Columnist and market man for TMW, host and radio commentator on Radio Sportiva. Transfer market and background for Rai Sport
Third place after ten days of the championship, and raise your hand if you would have expected it at the starting blocks. Fiorentina after the farewell of Vincenzo Italiano, with many question marks, with a transfer market closed later than expected. With a big player like Milenkovic leaving, with the season starting with the flops of the substitute, Pongracic. The good morning hasn’t been seen since morning while on the other side of the surprises here is Lazio. Who said goodbye to his attacking prince, Immobile, and then the department entrusted to Castellanos after the ‘nos’ of last year was a gigantic question mark. And then Marco Baroni, on his first adventure at the next step in his career, and then the big names who leave, and Lotito challenged. But no. Here they are, the two revelations of this championship.
De Gea is the best goalkeeper in Serie A (with Maignan)
The point is that Fiorentina got practically all their purchases right. Lazio confirms and chooses and in particular we want to focus on two names. Which are literally the great drivers of the two revelations of this year. The first is a goalkeeper who was out of action for a year, so there was no shortage of doubts and perplexities as well. Sunset Boulevard, however, is far from being trodden by David de Gea who is confirming all the immense qualities seen in the golden years with Atletico Madrid, with Spain and with Manchester United. He chose Florence and not the retreat, the match against Genoa saw him perform yet another miracle and then the question arises spontaneously. But who is better than him in Serie A? In terms of experience, quality, leadership, athletic and technical skills, only Mike Maignan of Milan keeps pace. And to say that our championship is full of excellent goalkeepers, from Yann Sommer to Alex Meret, from Mile Svilar to Marco Carnesecchi, from Michele Di Gregorio to Ivan Provedel. But none of these are De Gea and it is incredible (chapeau) that Fiorentina took him and that no one else trusted his great desire.
Lotito’s shot: Nuno Tavares
And then there is Nuno Tavares, extraordinary intuition of Claudio Lotito and his Lazio. Another assist also against Como, another man of the match performance. He is the left winger with the highest performance in the entire championship and one wonders why he has had such a rollercoaster performance so far in his career. The one seen so far with Marco Baroni at the handle of his gallops on the left is a player from the top teams in the world. The harmony with Castellanos is wonderful, very rare. And let’s return to the sacred concept that must move the stars and even the management: ‘functionality’. A player does not have to be ‘strong’ in absolute terms (that can only apply to the few blessed by the Goddess Eupalla), but he must fit in well with the coach, teammates, environment and project. Nuno Tavares is designed for Lazio, for Baroni, for this team.