Il Fuoco del Flaco: Andrea Colpani Looks Set to Rejuvenate Raffaele Palladino’s Fiorentina
After flourishing under Raffaele Palladino at Brianza-based Monza, Fiorentina managed to divert two of Monza’s main protagonists to Florence, their manager and Brescia-born Andrea Colpani.
Hailing from the youth set-up with La Dea of Atalanta, El Flaco burst onto the scene alongside the now renowned names of Serie A such as Alessandro Bastoni of Internazionale Milano. During his time with the Bergamo-based side, he impressed coaches from the first team with his tactical prowess and attractive attributes from his silky-smooth movement on the ball to his versatile adaptations to different positions on the pitch.
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La Dea thought it was best for the young Italian to go on loan for more playing time with a year loan with Serie B side Trapani and a two-year loan with now Serie A AC Monza. It was his loan spell with I Brianzoli where he excelled on all levels with Monza earning promotion in Colpani’s second season at the club and a season where he exceeded expectations lead to the complete purchase for the Italian international.
He was made sure to be front and centre in his debut season in the Italian top flight in what was an exciting project for I Biancorossi. The Italian international’s debut game in Serie A was an away fixture against then Scudetto victors Napoli in a 4-0 thrashing with the emergence of a certain Georgian superstar bursting onto the scene.
Colpani’s presence was felt around the first team, helping secure Monza in the mid-table positions securing survival in Serie A. The next season came thick and fast with Monza securing the signings of AC Milan’s youngest talents Daniel Maldini and Lorenzo Colombo in attack to reinforce the strength in their squad.
El Flaco was eager to make a mark in the first game of the season with a home fixture against Empoli and the season could have started better, with a brilliant brace against Gli Empolesi, kickstarting Monza’s critical campaign. Andrea Colpani’s attacking prowess and technical ability came on show with El Flaco racking up 6 goals in the first 12 games of the campaign in a dynamic system under coach Raffaele Palladino.
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The perfect performances put in at the start of the season lead to a call-up by the Italian National Team and Luciano Spalletti felt it was the right move to help Colpani grow and learn with healthy competition alongside the presence of starting midfielders Nicolo Barella, Manuel Locatelli and Jorginho.
A dry spell broke out for the Italian international heading into the second half of the season, with no goals on the scoresheet in 10 games however a home fixture against Sassuolo broke the drought of goals for Colpani in what proved to be a MOTM performance and a key win at the time for I Biancorossi.
Renowned for his wondrous left foot, the goals slowly started to come in and the performances improved as Monza went on to go on a 4-game unbeaten streak including a dramatic 4-2 home victory against close rivals AC Milan. I Brianzoli managed to only scrape 3 victories in their last 13 games of the season however Palladino’s side managed to secure 12th place with a healthy 45 points tally to end their campaign.
Monza’s success last season was down to the due diligence of stars who thrived in their promotion campaign like Colpani who managed to cap off a thrilling campaign with a combined 12 goals and assists. The summer transfer window loomed large and many teams were searching for the next manager in line to take over the reigns at teams up and down the country.
Fiorentina were one of the sides beckoning for a manager following the departure of Vincenzo Italiano to Bologna, president Rocco Commisso felt it was necessary for Fiorentina to still play an attractive style of football and aim to contend for the European competition spots.
Alongside Thiago Motta and his overachievements with Bologna, Raffaele Palladino was the future of young Italian managers who adjust their tactics based on the tools they have on the pitch and adopt different formations as their principle. It felt like Neapolitan-born Palladino’s signature was the icing for Fiorentina and the cherry of the cake was all that was needed with El Flaco Colpani signing on loan to La Viola with an option to buy.
With the addition of Colpani to continue Fiorentina’s success and proclaim himself to be the star man alongside a coach in Palladino who knows him so well, La Viola could look to shake the magnitude of the task in front of them, both domestically and in Europe.
Con l’influenza di Javier Pastore, El Flaco ha la speranza di diventare un grande giocatore.
By: Lorenzo Gagliotta / @LG24Sports
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Image Photo Agency / Getty Images