Fellipe Jack’s goal, Favasuli’s assist, Liberali and Alesi’s plays. The second leg of the playoffs perfectly summarizes one of the main factors for Catanzaro arriving “within an inch of Serie A”: they had an incredible group of young players. The 0-1 of the Italian-Brazilian, a 2006 player who became the third smallest to score in the playoff final, to rekindle hope. The 2004 Calabrian cross, which caught Frosinini for the doubling of the great dream. The imagination, technique and recklessness of the two talents who came out of Milan’s youth sector, to create problems in series for a battleship like Monza, who had never conceded two goals at home and seriously risked getting the third too.
In the most important match the green line did not betray, confirming the excellent performance in the championship which allowed the Giallorossi to combine the second playing time of the Under 23s in the category behind Frosinone with a top ranking. In short, a constant that has guaranteed the leap in quality for the team. Favasuli was one of the best wingers in Serie B, so much so that he attracted clubs from upstairs as early as January. Now he should become one of the most valuable pieces on the market, with an increased price tag after coach Baldini’s call-up to the senior national team: he may be an experimental selection, but he is still the most important Azzurri.
For Costantino nothing but summer sales, assuming that Catanzaro receives a satisfactory offer for an assured capital gain after taking him for zero from Fiorentina (who will be paid 35% on the resale). Favasuli was one of the coups of sporting director Polito, who followed the club’s request to focus on young players by choosing some of the best. The club was unlucky with Cisse because they lost him to injury in the crucial part of the season, but from that moment on, Liberali exploded, chosen by League B as “Talent of the Year”, the second youngest goalscorer in the history of the playoffs (goal against Palermo at 19 years and 41 days) and author of 12 successful dribbles in the play-offs: more than any other. Milan, who left him for free (50% on resale), would have to eat their hands, his fans will certainly be disheartened and you just need to take a look at social media to understand this.
Catanzaro waited for him, pampered him and created the best conditions for him to blossom: Liberali also shone in Monza, a stone’s throw from home (he is from Lissone) and with the whole family at the stadium, including his grandmother. And it’s one of the few real 10s around: a joy to behold. Liberali, Cisse and Rispoli, among other things, are the three of the Eagles in the top ten of debutants with the most minutes. Alesi is also a number 10, more flexible and modern than his teammate, but always gifted with imagination, personality and technique: in 2004 like Favasuli, Gabriele never made a mistake as a substitute (as a starter he perhaps only “missed” the match against Monza in the championship, due to the expulsion he received) and in the double final he gave Bakoune a headache and also made Birindelli suffer. He, like Liberali, has the Milan brand imprinted on him and is another asset of the Giallorossi. Thanks to the young people they were rewriting history and the present, but they can have a future ahead of them worthy of the club’s great past.
