Thursday, July 02, 2009

Sebastian Giovinco: The Frustrated ‘Italian Messi’ Perfect For Rafa’s Liverpool


One of the Stars of the recent U21 European Championships in Sweden was Italy’s Sebastian Giovinco who was the shining light in the Azzuri’s failed bid to win the competition. Despite his impressive displays the 22-year-old is widely regarded as the best young prospect in Italy although he is struggling to earn a place in the Juventus side.

Giovinco has been linked to both Arsenal and West Ham in the past season but after a season when he has struggled to break into the Italian club’s first team he would be an excellent addition to the likes of Liverpool who are crying out for some more creativity in their ranks particularly in terms of dribbling.

The player himself has reiterated he wants to stay at Juventus but has revealed he is unhappy at the lack of first team games and with the arrival of the Brazilian Diego, his chances will be limited even further.

“I know my value and what I can give. I know my qualities, but maybe Juventus don’t understand this,” Giovinco told Il Corriere Dello Sport.

“I am not asking for a starting role. I just want to be considered. I want to play for my place on a par with everyone else. I don’t like being in a side where you understand that you come second. I cannot accept this.”

Arsenal had strongly been linked with a move for the highly-talented Giovinco throughout last summer as speculation rose concerning his happiness at Juventus due to limited first team opportunities and contract disputes.

The Gunners were rumoured to have bid £5.8m for the Juventus wonderkid which was subsequently rejected but Arsene Wenger remains a keen admirer of the player. Giovinco is one of Europe’s finest young talents which were perfectly illustrated his talent at the Beijing Olympics as part of the Italian representative side.

The 22-year-old is a Juventus player but spent the 2007/08 season on loan at Empoli where he certainly caught the eye. At 5 ft 4, the attacking midfielder is nicknamed the ‘Atomic Ant’ but for what he lacks in size, he more than makes up for in ability.

Despite the youngster having played just 22 league matches (10 starts) for the Juventus first team, he’s held in extremely high regard by the club and particularly the fans.

Last summer’s contract dispute with the club led to a fans protest after it was suggested that Arsenal were to set to move for the player with Robin Van Persie perhaps heading to Turin. A poll launched on the Juve fans vecchiasignora.com website ended with a staggering 89.5% voting in favour of snubbing a potential Van Persie player-exchange offer for Giovinco from the Gunners. This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise as the wonderkid has been hailed as the future of the club and heir to club legend Alessandro Del Piero.

Giovinco started just 9 League games last season and struggled to get a game with the plethora of attacking talent on show at the club such as Del Piero, Trezeguet, Iaquinta and the Brazilian Amauri. Now Diego has arrived from Werder Bremen, the Atomic Ant’s chances of first team football have been restricted even further.

During the 2007/08 season he was compared to arguably the best player in the world Lionel Messi by former Calgilari Coach Davide Ballardini who said, “Juventus are the kings of the transfer market as Sebastian Giovinco drives me crazy.”

“He has amazing qualities, he is unpredictable and he works well in the team.

“He has to be patient at the start and I believe Giovinco is Juve’s answer to Milan’s Ronaldinho.

“I saw Giovinco last year at Empoli and I may be crazy, but he is just as good as Lionel Messi.

“There is not much of a difference between the two.”

The local-born youngster joined Juventus in 2001 aged 14. Giovinco has since worked his way through the youth system into the first team squad. The Italian made his first team debut in May 2007 in a Serie B encounter with Bologna. Despite coming on as a substitute, the youngster illustrating his potential by setting up a David Trezeguet goal with an excellent pass.

A season-long loan at Empoli brought Giovinco to the public’s attention. Despite impressing he did not do enough to keep the club in Serie A though he did make 35 League appearances (20 starts) and scored 6 goals. This included strikes against League runners-up Roma both home and away.

The Juventus star has represented Italy from U16 level upwards and was voted Player of the competition last year at the U21 Toulon Tournament. Italy managed to win the trophy for the first time in their history with Giovinco playing an integral role. This prompted a call-up to the Olympic squad for the trip to Beijing.

The youngster is arguably the most exciting youngster in Italian football at the moment and despite his lack of games with Juventus, the player and his agent suggest he will remain at the club. However, the fact that the player continues to struggle to break into the Juventus side would give Liverpool a very good chance to sign him either this summer or in January especially if the player fails to get the first team opportunities the diminutive, skilful Sebastian ‘Atomic Ant’ Giovinco deserves.

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