Acquafresca Makes a Statement

By: Jeremy | May 26th, 2009

While it is always great to beat the champs, Sundays game against Inter was meaningless. Inter didnt bring its full squad and Cagliari had nothing to play for and simply wanted to put on a good show for its fans. The end result was predictable, but Cagliari fans can be happy as many of its players showed some real class and talent and reminded us why, with a little tweaking, we can be a european contender next year.

In a storybook finish to the game, soon to be Genoa player Robert Acquafresca got a nice reward with the winning goal gifted to him on a great cross by fan favorite Davide Biondini. While I was more impressed with the cross then the finish, it had to make him feel good that he netted the winner against the team that owns him yet clearly feels he is not ready to be a first team striker despite his steady improvement and goal scoring prowess for Cagliari the past two years.

For all of his frustrations, most of which expressed by his loud mouth agent until recently, Robert has to understand that a team like Inter needs sure things and cannot place its immediate future on such a young player, who while filled with potential, is still young and disappears for many parts of a match if he is not getting service that suits him. I am sure being surrounded by superior talent at Inter would motivate him and likely produce even more scoring, but Inter cannot take that chance yet and is reminded that even an experienced striker may not often be the answer when he has proven himself with a smaller team in Italy ie Suazo.

This is a team with a top manager yet still cant get very far in the Champions League. They have to continue to find a serious stud to pair with Ibra so they can take that next step. They have tried Suazo, and while he will get another chance, their status allows them to get a player like Milito. Big teams want experience over youth for the most part, especially when they are not winning in Europe. Even young Ballotelli, given every chance to shine for Inter, still does things that shows his youth. In time, like Acquafresca, he will be a dominant player, but not right now.

I am assuming in their deal with Genoa that they retained co ownership of Acquafresca and will make sure he returns should he continue to improve. If they gave full rights to Genoa in exchange for Milito, then they might have been giving away too much but Inter simply needs to win now so they will take the risk as they will always find and buy young players.

So where does this leave our rental prodigy? Common sense says he will play for Genoa next year and gain some european experience. If he cant play for Cagliari that is the ideal place for him. He still will struggle to get first team football, but if he is as good as he makes himself out to be, he should be able to prove himself at Genoa before he returns to Inter.

While other teams are surely interested in him, if he is not going to return to Cagliari and Genoa wants to loan him out, where does he go? Parma? Please. Napoli is serious in wanting him and added to Hamsik and Lavezzi, his acquisition would make them a real up and coming team. Remember their strong start, but their lack of depth makes them a mid table Serie A team absent some added talent. I still dont think both Lavezzi and Hamsik make it back to Naples next year with all the big teams calling but if they do and add Acquafresca, they will be dangerous, but again he would be plying his trade for a team that would not for sure be better then Cagliari and would still not be gaining european experience.

Returning to Cagliari seems to be an option that is not discussed much. If anyone watched the play of youngsters Cossu and Parola on Sunday, combined with the likes of Marchetti and other players both young and experienced who should return next year, if he also returns, Acquafresca can make a push for improvement both individually and in the standings. Allegri should be back and that only adds to the quality Cagliari can offer players. Wishful thinking I know, but instead of being mad at Inter, look at the opportunity to continue to grow with a team he already knows and clearly is comfortable. Allegri is the right coach to continue his growth.

While I am sure it was great to score yesterday, first team places on top Champions League type clubs are hard to come by and unless your name is Pato or Ronaldo, its rare that a young player takes one of those spots so Robert need to take a deep breath and continue to play. Acquafresca is close and if Inter was more successful in Europe, they would bring him back. He will get his shot one day. In the meantime, lets hope Cellino and Allegri can find a way to sneak him back to us for another year. Yesterdays goal was just a reminder that with the help of his unheralded teammates, he can do great things. Its just unfortunate the club laid two eggs against Roma and Reggina because his goal was more of a symbolic statement then a beneficial one.

As the season winds down, I will spend the first few weeks of the offseason looking at the players we have and anlalyzing their 08-09 performance while also trying to guess who stays, who leaves, who might get added, and what fans can hope to expect for next year as many teams seek major improvement which could make repeating this years peformance very difficult.

Next weeks match with Udinese will certainly be entertaining and lets hope the team can finish strong as it can influence players who might be looking for a team next year.