Hidden Gems

With the season finally about to begin, I thought I'd make a thread in the Serie A section where we might write about exceptional performances we see from players whose praise might otherwise only arrive when they're finally linked to a more 'important' team. This thread is for the youngsters, the late bloomers, even the hard workers who have a once in a career performance this season. This is a thread to appreciate the likes of Cesena, Lecce, Novara, Bologna, La...um, Atalanta.

I look forward to the reports throughout the season, I'll try and post here at least once a round.

G.Ramirez will shine this season too

C.Pasquato
Estigarribia

those will be the gems I tihnk

Diego Fabbrini

Novara's Maxi Moralez stands out for me this week.

Calvano for Milan

Standout Primavera player for us

Adem Ljajic - Fiorentina, had some promising performances for La Viola last season but failed to impress. Could be his year but I doubt it will be an 'explosion' of sorts.

Gabrijel Torje - Udinese, after a Serie A debut like that one, much can be expected of Udinese's next Sanchez. Already proven at Dinamo and even hailed as the next Messi and after seeing him weave in and out of players on the weekend it is not hard to see where the comparison originates from.

Luc Castaignos - Inter, Inter's forward line is aging, and aging quickly so injuries can be expected. Despite not being named in their UCL list and not appearing as a sub on their weekend loss to Palermo, I am sure he will be given opportunities to prove his worth this season and will come up big.

Joel Obi - Inter, had a very good game vs Milan in the Super Cup and even started on some occasions this season for Inter and has shown a lot of promise if nothing else. Much can be expected. Maybe a lot term solution for Inter?

Khouma Babacar - Fiorentina, will this finally be the season he explodes onto the scene like we've been expecting up until now? Gilardino isn't getting any younger and ain't no 'fine wine' and with Ljajic's recent struggles, the spot is his for the taking. Perhaps a bit too young still.

Takayuki Morimoto - Novara, struggled at Catania but will surely start for Novara who have offloaded their two most proficient strikers. At 23, the time is nigh to prove himself and this may be his last chance to make an impression on big clubs.

Jose Angel - Roma, showed very much that Romanista can be please about on the weekend from his good positioning to his good defensive abilties to his good athleticism and even showed that he has somewhat of a vicious left foot at his disposal.

Diego Fabbrini - Udinese, as previously mentioned, has struggled since recieving a lot of media attention but Udinese is the perfect club for him in my opinion and will surely have a good time at the club if not this season then in the future.

Federico Fernandez - Napoli, Napoli showed none of the defensive fratilities they showed in pre-season which will make it harder for him to break into the starting line-up. Britos' eventual return for injury will put him even lower in the pecking order but a few injuries and this man could well find himself a brick in the wall of the Neopolitan defense. Victor Ruiz's departure could help his progress at his new club.

Fabio Borini - Roma, the Roman's depth in attack may be a stumbling point in his progress this season but with the talent he showed at Swansea, Luis Enrique will be eager to test out another of his new signings. Papers saying he will start against Inter on the weekend and will surely be a game which in which I will follow him closely.

Maybe not so young but Josip Ilicic will shine in Pastore's absence. He will definitely be their breakout player this season and maybe the breakout player of the Serie A.

There are surely many others but it is late and I have had a long day. I could have included most of the Udinese side from proven players like Isla and Asamoah to younger, less known players like Thierry Doubai, Neuton, Badu or Ekstrand.

Old Serie A with no youth? Myth.

Stefan Ristovski - Parma

Stole Dimitrovski - Udinese

Morimoto scored for Novara and Borini played well vs Inter.

Better than Bojan already. Starting to think that Bojan is never gonna take that step up, its just no final product at all.

get rady for Stole dimitroski ... he is 17 yrs old GK signed from Macedonia , Udinese signed him..

on 17yrs he was first choice GK for Rabotnicki in EU cup until Lazio game he had great record ( even thou he was not to blame for that 6-1 defeat ) he was chased from big clubs in EU .... he was one of the best GK during the EU cup until that phase

look out for carlos carmona from atalanta. a player whos easily overlooked and very underrated. could become his breakthrough season (hopefully).

another player from atalanta that catched my attention is giacomo bonaventura. always impressed when i saw him for the azzurrini and although i didnt see any of his games of last season, according to the stats hes been instrumental for atalanta. will definitely take a closer look this year...
he had a decent assist last sunday...

this season we may see the resurgence of cigarini aswell. he was great vs palermo...

Simone Verdi for Torino (co-own with Milan)

Exciting, electrifying winger with a clever football brain

Strasser has been doing well with Lecce lately his calm distribution and ball winning abilities has become a feature of his play, however he does seem to fade out've a match and hasn't put together a full 90 display of dominance and control.

Hoping to get another look at Andrea Bertolacci when we play Lecce this weekend. He's looked very good in his time with them last season and I was disappointed that he wasn't included in LE's plans this season.

Gaston Ramirez,I would love him at Inter.

McLewis would you be willing to share your opinion on Alexander Merkel's game against Roma ? I unfortunately missed the match.

German Denis top scorer in Serie A atm.Guy was useless at Napoli ripping it up with Atalanta this season though...

Useless at Napoli, useless at Udinese, I personally can't believe how well he's playing. He's 30 though, it's about time he was at the very least able to hold down the role of being the big fish in a small pond.

Denis was never played properly.Couldn't get on form cause of inconsistent time he got...It was obvious his behavior in the box is great and his heading is exceptional.A bit of a Crespo IMO...

Merkel is in a bit of a slump, although he makes the starting eleven each week, he is always substituted, however must be said that the Genoa midfield doesn't have a standard formation is he is usually played in various position each week. So far he's best display was against Juve and since then hasn't really performed on a consistent basis.

Strasser to an extent seems to be having a better season than Merkel , although Lecce are in the relegation zone. He remains a feature in the starting line up and remains the anchor of his side.