Empoli loanee and Rossoneri-owned playmaker Riccardo Saponara has begun living up to the hype in 2015 that once coined him the “Kaka of Serie B”
23-year old Riccardo Saponara has proven in 2015 that he is a player of Serie A caliber. The player returned to Empoli on loan from Milan in January 2015 after the former U-21 Italian rode the bench with the rossoneri, only to come back the club where he was once drew comparisons to Kaká. With less than a dozen appearances for the San Siro outfit in his career, a homecoming was meant to be for the playmaker as he played a key role in clinching Serie A football next season for the azzurri.
What you need to know
Full name: Riccardo Saponara
Date of birth: 12.21.91 (Age 23)
Position: Attacking Midfielder
Nationality: Italy
Current club: Empoli
Height: 1.84 m
National caps: U-18 (3), U-19 (1), U-21 (22, 3 goals)
Who is Saponara?
After catching the eyes of many top-flight clubs in Italy, it was Milan who managed to corral the prized young Italian. Saponara arrived to the Rossoneri in January of 2013, however the player remained with Empoli until the remainder of the season which was his best campaign yet, scoring 13 goals while assisting fifteen in all competitions. The attacking midfielder was huge in bringing the club to the Serie B promotion play-off final where they fell to Livorno who earned promotion to Serie A. Since then, the Italian was given just eight appearances by Milan before being loaned back to the Sarri-managed side this past January on a loan deal with an option to buy set at €4m.
For country, Saponara has seen his fair share of caps spanning from U-18 to U-21. However, it was in 2013 when the Italian earned a spot on the U-21 Italy squad led by Devis Mangia to participate in the UEFA European U-21 tournament. On the biggest stage of his young career, the gifted player scored a goal against Israel in a 4-0 win for the azzurrini before bowing out in the final to Spain 4-2.
Strengths and Weaknesses
A player that possesses great ability, Saponara does a little bit of everything as a footballer. As a trequartista, he is a plus passer of the ball which is certainly a quality needed if you want to draw comparisons to a legend like Kaká. The 15 assists he amassed in his superb season in 2012-13 proves that he is a pure playmaker and defines what it means to be a creator of chances. When given the chance around net, Saponara is a solid finisher and has the ability to accumulate goals which is what he has done in just 16 appearances since January for Empoli, scoring seven times. His best goal this season was of the “bicycle” variety, justifying his understanding of 18-yard box. Perhaps we haven’t seen enough of him in the top-flight to gauge how he compares to Kaká as a dribbler but he does control the ball well from what has been on display with Empoli. At age 23, he is only sniffing the surface of his potential.
With many young players, there is always room for growth and it’s no different with Saponara. Aerial duels aren’t his forte and may never be but it’s an area of his game that does need some tuning. While it could be nitpicking, he does at times hesitate in making the clinical pass around the box but because he has a hungry edge of confidence, maturity should correct this. As an Empoli player, he has proven that talent isn’t the issue as much as earning consistent playing time is which severely lacked while wearing red and black.
2015-16 and Beyond
With his solid second half of the season, Riccardo Saponara has shown that Milan made a mistake in not deploying him into the squad more often as he has been everything the Rossoneri could have hoped for but for another club. With his loan deal set to expire this summer, Empoli have made it clear that they will exercise their €4m option on Saponara and bring him back for next season in Serie A. However, Empoli could also shop him around as interest appears to be looming for his services from some of the top clubs in the peninsula, including Juventus and Napoli. Regardless, it appears his short-lived Milan career is all but over which is saddening considering that he was never truly given the opportunity to prove his worth. Because he never played much before moving back to Empoli, his international status remains in limbo as he will now have to leapfrog others who are ahead of him in the pecking order and prove to Antonio Conte that he is ready for the call-up. On the other side, if he continues to shine like he has for Maurizio Sarri or whichever club he plays for next season, there is optimism that he could get the nod and make his first appearance for Italy’s first team sooner rather than later. Finally given the chance with “the Blues”, Saponara has proven that he belongs in Serie A.
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