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For those like us who de Young Italy he is passionate about youth football, he will easily remember Leonardo Rossia central striker born in 2004 who a few years ago was talked about by enchanting and scoring, already at a young age, with the shirt of Milan. His has been a strange career, surprising both in his development phase in the youth team and now that he is playing among the grown-ups. However, before discovering the exotic destination he has chosen to leave this season, let’s go back and discover his journey.

We de Young Italy we already did a focus on him in November 2020 and defined it “panzer”. In that period he played in the Under 17 championship with the Milan shirt, a team he joined very early after starting out in Rome (he was born in the capital). He remained with the Rossoneri for four seasons, including the one disastrous due to Covid, scoring in abundance from the Under 16s to the Primavera. Just think: his surname is Rossi, ideal for a striker, he plays for Milan, he is physically strong but still skilled in individual technique, and above all he scores many goals. Destiny seemed to have already knocked on his door. Then, however, something seemed to “break”.

In September 2022 he was sold to the Primavera del Napleswhere he remained for a season and a half, and in January 2024 he ended up at Lleida Esportiu, in Catalonia, which even plays in the Spanish fourth division. Here he is welcomed with great fanfare, but the Catalan experience evidently must not have gone very well, since at the beginning of this season he chose an even more exotic place as his destination: the Brattvågin the Norwegian third division. Here, at the court of the young coach (only thirty-eight years old) Thomas Pedersen, he seems to have rediscovered a security and continuity that he had been missing for a while.

Of course, at this point in his career a question arises: if after his excellent performance in the youth team this talent has now ended up in the Norwegian third division, will he still have time to explode and dedicate himself to great football? The answer certainly depends on him and how he will be able to continue his career, but our reflection concerns the fact that Scandinavian football, and Norwegian football in particular, in recent years it has had excellent investments and improvements, which have made different talents blossom at a national level too.

Certainly, from this point of view, the two who immediately catch the eye could be Martin Ødegaard, the captain of Arsenal, and of course Erling Haaland, who could be points of reference not only for this type of football that is emerging, but also for our Leonardo, who perhaps arrived right there, between the fjords and the cold, to grow as the best striker ever at the moment.

These are the probable lineups for the match between Lazio and Cagliari:

The latest on Lazio
Lazio doesn’t want to stop, fresh from the clear 5-1 success at Sinigaglia in Como. Seven victories in the last eight official matches for the Biancocelesti who host Cagliari at the Olimpico on Monday. Few rotations for Marco Baroni, who will have to give up Nuno Tavares, Europe’s best assist man with eight decisive passes, who was sent off on Thursday in Como. The 4-2-3-1 will be confirmed with Provedel between the posts, in place of Tavares it will be Pellegrini’s turn on the left with Lazzari who can return from the first minute after recovering from the injury and thus give Marusic a breather. Romagnoli’s return to center is possible, favored over Patric, while Gila is sure to still play as a starter. The starting pair returns to midfield with Rovella alongside Guendouzi, Castrovilli only on the bench. Zaccagni will be managed again in the attacking midfield, still not at his best and in his place there will be Noslin for the third time in a row. On the right, Isaksen should win the run-off with Tchaouna, while Pedro will return to the bench with Dia behind Castellanos. (from Rome, Lorenzo Beccarisi).

The latest on Cagliari
After three important matches, and above all the points obtained against Parma, Juventus and Turin, Cagliari has once again fallen into a dark period: in the last two matches, zero points and as many goals scored. The attack is becoming a big problem for Davide Nicola who for the match in Rome against Lazio will still be able to count on Piccoli as his only reference forward. Gaetano and Viola could support him on the attacking midfield. In midfield Zortea and Augello will compete on the outs, with Marin and Adopo on pole to roar in the center. In defense, a probable return to the three-man formation with Zappa, Mina and Luperto ahead of Scuffet (from Cagliari, Giancarlo Cornacchia).

Today marks the end of the 13th day of Serie C with Monday postponements. Vicenza-Lecco is played in Group A, while five matches are scheduled in Group C. Below is the program in detail:

13TH DAY SENTENCE – 02-03-04 NOVEMBER 2024
GROUP A
Saturday 3.00pm
Giana Erminio-Arzignano 0-1
5′ Mattioli
Novara-Caldiero Terme 3-1
11′ Morosini (N), 46′ Ongaro (N), 51′ pen. Ranieri (N), 89′ Fasan (C)
Renate-Lumezzane 1-2
7′ Iori (L), 65′ Tenkorang (L), 77′ Di Leo (R)
Virtus Verona-Pro Vercelli 0-0
Saturday 5.30pm
Alcione-Trento 0-1
46′ Giannotti
Sunday 5.30pm
Albinoleffe-Union Clodiense 1-0
48′ Zoma
Pergolettese-Padova 1-2
41′ Delli Carri (Pad), 47′ Russini (Pad), 86′ Basili (Per)
Pro Patria-Triestina 0-0
Sunday 7.45pm
Feralpisalò-Atalanta U23 3-1
67′ and 79′ Maistrello (F), 77′ pen. Vlahovic (A), 90’+2′ By Molfetta (F)
Monday 8.30pm
Vicenza-Lecco

GROUP B
Already played
Ternana-SPAL 4-1
44′ Karlsson (S), 72′ Curcio (T), 82′ Donati (T), 86′ Cianci (T), 90’+2′ Ferrante (T)
Torres-Pianese 3-0
9′ Dametto, 74′ Diakite, 90’+4′ Scotto
Gubbio-Rimini 1-0
90’+4” Ditches
Vis Pesaro-Pescara 1-0
61′ Okoro
Campobasso-Lucchese 3-0
27′ D’Angelo, 42′ penalty, 62′ Di Nardo
Legnago-Perugia 2-2
45’+1′ Demirovic (L), 73′ Montevago (P), 76′ Sylla (P), 90′ Martic (L)
Sunday 5.30pm
Arezzo-Ascoli 1-1
70′ Corazza (Asc), 85′ pen. Pattarello (Are)
Pontedera-Milan Futuro 1-1
27′ Italeng (P), 33′ Jimenez (M)
Sunday 7.45pm
Pineto-Carpi 1-4
11′ Puletto (C), 19′ and 50′ Gerbi (C), 84′ Chakir (P), 87′ Stanzani (C)
Sestri Levante-Virtus Entella 0-0

GROUP C
Already played
Audacious Cerignola-Crotone 1-1
41′ Jallow (A), 72′ Giron (C)
Avellino-Taranto 0-1
37′ Battimelli (T)
Giugliano-Trapani 2-1
26′ Minelli (G), 49′ Lescano (T), 89′ Balde (G)
Juventus Next Gen-Latina 0-0
Sunday 7.30pm
Catania-ACR Messina 0-0
Monday 8.30pm
Benevento-Turris
Cavese-Foggia
Monopoli-Picerno
Sorrento-Casertana
Team Altamura-Potenza

Now we can easily clear the word “crisis” for Taurus, on the other hand the Granatas have entered a negative vortex for more than a month and are no longer emerging from it. Or rather, they tried to show off their snout by winning against Como, a narrow and painful 1-0 against a team that only managed one point in the whole of October, while before and after there were always more or less heavy defeats. Now we have reached six defeats in the last seven outings between the championship and the Italian Cup, the streak is starting to be damn long and incredibly worrying. Because, in one way or another, Taurus continues to lose and above all shows steps backwards every day. In defense or attack, wherever you pull it, the blanket gets shorter: until three weeks ago the Granata conceded three goals per game but at least they scored, now they have scored one goal in the last 270 minutes but the trend is still negative. In one case or another, however, the result has almost always been the same since September 24th, that is, defeat.

Vanoli is looking for solutions, he had also tried the four-man defense with some insistence but for now he continues on the path of 3-5-2. “The goal we conceded is conceded with both fours and threes, the head is the most important thing and now we have to be men and roll up our sleeves” he underlined on yet another defensive blunder. Masina combined several, it came from Linetty’s mistake in the capital and yesterday it was Maripan’s turn to give his opponents a goal. And now? On the horizon there is an appointment which, until some time ago was the most awaited one of the year and with the date to be circled in red, has now become a nightmare. On Saturday there is the derby against Juve, it always has a certain effect to reread President Cairo’s statistics against his cousins: 30 derbies, 23 defeats, six draws and one victory in 2015, with the balance sheet completed by 15 goals scored and even 54 suffered. It almost seems like a team destined for the gallows, even if Vanoli tries to play the “wild card” of the fans. “Opening Philadelphia could be a good idea” he announced in view of the next training sessions, with a session that will be organized with people in the stands of the headquarters. The coach is really trying everything to get out of the crisis.

“The championship fight is expanding and escaping the dictatorship” he writes today Paolo Condò on the pages of The Republic. Atalanta passed the Naples exam with flying colors and is forcefully entering the Scudetto fight, a fight that does not foresee isolated escapes: “There will be no dictatorships this time, no one will win the title months in advance”, says the journalist.

Also pay attention to the possible outsiders with Fiorentina who are third, waiting for Baroni’s Lazio who will challenge Cagliari this evening: “For a few weeks now Fiorentina have been making up, together with Atalanta and Lazio, the trio of the sexiest teams in the tournament, praise be to Viola and won the fifth consecutive race.”

“He’s special, one of those players who are difficult to find. Sometimes I want to replace him but I can’t, he does a lot of good for the team.” Words and music by Thiago Motta. Words addressed to Teun Koopmeiners. The Bianconeri had lost their point of reference but the Dutch ex-Atalanta player, even on half serve, is fundamental in guiding his teammates on the pitch.

The Dutchman’s role is clear, defined, fundamental: that of the technical and emotional leader. Juventus snatched him from the Goddess in the summer. The midfielder is still without a goal after the 15 he scored last season with Atalanta but, as highlighted by The Press on newsstands today, perhaps this is the least of the problems for Thiago Motta who considers it fundamental for his structure.

The Milan you enjoy a Tijjani Reijnders All-round midfielder version that is also tempting for the big clubs in Europe. The Dutch midfielder, who scored in the Rossoneri’s last victory against Monza, has become increasingly decisive in the Rossoneri’s mechanisms. The news of his goals not only reached the Milan fans but also the big clubs in Europe.

As he writes La Gazzetta dello Sport on newsstands today, before arriving at Milan the former AZ player was courted by Barcelona while today he set his sights on him Manchester City of Pep Guardiola with his value having doubled in the meantime and “with Reijnders ready to make the same move as in the summer of 2023: choosing Milan again. With a contract renewed until 2030 and a current salary of 1.6 million multiplied by at least two” .

“Magic night at the Bentegodi. Hellas sinks Juric’s Roma” he writes The Arena on the front page today celebrating the success of Hellas Verona 3-2 at home against the Roma of former Scala coach Ivan Juric, once again put in crisis by yesterday’s defeat at the Bentegodi stadium.

Another defeat for Roma. The fourth in the league, the third since Ivan Juric was on the bench. After the success against Torino, another slowdown for the Giallorossi team knocked out by goals from Tengstedt, Magnani and Harroui.

They are not the best defenders in Italy, they are not the best defensive pair in Italy and so on. But Luca Ranieri together with Pietro Comuzzoin the defensive phase and in Raffaele Palladino’s game, are the best there can be for Florence and Fiorentina. We often talk about it and the two Viola central defenders sublimate the concept of ‘functionality’ more than ever and tell more than ever about the coach’s ability to have identified in two players who were initially certainly not starters (indeed) the perfect ones for his philosophy.

Making comparisons with Palladino’s game at Monza is almost impossiblegiven that with the Brianza team his tactical dogma was a 3-4-2-1. In the analysis, therefore, we consider one of Armando Izzo and Andrea Carboni ‘removed’, one of the two arms. Considering Comuzzo’s physicality and toughness, perhaps Carboni. Pablo Mari remains, therefore the central defender who is good at marking, in duels, in melees, but also in the construction phase with openings towards the outside, similar to Ranieri.

However, it is a central defense never seen before for Palladino. For this reason we have to ask ourselves when he will return, what role Martin Pongracic will have, because he is certainly a player who knows how to set up, who is perhaps less rocky, but who has difficulty defending in the run towards his goalkeeper. He was paid very dearly, so it will be interesting how he will try to break the hierarchies as well as Lucas Martinez Quarta. Who alternates with the other two starters but who, at this precise moment, seems to start behind Comuzzo and Ranieri. Who started behind in the hierarchies, also because the four-man defense was not contemplated. Well done Palladino for not looking at the past, for not thinking only about tactical dogmas but knowing how to reinvent himself and discover (or rediscover) players. The history of his two central defenders confirms this.

“Toro is in free fall: the derby is decisive for Vanoli” he writes The Press on the front page today. Once the appeal test has failed, it will be Saturday’s derby that will decide the future of this Turin in free fall. Granata lost at home against Fiorentina after a goal from former Juve player Moise Kean.

“The home defeat against Fiorentina (0-1) is identical to that of Rome in terms of result and gift, with another former Juventus player taking advantage of yet another mistake from the Granata defense (Kean after Dybala)”, writes the newspaper .