Often we look around for the very best option, looking near
and far for the right person, never realizing that person is right under our
very noses. But sometimes, circumstances dictate that we don’t even have time
to look near or far, and thus naturally find the most obvious answer. This
seems to be the case with our emergency defender purchase this summer, when
from diagnosis of Bonera’s fractured kneecap to the loan deal of his
replacement took less than 48 hours. But I am really starting to think that our
dire need for a defender was a blessing in disguise, since we were forced to
look at the defender next door.
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| It's okay, you're on the proper side of Milan now. |
Matías Silvestre was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and
began his club with Argentinian giants Boca Juniors. Having spent his youth
career with the club, he debuted with the senior team in the spring of 2003 and
stayed there through January of 2008. During his time with the club, he made 63
appearances and scored 6 goals.
His transition from Argentina to Serie A was a traditional
one, going on loan in 2008 to Argentinian Sicilian side Catania. That
first half season was tough for him, having not found favor with Baldini, the
coach at the time, so he only made 5 starts and 11 total appearances. Still, he
was offered a permanent deal with Catania in the summer. It was former Italian goalkeeper
Walter Zenga who replaced Baldini and had faith in Silvestre. And his faith was
rewarded. He helped Catania avoid relegation that season, then had the most appearances
of anyone at the club the next season. That season and the next two seasons saw Catania consecutively break their record for the most points they’d ever had
in Serie A. Along the way, he made 118 appearances and scored 7 goals for the
club, 6 of which were in his final season with Catania, when he wore the
captain’s armband.
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| Captain and a goalscorer... can he regain his form from Catania? |
From there, he truly became the defender next door, as he
crossed the line to rival club Palermo. Despite an injury, he still made 29
appearances for Palermo and scored 5 goals that season. Between
2010-11 with Catania and 2011-12 with Palermo, that made 11 goals, the highest
for a defender in Serie A for those two seasons.
Next season, however, he moved to Inter, and we have often
seen what that does to a player’s career. He did rather poorly, with only 9
Serie A appearances for the season plus 11 more in the Europa League and Coppa
Italia for Inter for a total of 20 appearances in all competitions. And to add
insult to… well he sustained an injury in April which saw his season end
earlier than planned.
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| Maybe the form had something to do with that godawful kit he was wearing? |
But Daniele Bonera’s misfortune became his fortune, and once
again, he crossed the derby line and came to AC Milan. In addition to Milan
paying a loan fee of €1m for the season,
there is a €4m buyout clause in his loan. And I suspect if he plays as well as
he is capable of, the club will gladly pay it for him to stay on past this
season. At the age of 28, he is a relatively seasoned center back, dependable
and experienced, and with 18 career goals on top of everything else. That’s 17
more career goals than the man he is meant to replace.
Then there is our history of rescuing Inter players and
bringing out the best in them. Which, if that is the case, then we may have
some competition for a starting center back. That would be a lovely problem to
have. But that’s not all, he has also played at right back, so we have another
flexible defender should injury require his use there. And at 28, he is
experienced, but not as old as Bonera, Zaccardo, and Mexés, so maybe a better
fit than originally thought.
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| On a scale of 'better than Bonera,' he definitely exceeds expectations |
Sometimes it really is true that what you need most is right
under your nose. I like to think that this is the case with Silvestre. While
most of us were dreaming of established center backs with giant price tags, he
was right across town, a decent defender at a reasonable deal, but with
experience and hopefully a return to form that will make us wonder why we ever
looked elsewhere. I really do hope that he will prove to be the defender next
door that surprises us all. Benvenuto a Milan, Matías!
This post inspired by the music of Enya