By David Lee Wheatley
Factfile: Emanuele Giaccherini
Emanuele Giaccherini is set to switch from his Italian homeland to Sunderland in the English Premier League for a reported £6.8million fee and here is a profile of a player that has the potential to be a star on British shores.
Tuscan-born Giaccherini began his professional football career with Cesena, being farmed out on loan in the early stages of his time with the club, before returning to become a first-choice in the role of an attacking midfielder or second striker. He scored 23 goals in 103 appearances across all competitions while with Cesena, including spells in both Serie B and Serie A.
A big-money move to Juventus materialised in 2011, with the diminutive midfield man’s performances for Cesena having thrust him into the spotlight. While making a total of 23 Serie A appearances mainly in a central role, the Turin giants claimed the Scudetto in his first season at the club and he received a call-up to the Italian national squad for Euro 2012 on the back of some excellent form with the Bianconeri.
Giaccherini’s versatility came in handy when gaining a first cap for his country against Spain at the European Championships in a left wing-back role. Italy made it all the way to the final, only to be thwarted by the Spanish when they met for the second time in the tournament.
On returning to his club side, the Bibbiena native featured on 17 occasions in the league, assisting Juve in their successful attempt at retaining the title. He wanted to play more often, but it appeared the ability to play in several positions was working against him, as it became increasingly difficult to pin down a concrete spot in the starting line-up.
The 28-year-old made history for his international side on 11th June 2013 by scoring the quickest Italian national team goal on record by striking against Haiti in a friendly match after just 19 seconds.
Shortly afterwards, Giaccherini got called up to the national squad for the Confederations’ Cup in Brazil. Playing in every game of the tournament, the Juventus star helped Italy to third having lost agonisingly on penalties against arch-nemesis Spain in the semi-finals. The 3rd/4th place play-off versus Uruguay saw Italy come out on top in a penalty shoot-out, with Giaccherini slotting home one of the penalty kicks that settled the tie.
In light of rather limited opportunities at Juventus, despite head coach Antonio Conte remaining a firm fan of the player, Giaccherini made it clear to the Juve hierarchy that he wished to pursue the opportunity to join Sunderland once fellow countryman Paolo Di Canio came calling for his services earlier this month; the club relunctantly agreeing to the request.
The chance for the 14-time international to make an impression in a new league was deemed by the player too good to turn down and thus a move to England is imminent.
With regular time on the pitch, the left winger/central midfielder will be offered a stage on which he can show his true value and therefore cement a place in the Italian national side for the years to come.
Twitter: @davewh1980
Facebook.com/DLWSports
No comments:
Post a Comment