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Extended Clip - Who Is Alessandro Buongiorno? Torino & Italy Giant Wanted By AC Milan & Man Utd (Ep. 391)
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After an outstanding season with Torino, Nima Tavallaey and Carlo Garganese do a profile deep-dive on Manchester United and AC Milan linked Italy international central defender, Alessandro Buongiorno.
This is an extended clip from this weeks free Monday episode of The Italian Football Podcast which is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google podcasts.
To listen to this & all other full episodes of The Italian Football Podcast (with no ads), go to Patreon.com/TIFP OR now also available on Spotify to become a Patron for only $2.99 USD per month (excluding VAT).
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Transcript
Introduction to the Italian Football Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast.
Alessandro Buongiorno's Transfer Interest
00:00:06
Speaker
Just before we finish off with Badio, Primface and Serias, we can do a profile on Alessandro Buongiorno, who has been in the news a lot in the last week because there's a lot of transfer interest and Milan have been trying to open negotiations to sign him even this month. But that was always going to be very, very difficult. But there is a lot of interest in Buongiorno.
00:00:27
Speaker
all over Europe among the biggest clubs and Napole like him but outside of of of Serie A, Manchester United who will sign a centre back at least one and two centre backs this this summer, Bayern Munich who will also sign a centre back this summer, Arsenal, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, a lot of Premier League clubs all interested in him. Urbano
Torino's Stance on Buongiorno's Transfer
00:00:55
Speaker
Cairo has made it clear
00:00:57
Speaker
no chance of him leaving in January. But in the summer, I think there is a good possibility that Bongiorno could leave. Torino valued him at 40 million, which I think is a pretty good price for the potential that he's got, because he has been undoubtedly one of the best centre-backs in Serie A this season. If you look at
00:01:21
Speaker
all the key metrics. He's right up there. He reads the game really, really well. He's first in Serie A this season for interceptions, the average number of interceptions per game, 2.5 a game.
Buongiorno's Performance in Serie A Metrics
00:01:41
Speaker
He's joint six in Serie A for all players. This isn't just offenders for tackles. He's joint tenth for clearances. He's outstanding in the air, which you'd expect. He's six foot four inches tall. He averages three aerial challenges, one per game, which makes him the joint seventh best in Serie A and the third best
00:02:03
Speaker
among all defenders. Milan Djuric is number one by a mile in this category, I should just say, as we were talking about him earlier. So he's a big weapon from set pieces, both in terms of defending for his own team, but also in the opposition area, he's scored three goals this season. And I think I said in an earlier podcast, he reminds me a bit of Materazzi in the air, the way that he kind of leaps and heads the ball. He's got a similar kind of figure to Materazzi, left-footed as well. For me, I think it's more of
00:02:32
Speaker
Someone can't remember who it was. He said, a cherubim. He reminds me of a cherubim or the Matarazzi. Yeah, maybe. He's very aggressive with the way that he plays. He's not scared to get stuck here. He puts his body on the line. He makes professional and cynical fouls for the good of the team. He's made more fouls than anyone in Serie A this season. 2.6 fouls per game. He has four yellow cards.
Buongiorno's Playstyle and Comparisons
00:02:56
Speaker
which can be a weakness, but I actually like to see this as a positive. I like to see this as somebody that has the right grinta and the right mentality of being a winner and wanting to, if you apply it in the right way, you know, that's been lost a lot from Italian defenders.
00:03:14
Speaker
we talk about the loss of the defensive art in general, but also among Italian defenders, you know, having that, you know, like Claudio Gentino, like Canavaro, like Materazzi, like Nesta, you know, they would Maldini even, you know, maybe less so Maldini, but these players, Barrezi, these players would make fouls if they had to, if they had to, you know, and the football as well, you know, he has that. So what I like the most about him is his
00:03:41
Speaker
attention to his positioning, his read of the game. I think that is what I think is the most impressive part about him given his young age for a defender. He's 24. Yeah, I mean it's still fairly young. It is the seria. You're young until you're 28 and then you become magically a senator in Italy. It's an amazing place.
Torino's Defensive Strengths
00:04:02
Speaker
Yeah, time is relevant. Well, he's been very important for Torino in, you know, they had the last season, they had the, I believe Torino had the fifth best defensive record in Serie A last season. Yes, they did. Even though they finished 10th, they had the fifth best defensive record this season.
00:04:21
Speaker
But only because either 18 goals in 20 games, which I think is really, really exceptional for a team of Torino's level. I know they've had problems in the attack, which we always talk about with Evangirich. But defensively, that's the third best record in Syria. Only Inter and Juventus have conceded fewer goals. And those two have had ridiculous defenses this season. I mean, off the charts, they're defensive defenses.
00:04:44
Speaker
So,
Buongiorno's Versatility in Defense
00:04:44
Speaker
I mean, that's really interesting. Buongiorno is a big reason for that, because remember, Pierre Schurz, who's a very key player for Torino, has been out for basically the whole season, and will miss virtually the whole season, I believe, won't he, with a serious ACL injury. So he's really marshaled the defense. And Buongiorno can play, I mean, Torino play a back three.
00:05:07
Speaker
They play a 3-5-2. So Bonjourno is able to play in the centre of the back three or the left of the back three. You played more on the left of the back three when Schurz was available. Now Schurz is out, he's been playing more in the centre of the back three. Which is where I think he should be playing. I don't want to see him on left or right. I want to see him in the middle of a back three, which is why I don't understand why Milan wants him, unless Milan are planning on bringing in a certain
00:05:35
Speaker
certain Antonio from Lecce, who plays with a back three. At that moment, yes, congratulations. Milan, congratulations. Buongiorno, because him in the middle of a back three with
00:05:48
Speaker
Tomori and Ciao or Kalulu or whoever on the sides on his side is a fantastic defense which Antonio has played twice in the Italy national team. He got his first call up by Roberto Mancini in March 2023 and he got his debut in a 3-2 win over the Netherlands in June of 2023 in the UEFA Nations League. But the big one was he played
International Impact with Italy
00:06:15
Speaker
His second, only a second game for Italy in the crucial Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine in November. The do or die game for Italy needed to avoid defeat to qualify for the Euros and a loss would have seen them go to the playoffs. And he started that game, played the whole game in a back four.
00:06:36
Speaker
And he was outstanding in that game. He got an early yellow card, which would have added to the pressure on him. I thought he was one of the best players on the pitch. I thought he was brilliant, didn't put a foot wrong. And Italy got the 0-0 just, okay, there was a controversy at the end with the Christante foul on Mudrić, which probably should have been a penalty.
Concerns About Buongiorno's Pace
00:06:57
Speaker
But Tronjona was great. And that was in a back four. So I'm hoping that, you know, he can be can be fine in a back four. I think if there is a weakness in him, maybe that's a bit of pace. Yeah, which is a little bit. Yeah. And if you're going to play in a back four for Milan, who play with such a high line, I mean, if Piotr is still there, that is. Yeah, exactly. So, yeah. I mean, if it's Conte, I mean, they're probably going to play back three if it's Conte, but yeah.
00:07:26
Speaker
Yeah, he's a very interesting, very, very interesting player.
Buongiorno's Academic Pursuits
00:07:30
Speaker
He is, and also just as a kind of a side note in his personal life, in February 2023, he started a three-year university course in marketing at a private university in Naples called Università Telemática Pegasso, who is a university that is founded by, guess who?
00:07:51
Speaker
Sala Anitana, President Benilo Yervolino. He's got a nice little culture full circle there. Okay,
Transition to Other Topics
00:07:59
Speaker
well, you do a degree in marketing. That brings us on very nicely to Badger, Prem Place and Serie A, Ass of the Week, because Buongiorno can probably take over the marketing division of Serie A because they certainly need it.