Gianluca Scamacca’s services are in high demand, and it’s simple to understand why. He is a 6’5″ Italy international striker who scored 16 goals in Serie A last season and is capable of scoring on any given day. The only surprise is the path he took to the top.
Gianluca Scamacca
Gianluca Scamacca, at the age of 23, is both an early phenomenon and a late blooming. Recognized as one of Europe’s greatest talents at the age of 15, he traveled to the Netherlands twice as a youngster in quest of opportunities. At the age of 21, he was still on loan at Ascoli in Serie B.
Now, after excelling for Sassuolo, he is not just seen as the striker around whom Italy should construct their assault, but also as a guy capable of commanding a sum of over £40 million, considering that he may be Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s heir. The tall man with the swaying feet.
Given his stature, the reason for his delayed appearance is perplexing. As a young teen, this was what made him unmistakable. Defenders would miss him. Even when they were in the way, goalkeepers were unable to stop his shots.
Scamacca’s departure for PSV
That was the driving force behind his unique choice to leave Roma’s academy at the age of 16. Scamacca’s departure for PSV was a contentious decision – he had previously switched Lazio for Roma as a young lad – and was viewed as a harsh indictment of Italy’s youth development.
It was a triumph for PSV and their sports director Marcel Brands. “That was a job well done by Marcel,” says Pascal Jansen, former Jong PSV coach. “He made the initial contact with AS Roma.” Italian children aspire to play in Italy, but Gianluca is different now, as he was before. He seeks out difficulties.
We scouted him, went there, looked at him, and saw that he was playing with much smaller kids than he was at the time since he is a big boy today and he was a large boy then. We made him believe in us, and he picked our Eindhoven program.” ” Typically, young men travel to Italy to play. He traveled from Italy to Holland. It was a challenging step for him because no young Italian player travels to Holland. He decided to do so. We were quite lucky that he adopted our strategy.”
Gianluca Scamacca understood he needed to be tested, but that wasn’t going to happen at Roma. The route was given by PSV. He began his career with the U17s.” He had ambitions.” The U19s were promoted. “He had greater goals.” And made his professional debut shortly after turning 17 years old.
Jansen was the coach that gave Scamacca his debut with Jong PSV, the U23 squad that competed in the Eerste Divisie, the Netherlands’ second division of football. In January 2016, he replaced Steven Bergwijn in an away victory over VVV-Venlo.
Sciacca later stated that the amount of coaching rigor was unprecedented for him. “It’s not just the coaching level, but also the infrastructure.” It’s neatly organized. You’re up against some of the top players in the country. Excellent games.”
Even back then, some of Scamacca’s attributes were apparent. “His instinct in front of goal was and continues to be his strength.” He was powerful with his head since it was a skill he had mastered from a young age. Other aspects of forwarding play needed more work at that stage. “The speed of the game and the technical abilities were the major challenges for him. We worked with him to make sure that his footwork was ready, his agility, his touch, and his movement.”
Gianluca Scamacca returned to Italy with Sassuolo one year after making his debut. Loan transfers to Cremonese and back to the Netherlands with Eredivisie side PEC Zwolle added experience but no goals. But it was the relocation to Ascoli that signaled true success.
His achievements earned him a loan move to Genoa, where his eight Serie A goals convinced Sassuolo that he was ready to succeed with his parent club. This season saw an Italian senior debut and a level of performance that matched that early promise.
