospects who panned out to be average players. He was a good trequartista but nothing special. With Messina’s relegation in 2006, he was bought by Udinese.

D’Agostino didn’t make a big impression in Udine until Pasquale Marino took over in 2007. With his 3-4-3 formation, there isn’t any room for a trequartista to support the strikers. So to take advantage of D’Agostino’s sublime passing skills, Marino moved him into a more deep-lying role ala Pirlo. D’Agostino became a stalwart of the midfield for Marino last season, playing in 35 games but he was still adapting to his new role.

This season, D’Agostino has exploded. He spent the whole preseason adjusting to his new deep-lying role and started off the season with a bang and hasn’t stopped. His passing has been simply awesome and his long passing in particular is something to behold. He also finally found his scoring touch again, scoring 10 goals in 31 games so far (although some are on penalties and free kicks). He was also called up by Marcello Lippi to the national team in November but he didn’t make an appearance. However with the Confederations Cup just around the corner, don’t be surprised to see D’Agostino’s name on the Italy roster. Right now, he is the closest thing Italy has to Andrea Pirlo. If Pirlo goes down or is suspended, D’Agostino is the man that can replace him. Lippi would be stupid not to call him up (but then again it is Lippi) this summer and give him a run to see how he does.

Also, expect D’Agostino to move to a bigger club this summer. The Inter option is out because they just bought Thiago Motta, so that leaves Juventus. Juventus need a midfielder like him that can dictate the play and control the tempo of the game. At 27 years of age, he’s something of a late bloomer (but so was Luca Toni), but I’m sure that D’Agostino will be a quality player for many years to come.

D’Agostino compilation:

In the modern game you always hear stories of players being prima donnas or trying to get a bigger contract or making a move to a big club just for the money, but Ciro Ferrara was a player who was none of those things. Ferrara was a model professional, a consistent performer, and even if he wasn’t world renowned during his playing career he is simply one of the best defenders Italy has ever produced.

Born in Napoli in 1967, Ferrara grew up in the youth system of his hometown team. A promising youngster, Ferrara made his first team debut at the age of 18 in May of 1985 vs. Juventus (the team he would play for later in his career). He was immediately a regular starter the following season and enjoyed the successes of the Maradona era in Napoli. Ferrara was in fact very good friends with El Pibe during his time in Napoli. Ferrara won his first Scudetto in the 1986/87 season, and then won the UEFA Cup in 1988/89. In the final second leg vs Stuttgart, Ferrara scored a memorable goal on a volley from a Maradona assist that helped Napoli win their first European trophy 5-4 on aggregate.

Ferrara won his second scudetto in 1989/1990 and then continued to lead the Napoli defense throughout the post-Maradona era. It was at Napoli where he first had Marcello Lippi as a manager and the duo instantly clicked. When Lippi left for Juventus in 1994, the first thing he did was bring Ferrara along with him. Ferrara ended his Napoli career with 323 games and 15 goals for the Partenopei. He left his spot in central defense for an up and coming youngster named Fabio Cannavaro (who’s idol happened to be Ciro Ferrara).

At Juventus Ferrara immediately became the leader of the defense and started to win many trophies as the Bianconeri won trophies in Italy, in Europe, and in the World (Intercontinental Cup). Upon his arrival at Juventus in 1994 he immediately won another scudetto. The following season, Juventus won the Champions League for the second time in their history, defeating Ajax on penalty kicks. Ferrara took a penalty in the shoot-out and scored. The following year Juventus bought Uruguayan harman Paolo Montero, who would form an excellent partnership with Ferrara and the duo led the Juventus backline for years. As he got older, Ferrara played less of a role and was on the bench most of the time, but any time he was called upon he put in a quality performance. Before retiring in 2005, Ferrara won another 4 scudetti with the Bianconeri, taking his tally to 7 scudetti in total as a professional player, one Coppa Italia, and four Italian SuperCups. He retired playing exactly 500 games in Serie A and scoring 15 goals. Upon retirement he went to get his coaching license.

The one thing we can say about Ciro Ferrara’s career is that he was unlucky with the national team. He made his debut for Italy in June of 1987, and was part of the squad in Euro ‘88 without playing a game and played in the Olympics that summer as well, finishing 4th place. He was part of Azeglio Vicini’s squad for the 1990 World Cup, but he only played one game: the 3rd place match where Italy triumphed over England. After the 1990 World Cup Sacchi didn’t take Ferrara into consideration (and there were so many options at the back) and so Ciro missed out on USA ‘94. After the World Cup Sacchi called up Ferrara on a regular basis for Euro ‘96 qualifying and Italy qualified for the tournament, but Ferrara was ruled out due to injury. After the Euro he was a starter on Cesare Maldini’s squad throughout World Cup ‘98 qualifying, and just as it seemed he would get his chance to shine in a major tournament, a leg injury ruled him out. After World Cup 1998 Dino Zoff also called up Ferrara on a regular basis and he was named to Italy’s Euro 2000 squad. He played only the final group game vs. Sweden as Italy were runners-up to France. After the Euro and with less and less playing time at Juve Giovanni Trapattoni didn’t call up Ferrara at all. The game vs. Sweden was his last in an Azzurri jersey. Ferrara ended his national team career with 49 caps and 0 goals.

Ferrara held a farewell game at the Stadio San Paolo in Napoli between former and present stars of Juventus and Napoli. Ferrara played for each team for a half, and Diego Maradona returned to Napoli after a 14 year absence just to see his good friend’s farewell game. Ferrara’s mentor Marcello Lippi was now the coach of the national team, and Lippi gave Ferrara a job on his coaching staff. Ferrara worked mainly with the defense and was excellent for the locker room atmosphere. Even though he didn’t get any success with the national team as a player, Ferrara had the satisfaction of winning the World Cup as being part of the coaching staff.

After the World Cup Lippi resigned and therefore Ferrara was not a part of the coaching staff anymore. He became the director of the youth program at Juventus in the summer of 2006 and held that job until this summer, when Marcello Lippi was appointed Italy manager for the second time and Ciro Ferrara was once again summoned to be a part of the staff, this time in the bigger role of assistant coach.

Some curious facts-

Ferrara is also known to be a genuinely nice person and also had a good sense of humor. He once said “Soccer made me famous, it made me rich, it made me successful, but the one thing it didn’t make me was handsome.”

Ferrara is noted to have an excellent singing voice and showed off his talent in Juventus’ version of Lucio Battisti’s hit “Il Mio Canto Libero”. Video:

Ciro Ferrara is easily one of the most underrated players of the last 20 years but he is also one the best defenders to come out of Italy in recent times. Juventus and Napoli fans think he is a legend, and so should all calcio fans because he truly was a legend.

Beppe was born on February 17, 1968 in Alzano Lombardo, Bergamo. As did most Italian boys, he loved to play and watch soccer. His own career started as a youth team player in a club connected to Inter, however he was found too small & light by the Inter youth team trainers. So at the age of 17 he moved to a non-league team called AlbinoLeffe (now in Serie B). He made a good first impact for AlbinoLeffe: During the first 8 games for the club he managed to score 5 goals and helped the club gain promotion to Serie C2. Since Beppe had a magic left foot and was a fast player his manager
preferred to play him as a left-winger so the team could take advantage of his beautiful crosses and his pace. Beppe did as the manager told him even though he preferred to play as a forward. The second year at AlbinoLeffe he played 30 games and scored 3 goals. But his left foot was involved in more goals then the three he scored himself. He made many assists from his position on the
left side of the field. After his promising performance at AlbinoLeffe a lot of clubs started
to show interest in him and before the 1986/87 season Piacenza decided to buy the talented youngster.

Piacenza played in Serie C1 at that moment. But the competition was hard and young Signori
didn’t have many chances to show what he was made of. During the season he only played 14 games, many of these as a substitute, and he only managed to score one goal. The next season Picenza let him go on loan to another Serie C club Trento to give him the possibility to play first team soccer on regular basis so he would develop. Beppe was playing great and once again he was among the best left-wingers in Serie C. He played 31 games for Trento that year and scored one goal. In the season 1988/89 Piacenza took him back and he was more mature and more confident. He played regularly in the first team. While at Trento, Piacenza had been promoted to Serie B, so now he was playing Serie B football and was once again considered one of the most talented left wingers in the league. He played 32 games and scored 5 goals during that season and a lot of scouts around the
country liked what they saw.

Foggia, a team on it’s way up through the system decided to invest money in the talented left winger who was causing headaches for all right backs in Serie B. But when Foggia’s manager and 4-3-3 enthusiast Zednek Zeman saw Beppe’s performance & qualities during pre-season training, he told him he could forget his days as a left winger. Zednek sawwhat other managers didn’t see. This was that Beppe had world class scoring abilities and that he made his best performances as
a striker with his remarkable pace, his technique and his left foot. The first season as a striker was a success. Beppe scored 14 goals and he was the Foggia fans’ new hero. This was only the
beginning though, Signori’s left foot had a lot more to give. The next season he scored 11 goals and helped Foggia to get promoted to Serie A. He was now playing at the highest level in
Italy and his first season was promising. 32 matches and 11 goals, and very good overall performance was the result of his first Serie A season. Foggia finished in 11th place.
A good result for a new team in the first division. During his Foggia time he formed a classic attacking trio together with Roberto Rambaudi (later Lazio) & Francesco ‘Ciccio’ Baiano (later Fiorentina & Pistoiese). With Beppe to the left, Baiano in the middle and Rambaudi to the right, the trio was devastating defenses all around the peninsula.

His performance in Foggia made it possible for him to represent his country as well. Arrigo Sacchi took over the Italy national team shortly after they had failed to qualify for the European
Championships in 1992. During the World Cup qualifications between 1992-94 Signori played on a regular basis for the national team, sometimes as a winger, and sometimes as a forward. He managed to score 3 goals during the Qualifying campaign and helped Italy to qualify for U.S.A 1994. Since he was playing so good for Foggia a lot of bigger clubs were after his signature. When S.S Lazio and its new owner Sergio Cragnotti hired Zeman as manager before the 92/93 season Zeman took some old Foggia players with him to his new club. Beppe was one of them, along with Chamot & Rambaudi.

Signori’s first season for Lazio can only be described in one way: Success. He scored 26 goals in 32 games and the fans at the Stadio Olimpico had a new hero. He also played 6 games for Lazio
in Coppa Italia, and scored 6 goals. Lazio finished 5th and qualified for Europe. The follwing year was partly destroyed by injuries. But even with injury problems, Signori managed to score 23 goals. The fact that he only played 24 Serie A games that year makes it even more impressive. He had an average of 0.96 goals per game. Imagine how many he could have scored if he had been injury free. Since Lazio had finished 5th the season before they got the opportunity to play in Europe. But Beppe missed the UEFA Cup adventure and only played one game in Europe that year. He also played 3 Coppa Italia games, but scored in none of them.

After his 1993/94 season journalists all over the world were writing that Signori could get his big international break in the upcoming World Cup. In Italy’s first game against Ireland Signori
played up front together with Roby Baggio. He was replaced in the 84th minute by Nicola Berti and Italy lost the game 1-0. Right before Italy’s 2nd game against Norway, Beppe’s girl friend
(and later wife) Viviana told him that she was pregnant. That game was one of the best in Beppe’s career. He played with an amazing enthusiasm. Italy had a rough start though. After 21 minutes of the game Italy’s keeper Gianluca Pagliuca (later teammate with Beppe in Bologna) was sent off. Sacchi then chose to take superstar Roberto Baggio off the field and replace him with 2nd keeper Marchegiani, instead of substituting Beppe or Gigi Casiraghi who were playing up front together
with Roby. Beppe played amazing and in the 69th minute he hit a beautiful free kick from the left wing. Dino Baggio got his head on the ball and Italy got three vital points. Signori played the whole game. In the 3rd group game he also played the whole game. Italy drew with Mexico (1-1) and was ready for the knockout round. In the first playoff game they faced Nigeria. Nigeria took the lead
after 26 min and in the 63rd minute Signori was replaced by Zola. Italy managed to win though, after two goals by Roby Baggio. In the quarter final against Spain Signori once again had a decisive
part. He substituted Albertini at halftime and played the last 45 minutes. The score was 1-1 until the 88th minute when Signori created the goal. Signori ran onto a pass and clipped it over a Spanish defender for Roberto Baggio, who skipped past he keeper and finished from an impossible angle to put Italy through to the semi-final. In the semi-final Signori substituted an injured Baggio in the 71st minute. Baggio had already scored two goals by then and the result was Italy 2 – Bulgaria 1. Before the game Beppe had refused to play as a winger, and told Sacchi he wanted to start as a forward. For this he was placed on the bench, and it also had consequences for Beppe’s participation in
the World Cup Final. Signori felt that he deserved a chance as a striker. The general opinion among the experts of the world was that Signori was misused as a winger, and that a player who had scored
49 Serie A Goals in 56 Serie A games the past two years should play as a forward. Beppe, like Baggio, didn’t get along with Sacchi. Italy was now ready for the World Cup Final. But when Sacchi picked
the starting eleven he chose not to use Beppe who was dropped from the final after he had participated in all the other games in the tournament. He didn’t choose to play him as a substitute either. The final went to penalties and Italy lost. Baresi missed the first penalty, Albertini
& Evani then scored, but Massaro missed. Now the score was 2-3 and Brazil had the lead. Baggio took the last penalty for Italy and everyone knows what happens next. And Italy’s dreams of a new World Cup trophy were now over. Beppe had later said that he regrets the decision not to play as a winger when Sacchi told him to. The decision to not let Beppe play in the final led to a friction between Signori and Sacchi that continued in the following years. Signori only played 6 national team games after the World Cup. His last match took place against Slovenia on the 6th of November 1995.

The next season Signori and his Lazio finished 2nd in Serie A. Beppe scored 17 goals in 27 matches. He also scored 4 goals in 5 Coppa Italia matches. He continued to be the big star at Lazio and was now captain of the team as well. In the season 1995/96 Signori reclaimed his top scoring title.
He scored 24 goals in 31 games and shared the title with Bari’s Igor Protti. During the
summer rumors had been raised that Signori maybe would be transferred to Parma. This was not popular among the Lazio fans and lead to massive protests. The transfer was halted and Signori continued to play with the biancocelesti. Signori wasn’t picked for the Euro 96 squad that year and it was considered a scandal by many journalists.

In 1996/97 Signori scored 15 goals in 32 games and Lazio dropped another place in the league, finishing 4th. After the season Cragnotti decided he wanted a new coach. Ex-goalkeeper and World Cup winner Dino Zoff had coached the team for a while after Zeman had left, but Cragnotti wanted someone other then Zoff. He chose Sven-Göran Eriksson who was coaching Sampdoria at the time. This choice of manager would have big consequences for Beppe’s future career. Signori was at the moment Lazio’s biggest star & the fan favorite, captain of the team, and top scorer for the club during the last 5 seasons. When Eriksson moved in he brought with him his favorite player,
Roberto Mancini from Sampdoria, and he also brought back Boksic who had played for Juventus for a season. Suddenly Eriksson counted Signori as the 4th forward, after Mancini, Casiraghi (Beppe’s
partner for many years) and Alen Boksic. Eriksson tried to play with Signori-Mancini-Casiraghi up front for a while but it didn’t work out that well. Signori and Mancini were too similar. And when Eriksson had to choose between Mancini & Signori it was no surprise he chose Mancio. During the game between Rapid Wien & Lazio in the UEFA Cup, Beppe had enough. Eriksson had told him to warm up and prepare for a substitution. When Beppe stood and waited by the side line for the substitution, Mancini, the player he was supposed to replace got his second yellow card
and was sent off the field. Eriksson then changed his mind and ordered Pavel Nedved to quickly come over, and he put Pavel on the field instead of Beppe.

The relationship between Eriksson and Signori was already on it’s last edge, and Signori responded to the decision to not put him on the field by gathering his things and leaving the Stadio Olimpico. This was the last time Beppe sat on the Lazio bench or played for Lazio at all. A few weeks later he went on loan to Sampdoria, where he had a period that was marked by injuries and bad form. The following season Lazio took him back, and he was used sparingly yet again. Then he suffered a leg injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season. That summer, Signori went under a period of reflection. He wanted to go to a club where he would play all of the time and refresh his career. He had seen what his friend Roberto Baggio did at Bologna, and since Baggio had left for Inter, Bologna were looking for a new talisman to lead their squad. In the summer of 1998, Signori signed for Bologna.

Signori arrived in Emilia-Romagna looking to get his career back on track. He scored 15 goals in 28 games in Serie A and was also one of the reasons behind Bologna´s successful UEFA Cup run. The team was only minutes away from reaching the final, but lost to Marseille on away goals. He played 12 games for Bologna in the UEFA-Cup (which they reached through the Intertoto cup) and scored 6 goals. Bologna finished 9th in Serie A. During his first season in Rossoblu he formed a dangerous attacking duo together with tall Swede Kennet Andersson. They had a great partnership and most of Andersson’s goals resulted from crosses from Beppe’s left foot.

In 1999/2000 Signori scored another 15 goals and played good soccer again, only one of those 15 goals was from the penalty spot. Once again he and Andersson formed a formidable attacking duo. He played 31 games that year. He also signed a new contract with Bologna
that would keep him at the club until 2003. Bologna finished in 11th place, comfortably midtable.
In 2000/2001 Signori had injury problems again and only scored a few goals before Christmas. But after that he got going and when the season was over he had scored 16 goals in only 23 games.
Bologna had another season in the middle of the table and finished in 12th place. The 2001/2002 season was a disappointment for Signori, who was injured most of the season and only managed to score 3 goals.

The following year was better for Signori, even though he also had injury trouble. Beppe played 24 games and scored 12 goals, 5 of them on penalties. During the season Beppe
had a small friction with coach Francesco Guidolin. Beppe was out of the team for some games when he was fit to play and the papers talked about a friction. The fans also showed their disappointment with Guidolin and supported Signori’s case. That summer, Beppe wasn’t offered a new contract at first, and was looking at other offers from abroad and from Italy. Rumors said that Chelsea,
Lazio, Siena, and clubs from Saudi Arabia & Qatar were interested. The fans of Bologna went out on the streets of Bologna to protest against the fact that their captain didn’t get a new contract and the board changed their mind. Guidolin also resigned before the season started and was replaced by Carlo Mazzone who had been Beppe’s coach in Bologna when he first arrived. Beppe had problems with injuries during the first half of the season of 2003/2004 and scored only two goals. Signori played 23 games and scored 6 goals. After the season, Signori said he couldn’t take the physical demands of Serie A anymore and wanted to play in a less competitive league. He ended his Serie A career with 186 Serie A Goals, only 14 away from the 200 goal milestone. He signed with Iraklis in the Greek First Division, but didn’t play well, only playing 5 games. The following season he decided to try his luck in Hungary with Sopron. He played 9 games and scored 3 goals. He clearly wasn’t the same player anymore and hung up his boots officially.

Following his retirement, Signori first tried his luck as a TV analyst, but then decided to go through the coaching course at Coverciano, where he received his coaching license. Currently his the director of sport for Serie C club Ternana.

Quick Profile

Name: Giuseppe Signori
Position: Striker
Clubs: AlbinoLeffe, Piacenza, Trento, Foggia, Lazio, Sampdoria, Bologna, Iraklis, Sopron
National Team: 28 games, 7 goals
Summary: Signori was a deadly striker blessed with great pace and an amazing left foot. He made scoring goals look so easy and his finishing was sublime. His goalscoring record speaks for itself, he scored 188 goals in Serie A, only 12 away from the big milestone of 200. If he had at least stayed another season or two in Serie A he could’ve reached it, however his injury problems were too much towards the end of his career. He also deserved more of a chance with the national team, but unfortunately he didn’t get along with Sacchi. Signori was also one of the most reliable penalty takers in Serie A history. He had a unique way of taking penalties, he would simply stand by the ball with no run-up and place it into the net.

VIDEOS

Goals with Lazio

Goals with Bologna

I’ve decided to add a new segment to the Italy Offside, where I’ll put up a bio and profile of a great Italian player of the past (or present). I think the most fair way to do it will be to have the readers vote who they would like, and I’ll satisfy your suggestions. I know most people will mention the big names like Baggio, Maldini, Albertini, Baresi etc but I would also like to profile the “unsung heroes” if you will like Giancarlo Marocchi, Carlo Nervo, Pietro Vierchowod, Beppe Dossena, etc you get the idea.

So Vote away in the comments section and I’ll choose a player to profile!