30 Italian promising players to keep an eye on

By: Francesco | July 15th, 2009

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.