The most significant signing of the recent transfer window
would have to be Mattia Destro, at least from a financial standpoint. If
reports ahead of his loan deal are correct, his contract was not just for the
six month loan deal from Roma, but also for the next four years, which would imply
that Milan agreed to the €16m transfer fee for his outright purchase. But
despite being an exciting young player with eight caps for the Italian national
team already at the age of 23 and representing Italy at almost every age level
from U16 on, the question still remains: Is Destro the right man for Milan?
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| The man seems hungry to win |
Destro actually has football heritage, as his father Flavio
played as a defender in Serie A and Serie B in the 1980’s and early ‘90’s for
teams like Ascoli, Cesena, and Pescara. His father also has some coaching
background, having most recently coached Ascoli, their home town, who are
currently playing in Serie C. His father also coached Ascoli’s Allievi
Nazionali team during 2004-05, while Mattia was playing for their Giovanissimi
Nazionali squad.
But Mattia is a striker. A center forward, to be exact. At
5’10” (1.78m), he looks taller than he is. He’s a strong presence in the box
but is not afraid to run and work to create chances. Despite Roma’s wealth of
talent, he wasn’t getting the playing time he needed to develop. Which is why
he moved to Milan. He will certainly be a protagonist in this squad. But for
how long? If he has a scoring drought, will Milan keep the faith in him?
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| Skeleton in the closet |
Everyone has a skeleton in their closet, and Mattia Destro’s
is that he spent five years in Inter’s youth system. While there, he was either
top scorer or second to the top at each level, such as being second to one
Mario Balotelli in the 2006-07 Allievi Nazionali team. That team also won the
league the following year with Destro in the squad, and when he was on their
Primavera squad, they won the Viareggio Tournament and were runners up in the
league.
In an attempt to restore his soul, he moved first to Genoa
at the age of 19 on a co-ownership deal. There he scored two goals in 16
appearances. Next stop was at Siena, a €1.5m loan with option for co-ownership.
At Siena, he scored 12 goals for them in 30 appearances in Serie A, the club’s
top scorer that season. He also perfected his bizarre “pole dance” celebration
there. His stint at Siena was cut short at the one season, though, as Genoa
bought out his co-ownership in order to sell him to Roma.
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| Corner flags everywhere tremble when he scores |
Roma made a deal worth €11.5m, with an option to buy
outright for €4.5m (or €16m total.) As excited as fans were for his debut with
the club, he received a bit of notoriety for being sent off. He received a
yellow card earlier in the match, and then he scored, so he took off his shirt
to celebrate, for which he was shown a second yellow and an early shower. I
blame Inter. He also earned a three match ban for punching Davide Astori in
April of 2014, even though the referee didn’t catch it at the time. So he’s not
Mr. Perfect by any means. He did score a very solid 23 goals in 52 appearances
for Roma, which allowed fans to forget the facepalm debut and the punching and
all. But he also struggled with injuries, which was also one of the reasons he
wasn’t getting as much playing time.
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| The man believes in shirt-free football |
His Inter youth time still shows through when it comes to
some of the discipline. But already at Milan he has been pictured helping the
hungry at a food bank with his beautiful wife, whom he married last year. So I
have hope that the Nerazzurri will finally be cleansed from his system at
Milan. He is a very good signing for this Milan squad. His being Italian
(instead of being a “rotten apple”) should make Berlusconi happy, and his being
young should win a lot of fans’ approval. If he can stay healthy and continue
to grow, there can be no question. But at a time like this when everything is
in question, we still have to ask, is he the right man for Milan?
This post inspired by the music of
Journey
Our next match is
Milan Cesena
Sunday, February 22 • 15:00 CET (9am EST)