La Primavera

So BennyLalla (hope we see him on here sometime this season) created a fantastic Primavera thread back in the old forums. I've been seriously procrastinating on  bringing that thread back to life, but I believe I'm finally ready to get this thread up and running.

I've had a look around at the other Italian forums and at their Primavera sections as well as the few Roma Primavera threads out on other forums to gather intel. This thread will be a sticky of course and I want us to keep it updated as regularly as possible with information on our future stars, whether they play with the Primavera or are out on loan with other clubs...

Here are our most notable starlets:

Valerio Frasca
Country: Italy
Age: 19
Position: Goalkeeper
Status: Currently out on loan with Villacidrese.




Alexandru Daniel Pena
Country: Romania
Age: 20
Position: Goalkeeper
Status: On loan with Juve Stabia


Alessandro Malomo
Country: Italy
Age: 19
Position: Center-back
Status: Co-owned and on loan with Prato



Alessandro Crescenzi
Country: Italy
Age: 18
Position: Right-back, Left-back
Status: Loaned out to Bari.



Simone Sini
Country: Italy
Age: 19
Position: Center-back, left-back, Defensive Midfield
Status: Loaned out to Bari for the season.



Sebastian Mladen
Country: Romania
Age: 19
Position: Anywhere across the defense
Status: Loaned out to Juve Stabia.




Adrian Stoian
Country: Romania
Age: 20
Position: Attacking Midfielder
Status: Currently on loan with Bari



Stefano Pettinari
Country: Italy
Age: 19
Position: Attacking Midfielder, Winger (left or right)
Status: Loaned out to Crotone.



Andrea Bertolacci
Country: Italy
Age: 20
Position: Central Midfielder (Box to Box)
Status: Officially called up to the first team and will feature this season.




Marco D'Alessandro
Country: Italy
Age: 20
Position: Attacking Midfielder/ Winger/Trequartista/Striker
Status: Currently on loan with Livorno.



Filippo Scardina
Country: Italy
Age: 19
Position: Striker
Status: Currently on loan with Viareggio.



Luca Antei
Country: Italy
Age: 19
Position: Center-back
Status: Called up to the first-team and has trained with the team all pre-season. Poised to remain with the first team for the season.



Mirko Pigliacelli
Country: Italy
Age: 18
Position: Goalkeeper
Status: Starter for the Primavera. Played with first-team in pre-season, but will go back to the Primavera with the arrival of Stekelenburg.



Amato Ciciretti
Country: Italy
Age: 17
Position: Trequartista
Status: Starter for Primavera.



Paolo Frascatore
Country: Italy
Age: 19
Position: Center-back
Status: Starter for Primavera.



Federico Viviani
Country: Italy
Age: 19
Status: Poised to become a squad player in the first team.



Alessandro Florenzi
Country: Italy
Age: 20
Position: Central Midfield
Status: Loaned out to Crotone



Gianluca Caprari
Country: Italy
Age: 18
Position: Striker
Status: Training with the first-team for pre-season, but may drop back down into the Primavera.

Nice work keeping up with everyone Neal.

The Roma Primavera beat Milan 1-0 this weekend in the Campionato Primavera Quarterfinals. The only goal of the game, coming right before the half-time whistle, was scored by Montini off an assist by Dieme. The victory means that Roma will advance to the Semi-finals to face current holders Genoa. The other Semi-final is Varese-Fiorentina. Roma have won the Campionato Primavera on 6 occasions, the last being in the 2004-2005 season with a side featuring the likes of Gianluca Curci, Stefano Okaka, Alessio Cerci, Aleandro Rosi and Leandro Greco

This was the side which faces Milan on the weekend:

Roma (4-2-3-1): Pigliacelli, Sabelli, Orchi, Antei, Frascatore, Viviani, Florenzi, Caprari, Ciciretti, Dieme, Montini.
Bench: Proietti Gaffi, Barba, Verre, Piscitella, Politano, Leonardi, Carboni.
Coach: Alberto De Rossi

Nice to see you here, Mike!

Here's an awesome youtube video of the match highlights from the Roma channel...



Caprari was awesome....some much speed, so many flicks...so unlucky not to score....

We hit the post at least 4 times...thoroughly out played Milan in the first half...

Caprari could have had a hat-trick. I don't like to judge based on highlights and clips but unfortunately that's all we have since there's no Roma Channel Stream. From what I've seen though, Caprari looks very promising and that thought is confirmed by Manchester United's interest in him (if we lose another youngster to them, I'm gunna go crazy). Crescenzi, D'Alessandro and Bertolacci also look quite promising and I think we should make room for at least two youngsters from that whole list above in our first team for next season. I would go with any of the four I mentionned, but it all depends on who we get summer.

Well if we sign one of Ricky Alvarez or Erik Lamela or even bring in Romeu from Barca B along with Enrique, that might be all she wrote for Bertolacci this season. Another loan might beckon for him.

Crescenzi's probably got the best chance as we haven't really been linked with any RBs and I don't think Enrique is going to favor Cassetti much.

If we get Jeffren Suarez then we should definitely bring back D'alessandro too to provide good competition for one of the winger spots along with Caprari. Enrique will naturally favor Suarez though.

Florenzi and Viviani still have a chance as well, but I think they'll both be loaned out.

20 minutes into the Semi-final match between Roma and Genoa, still 0-0. Roma have been dominating the match so far, with Dieme, Caprari, Ciciretti and Viviani missing their chances.

Only one change in the starting line-up compared to the last match; Mladen takes Orchi's place in defense.

Meanwhile I'm keeping an eye on D'Alessandro in Italy's match against France. Italy dominated the first half, but D'Alessandro hasn't seen all that much of the ball compared to Paloschi and Fabbrini.

Edit
50th minute: And right when I say that, D'Alessandro makes a great run through the center of the pitch and is taken down by Nicolas just outside the area.

55th Minute: Another great run by D'Alessandro, this time down the right side. Made his way into the box but was stopped by an excellent sliding tackle. He's been at the core of every chance for Italy in the second half.

63rd Minute: France in the lead 1-0 with a header by Monroe. D'Alessandro off for Mattia Destro. Good game for D'Alessandro, the commentators spoke quite highly of him, saying he had good pace and made some strong runs.

D'Alessandro off for Destro. Looks like he got hurt. Too bad, I just tuned in. How did he play Mike?

narbeZ wrote:D'Alessandro off for Destro. Looks like he got hurt. Too bad, I just tuned in. How did he play Mike?

He had a decent game. Was a little quiet in the first half but looked very lively after the break. He made many runs foward, two of which were quite threatening. He showed a lot of strength when on the ball, despite not being a big guy. I would say for the last 20 minutes he was Italy's best player, but picked up a knock after a challenge.

Crescenzi is not available for the match through suspension since he picked up two yellow cards in the tournament.

0-0 at the end of the first half for Roma-Genoa. Roma supposedly was the better of the two teams, though Genoa hit the post at the end of the half.

2-0 Final, Roma through to the finals of the Campionato Primavera!!! Genoa were reduced to 10 men in the 68th minute after Sturaro picked up his second yellow card of the match. Roma took the lead 11 minutes later off a corner kick by Viviani; Antei knocked in what ended up being the winning goal for the giallorossi. Montini made it 2-0 in 89th minute, after being served an assist by Piscitella who came on for Ciciretti. Roma now await the result between Fiorentina and Varese to see who they will face in the finals.

Primavera: Roma vs. Genoa

Match Ratings:
Giallorossi in the final, Antei monstrous, Viviani and Montini did well.


Pigliacelli 6.5: Little to do, did the usual administration of the defence well.
Sabelli 6: Busy evening for the number 2, who contributed to bringing Roma to the final.
Antei 8: Man of the match, played a perfect game and then found a goal with a precise header.
Mladen 6.5: A good match by the Romanian.
Frascatore 6.5: Fight for the entire 90 minutes, staying on the field after taking a knock to his left thigh.
Florenzi 6.5: Commanded the midfield along with Viviani.
Viviani 7: A great performance as usual.
Caprari 6.5: Started very well just narrowly missing the opening goal. Slowed down slightly in the second half and had to quit the match due to a physical problem.
Ciciretti 6.5: Flashes of class that illuminate the Melani Stadium.
Dieme 6: Ran a lot, offering a valuable contribution on the wing.
Montini 7: few opportunities for the number 9 who did well at the end to kill off the match, scoring the goal to make it 2-0.

From the 74th minute: Piscitella: Immediately entered the game by serving an assist for Montini's goal.
From the 83rd minute: Orchi: NA


Alberto De Rossi Interviewed by Sportitalia

"It 's a great satisfaction that we will try to complete. Let's enjoy this win against a great team, AS Roma has exceeded itself, we did not slow down towards the end. They played the whole match, I think the guys deserved the victory. The Scudetto? Let's just enjoy this victory, it's been a long time since we've reached the finals, since 2005. Off the pitch we have received a lot of satisfaction and the objective was obtained, because the goal is to bring the boys into the football that matters, and then the icing on the cake may be the Italian Cup or the league. We know that Genoa, Fiorentina and Varese are very strong teams, but now let's take a rest. A rematch with Fiorentina? I do not choose anything, for me Varese is a terrific team, just as Fiorentina. We beat a great team tonight. Tactically important to block the flanks? Well, not really. I would say the whole team played well, they focused from start to finish, that was the difference from the other games. We kept the speed of the game up which is natural from these boys and we even gave that little bit extra. "


Bruno Conti at Sportitalia

"Excited? Absolutely yes, for the skill of these guys, they are showing that the eight who came here are the strongest teams. We beat a great team and the guys have earned it. Do not forget that there are four Genoa players born in '91 and the rest in '92; we are here with our '93 and showed great character and skill. Fiorentina or Varese? Now we'll enjoy our victory, good luck to them both, the important thing was to reach the final. Roma among the best of the year? We are happy, it's a whole group that organizes this, from the observers to discover these kids who grow up in Rome and the rest of the province, we are happy with the result and the beautiful game, the people also enjoyed it. The Hispano-American Roma? This is not for me to say, I know little. Now we can enjoy this, but surely there are people competent to make a great team, we have a good group and we have to improve it. There is every incentive to do so, I give my best wished to the new arrivals and to Luis Enrique. "

McLewis wrote:Nice to see you here, Mike!

Here's an awesome youtube video of the match highlights from the Roma channel...



Caprari was awesome....some much speed, so many flicks...so unlucky not to score....

We hit the post at least 4 times...thoroughly out played Milan in the first half...

Wow at Caprari just wow.The kid really has talent i look forward to seeing more of him next season hopefully in the first team..He reminds me so much of Totti in that video...

Roma-Genoa:

Full Highlights


Antei's Goal 1-0


Montini's Goal 2-0


Caprari looked just as good this match as he did against Milan, look foward to seeing him next year. Antei was very dangerous off those set-pieces as well.

I'll try to post a link to a stream for the final. Sportitalia should be showing it... unfortunately there are no Roma Channel streams.

Roma will face Varese in the final of the Primavera Scudetto on Sunday at 20:30 local time, live on Sportitalia 1. Incredibly, 8-man Varese beat Fiorentina 2-1 after penalty kicks in a very emotional match. I'll definately be watching that match and it will hopefully be a nice end to the 2010-2011 season for our club.

Should be a fantastic match. One we all, as Romanistas, should be watching....

At least 3 of those boys are going to make the step up to the big leagues and in a big way.

Sabatini: "Luis Enrique will have complete control over the Primavera and Allievi squads to facilitate youngsters getting to the first team"

Brigate Rossonere wrote:Sabatini: "Luis Enrique will have complete control over the Primavera and Allievi squads to facilitate youngsters getting to the first team"

Great news..Hopefully this means now that Caprari will definitely be in the squad for next season ...

Stefano Pettinari has been loaned out to Crotone with the option to buy

Both Mladen and Pena have been loaned to Juve Stabia.

After seeing Valerio Verre called up for this summer's Ritiro, I decided to look him up to see if he was actually ready to make the huge jump from the Allievi to our first team. I found this lengthy article on him and decided to translate it for you guys.

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Last February, it was feared that history repeat itself: after the "robbery" of Davide Petrucci (1991, midfielder), taken by Manchester United for £ 200,000 after scoring 14 goals in 17 appearances in the youth of Rome as a trequartista in 2008, the long arm of the British club was also ready to pounce on the left-back Filippo Cipriani (1994) and central midfielder Valerio Verre (1994), coming off an excelent Premier Cup in 2009 organized in the urban village of the rainy UK.





Date of birth: January 11, 1994
Birthplace: Rome [Lazio, Italy]
Position: Central Midfield
Preferred foot: Right
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 68 kg
Current Club: AS ROMA [Allievi Nazionali/Primavera - Italy]
Shirt number: # 10



The leaders of the Red Devils, in fact, have tried to make sure these two new products of the Giallorossi youth sector transfer to their Academy, as well as they did from the capital (from the Biancocelesti) in 2007 with Federico Macheda, lured by the signing of a three year, € 65,000 deal and taking advantage of an Italian law lagging far behind in this area.

The main concerns were related to the loss of their Verre, one of the most promising talents of the entire Italian football scene, with innate leadership that allows him to hold his team in his hand every time they take the field, in spite of the very young age, but fortunately, the danger was averted.

Valerio was born on 11 January 1994 and began to take confidence with the ball giving the first kick in the purple and gold of the SS Romulea (central area of ​​San Giovanni, the senior team currently campaigning in the first category), only to be noticed in 2005 and to integrated with Roma's Giovanissimi Nazionali.

He showcased his quality immediately: in particular, between 11 and 23 September 2007, he was the captain and leader of the giallorossi, winners of the regional phase valid for qualification to the Umbro International Cup in 2008, scoring a decisive hat-trick in a 3-2 win against Lazio.

A few months later, he led his team to win the Trofeo Silvio Sensi (in memory of the father of former president Franco Sensi, sadly passing away seven months later), with a goals at 49th against Romulea which had launched him three years earlier. After a 2-2 score at the end of 90 minutes, Roma won in extra time with a well-deserved 4-2.

Needless to say, such suggestions may inspire a kid "Core de Roma" who plays the charismatic leader with the number ten on the back and the captain's armband in sight ... Beyond the uncomfortable and untenable comparison that some have dared to make to Francesco Totti, it is clear that we are dealing with a brilliant talent, to be cuddled and preserved ... but always judiciously and sensibly. Moreover, and despite the massive media attention, Valerio Verre is a central midfielder rather than an attacking midfielder / striker, and is most comfortable as a regista, very good in making late runs without the ball into the box and applying the finish, but particularly suited to dictate the timing of the maneuver and run the team, thanks to great football intelligence and a vision of the game out of the ordinary: in theory (and always very calm), more a Pizarro than a Totti.




A long string of suitors began to knock on the doors of Trigoria, with Inter Milan and Fiorentina of the always very careful Pantaleo Corvino always making enquiries to try to convince Rome to deprive itself of a shining gem: the Giallorossi resisted, thus making the right long-term decision.

The following season, Valerio is the focus of the Giovanissimi Nazionali led by Mauro Carboni, winners in the Italian phase of the Manchester Premier Cup in 2009. In the final played in Città Sant'Angelo, he was the first to assume the responsibility to take a penalty (scoring, needless to say) due to the need of a penalty shootout (5-3 the final verdict) to get rid the generous and combative Naples, able to reassemble the original double disadvantage signed by Rosato and Frediani. Flying to Carrington to represent Italy with pride, the giallorossi are eliminated in the preliminary round, despite having suffered only one defeat: As mentioned earlier, although, the glimpses of quality was enough for the observers of the Red Devils to fall in love with the two children, class 94.

A couple of months ago, the boys had suffered the disappointment of a defeat (against Udinese, another very interesting team in that year) who also ousted from the championship final. Revenge against the Bianconeri came at the Friuli in June of that year, in the semi-final of the Trophy Beppe Viola reserved for the Giovanissimi, AS Roma beat Udinese 2-0 in the semifinals, before turning again to Naploli, with which extra time was once again needed; Esposito and Correia were decisive in a 2-0 win.

Who claims the prize of "Best Player of the Tournament"?
Valerio Verre, of course.

The 2009-2010 season will remain engraved in the boy's memory; victory of the prestigious international trophy "Beppe Viola - Citta' di Arco" and conquest of the Allievi Nazionali League Title.

Dominator in the Allievi Nazionali under coach Carboni (league leaders from the first to last day, with no rivals in Group F) along with fellow Ceccarelli, Cittadino, Cipriani, Proietti, Gaffi and Rosato, deservedly won the championship by virtue of the final against Nuova Tor Tre Teste (2-1 result).

Aggregated as the "out-quota" in the Allievi Nazionali (mostly born in 1993) led by the talented Mr. Andrea Stramaccioni, who nicely defines his boys as "atomic Smurfs", true rulers of the season.

The team won the Arco di Trento tournament in February 2010, complete with a derby semi-final (beating Lazio 1-0) and winning in the final against Fiorentina, determined by a goal by Gianmarco Falasca at the 26th. Simon Andrew Ganz (keep an eye on him) from Milan is the top scorer of the tournament, while Verre is on the podium of the best players of the tournament along with fellow teammate Gianluca Caprari and the Viola's Ryder Matos, the Brazilian class of 1993.

But the highlight of Valerio's young career will be the summer of 2010: He played all the matches in the Nazionali Final-Eight held in Montepulciano (scoring a goal, the momentary 2-0 against the Venetians of Citadella), with Roma being crowned Champions of Italy on June 17 with a goal by Amato Ciciretti against Juventus (1-0), crowning a unique season of 31 wins and three draws, 105 goals scored and 13 conceded. An apotheosis, in part because the title was missing since 1999.

"It's too beautiful, this year: I'm really happy, it was my first season with the Nazionali and it could not have gone any better than that ...", said an emotional Valerio, the smallest of the group, although no one notices on the pitch.

This season, Verre was the captain of the Allievi Nazionali and the leader on the field of a team that tried to repeat the fantastic season of the previous year. Alberto De Rossi, manager of the Primavera, has even decided to "steal" Verre from his colleague Stramaccioni on occasion, assing him to his group making him collect four appearances in the National Group C:
two as a substitute (September 11, Roma-Siena 4-1 / 25 September, Rome-Crotone 4-0)
and two as a starter (October 2, Reggina-Roma 1-2 / October 16, Roma-Lazio 4-0).

During his absence, the captain's armband was handed over to Mattia Rosato (Class '94), irreplaceable authoritarian and precise central defender, while the attention of observers have also been on goalkeeper Simone Perilli (1995) and Cristian Anastasio, born in 1995 (also under age) playing on the right wing (as right back or winger) after being runner-up in Italy with the squad coached by Vincenzo Montella, Francesco Pagliarini on the same flank (1994, arrived this summer from Tor Tre Teste), the central midfielder Andrea Cittadino (1994, striker converted by Mauro Carboni into a productive wide midfielder), the playmaker Antonio Esposito (1994) and attackers Marco Frediani (1994, right wing, fast and unpredictable), the two Class of '95 Matteo Fedeli and Jacopo Ferri, and the top scorer Valerio Terriaca (1994), striker who could also play in a support role.

With the National Team, Valerio Verre was the only Roma player in the Under 17's expedition to Cyprus, convened by Pasquale Salerno to get the pass towards the 2011 Euro. He played three matches as a starter, all victories (1-0 in Cyprus, 3-2 and 2-1 to Slovenia and to France), with the number eight jersey on his shoulders and as the usual technical and charismatic leader.

His first steps towards the azzurri were in 2008, selected by Francesco Rocca for the classic "Christmas Tournament"; with him were fellow Filippo Cipriani and Simone De Marco. A few months later, he was among those called for "Portugal's Under-16 Tournament" (February 2010), in which he scores his first goal, a consolation goal against the hosts (1-3). The team was classified second in the tournament played in the Spring, losing in the final against Mexico (0-3).

His 2011 began on the icy fields of distant Russia: he was the protagonist, in fact, of a not brilliant performance at the Under 17 in Salerno "Granatkin Memorial." The Azzurrini took the opportunity to test the team that was going to play in March in the Elite round of the Europeans, presenting itself with players a year younger than their opponents (almost exclusively U18 born in 1993, some even in 1992); this is the main reason for the eighth and last place finish in the tournament. After the double defeat against Latvia and Finland (0-3 result against both), in the third match of Group A Verre received the captain's armband from the Interista Simone Pasa and drove his companions to a proud performance against the home team, incredibly beaten 2-0 and eliminated before the long-awaited Grand Finale, with the young Roma player rightly awarded "Man of the Match". In the unfortunate final 7 ° -8 ° place against Azerbaijan, he scored a goal from the penalty spot for the momentary 2-1 at the 67th, five minutes before the midfielder Gross equalized, making the match go to penalty kicks, where they won 5-3 and gave coach Valley Kasumov an unexpected joy.


Update: Valerio managed to "avenge" the heavy 0-4 loss in the Primavera derby just three weeks later: November 7, 2010, in fact, he led his team to a 4-1 win against the Allievi Biancocelesti, providing the assist of the 1 -0 goal after 4 minutes (Terriaca headed a cross from the right) and scoring a penalty at the 50th which cut the legs of the opponents, after Perrone's men Perrone had closed the gap with Rozzi's (a temporary 2-1 at the 41st).





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This article is a little outdated, but it gives us a good idea on what he have our hands on. Is he ready to make the jump to the first team? Not at the moment, as he only has a handful of caps with the Primavera. I like he fact that he's been called up though, as he could start an early adaptation process with the senior team. It's good to see that we have a born leader in our ranks, which is always a very big plus. Look forward to seeing him in practice in the coming weeks.

Montini and Frascatore on loan to Benevento according to Sportitalia.

Florenzi has been sent out on loan to Crotone with the option to purchase half of his rights.

Epic thread guys. nice article about Verre too. I hope Enrique stays in charge for a while because I believe he is the right man to promote and get the best out off all our youth when the time comes.

Getting to know: Federico Viviani



Federico Viviani, central midfielder born in 1992, is one of the most promising talents from this season's Scudetto winning Primavera side. Everpresent figure in the middle of the park for Alberto De Rossi, the young Romanista during the last season made 23 appearances and, although he was used in a "De Rossi-like" position, managed to find the back of the net 6 times, demonstrating great technical ability and a great vision. Viviani seems to be following in the footsteps of the midfielder of Ostia, which he takes as an example as stated during the press conference at the ritiro in Riscone di Brunico, for which he was summoned by Luis Enrique. The Spanish coach seems to want to focus firmly on him for Roma's future and during Roma's last outing, in the triangular tournament with Paris Saint Germain and Wacker Innsbruck, Viviani was used against the French in an important position in the new coach's plans as a central midfielder responsible for breaking up the opposition's attacks and quickly restarting the attack. In the second match, against the Austrians, however, he was used as Cassetti's partner in central defense, offering a good performance, albeit not being in his natural position. His flexibility and commitment seem to have persuaded Luis Enrique, who in today's press conference, pointed Viviani out as being the positive surprise in this year's ritiro, to keep him with the first team as a vice De Rossi, after a period in which he was going to be used as a bargaining chip to get to Verratti. Now the future is on his side and Viviani is one of those players on which the new Roma should aim to build a winning cycle, based on a team that draws on both hands from the youth sector.