Liverpool has a signature of 18 -year -old center -back Giovanni Leoni from Parma, and this is definitely the name we will have to watch very closely next time. To get to Anfield, the Italian star is clearly not medium.
The first steps
It can be said that nowhere is better than Italy to study defensive art, and Giovanni Leoni soon showed that he could become the next great center -back of this country. However, Leoni himself will admit that he is greatly influenced by English football.
Leoni grew up with Premier League matches on TV, and according to his childhood friends, he memorized the names of each player in each team. But there is a special name all with Leoni: Virgil Van Dijk. The idol of the Dutch center -back, and is still the same. This is good news for Liverpool when the team has owned one of the brightest young talents that Italian football has produced for many years.
Leoni was born in Rome and is still a crazy fan of AS Roma. However, Leoni's family moved to Padua when he was 5 years old for work. And in the Veneto region, northeast of Italy, he started the first steps on the path to becoming a football player, wearing Vigontina. In 2015, Leoni joined Cittadella, before being recruited by Padova 4 years later – where he actually started his professional football journey.
As the son of two former professional water ball athletes, Leoni is trained in discipline and dedication right from the family, and inherited superior sports elements. When he was still playing for Padova's U13 team, he was straight to the U16 team due to an injury crisis.
“I had the opportunity to play at a higher level and it was a valuable experience,” Leoni shared with the club homepage. “I was also lucky at Padua when I was always led by the coaches who used to be defender, so they gave me many important advice. But the person who taught me the most is the coach Beppe ago – both professional and life. He always said: 'Even without football, life is still very beautiful'”.
It was when playing for Agostini U17 team, Leoni caught the eye of the coach of the first team Padova, Vincenzo Torrente. He launched him in the last minutes of the match against Albinleffe in Serie C on March 19, 2023. At that time, Leoni was only 16 years old 3 months, becoming the youngest player in Italy in the 2022/23 season.
“When the coach told me to come in, I was a bit nervous,” Leoni recalled. “But I am also happy because it is my dream. I never thought I would be released at the beginning of the season. Everything happened so fast. The coach saw me kicking U17 and I thought he liked my attitude, didn't show arrogance. I just tried to practice hard and always dedicated 100%.”
New steps
Less than a year later, Leoni was borrowed from Sampdoria from Padova on February 1, 2024 for a period of 6 months, with an option to buy. Coach Andrea Pirlo – who used to stand side by side with the best defenders in history – immediately realized that Leoni had enough qualities to play in Serie A. Despite his long -term desire to keep him, Sampdoria was forced to sell because of his financial difficulty after failing in the promotion play -off round.
At this time, Inter Milan and Juventus are interested in Leoni – the U18 player with the most minutes in the second half of the season 2023/24. But Parma, the new Serie B champion, is the team that meets the original 5 million euro fee plus 3.5 million euros.
Unexpectedly, Leoni became a bargain. After the time of integration, he occupied the main kick since November under Fabio Pecchia, then maintained this position in the last 4 months of the season when Christian Chivu became instead.
“We all know how Leoni can become a player,” Chivu said after taking office. “Now depends on us and himself to make the potential into reality.”
The strongest point
The first impression of Leoni was the overwhelming body. At the age of 18, he was 1m96 tall, often won in the airfalls and was enough to fight with the strongest strikers in Serie A. However, football intelligence is his superior point compared to the peers.
“He is very smart,” the old assistant of Sampdoria, Roberto Baronio, told Parma Today. “With the ability to read the match beyond the average, he knows how to deal with each type of opponent, fast or strong, with skillful movements, push shoulders or block first. These are tricks that only have only seasoned defenders, but Leoni has owned it.”
Score to improve
Baronio said that Leoni needs to increase the strength of the upper body, improve the ability to speed up the first 5 meters and make a more alert decision to avoid fouls in the penalty area when it is too impatient. However, he firmly believed a humble, eager to learn as Leoni will progress quickly.
“Right from the first training session in Sampdoria, he picked up the pile and shadow after practicing. We said: 'Leo, leave there, no need!' But he said: 'It's okay, I am used to it.'
Leoni handled the ball very confidently, can kick the purely center -back or deviation in the defense of 3 people. Therefore, it is comparable to Bastoni – the center -back of Inter Milan and the Italian team, famous for its ability to pass the ball, speed and strength – which is understandable.
