The Re-emergence of Raffaele Palladino

By: Francesco | November 6th, 2009

palladino

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.