Dinosaurs

Serie A boasts a glut of exciting young talent that Italian fans get to swoon over week in and week out, the likes Stefan Jovetic currently at Fiorentina always catches the eye. There is the former Manchester United player Paul Pogba. The Frenchman plays for Juventus these days and has been putting in some solid performances for the "Old Lady." While the newly formed Italian duet Mario Balotelli and Stephan Shaarawy looks to rebuild the fortunes of AC Milan in similar fashion to Marek Hamsik and Edison Cavani of Napoli. Its great that the Italian top flight has these wonderful budding stars but Serie A, for me at least is the place to see vintage players at the top level. While England consistently obsesses over how old Frank Lampard is and how long can he continue for, in Italy no such argument ever takes place. The likes of Francesco Totti, Javier Zanetti, Andrea Pirlo, Esteban Cambiasso and Miroslav Klose are running around like if it's the year 2000 and they are a lot players, on the Italian peninsula who have some how preserved their talents even in their latter years with this man being one of them.


Name: Fabrizio Miccoli  

D/O/B: 06/27/1979  

Place of Birth: Nardo, Italy

Position: Forward

Height: 5'6 ft

National Team: Italy

National Team Debut: Italy vs Portugal 2003

Club Team(s): Casarano 1996-98, Ternana 1998-2002, Juventus 2002-07, Perugia 2002-03, Fiorentina 2004-05, Benfica 2005-07, Palermo 2007-present

The Italian forward of the older generation is a special beast. Deeply loyal, an eye for the flair and full of gusto. The names like Alessandro Del Piero, Antonio Di Natale, Antonio Cassano and Tommasso Rocchi mean a lot to different people in Italy. They all are magnificent players and if you blink quickly enough one would swear that your looking at the same guy. They are all diminutive, tricky, goal hungry monsters, who have been plying their trade for a very long time who have their served clubs and national team extremely well.
 There is another man to add to that list who is just as short, just as tricky and just as goal thirsty. Fabrizio Miccoli deserves his purple heart for a career littered with goals and an energetic style of play. Miccoli took his first steps as professional at the Stadio Giuseppe Capozza at the home of humble Casarano in 1996. In his two year spell in Puglia the man from Nardo raked in 19 goals in 57 appearances for the club.      
 After his stint at Casarano, Miccoli took his talents to Ternana and the front man showed his class from an early age. With the side from Umbria, Miccoli scored 32 goals in his four year stay and amassed 120 appearances. Miccoli received a lot praise from people in the Italian game and eventually a bigger club had snapped him up. In 2002 the striker made the move to Juventus but despite his ability Miccoli only played 35 times for the club in his five years there scoring eight times.
 Miccoli as talent as he was and still is just could not oust the Juve cult hero Alessandro Del Piero in the starting line up. The striker was loaned out on numerous occasions, first was to the once prosperous Perugia. In his second time in Umbria, Miccoli donned the colors of Perugia 34 times and got himself nine goals between 2002 and 2003. His second loan saw the forward link up with Fiorentina in the 2004-05 season. In the 35 games he played for the Florentini, Miccoli was able to burst the nets 12 times. This however was not enough for Juve and the Neretini striker was yet again allowed to leave on loan. Miccoli found himself in Portugal in 2005 with Lisbon's Benfica where he spent roughly two years racking up 39 appearances and scoring 14 goals for the side.
 Realizing the Italian's ability Palermo purchased Miccoli in the summer transfer window from Juventus in 2007 costing the "Rosanero," around 4.3 million euros, with the club inking him to a three year deal. 
 Miccoli's career it is safe to stay never materialized at Juve but with Palermo the forward has really come to prominence. So far to date he has scored over 70 goals for Palermo and has played for them more than 150 times. At Palermo Miccoli has tasted European competition having played for the club in the old UEFA Cup. Now the captain at the Sicilian outfit the forward can say this is the longest he has ever been with a team. He has played alongside the likes of Edison Cavani and Andrea Barzagli and has seen some very good times at the club.
 The Italian's international career never really took flight, Miccoli has only ever appeared for Italy 10 times, the first of which coming against Portugal in 2003. It's really no surprise that the forward has had such a scant showing for the national team. In Miccoli's playing career the "Azzuri," could have called on the likes of Del Piero, Luca Toni, Antonio Cassano, Francesco Totti and Alberto Gilardino and at the moment, Italy are looking to the future by relying nowadays on Mario Balotelli and Sebastian Giovinco. Miccoli has ruled himself out of playing for his country again due being snubbed over the years  from men like Marcelo Lippi.
 Miccoli has had a wonderful career and where ever he went he a had a goal for his supporters. Palermo is very lucky to have such a versatile and competent player in their ranks and inversely Miccoli has found a support system in the "Rosanero,"that has allowed him to be considered one of the most premier players in Serie A. Despite the skills and efforts of the striker Palermo is going through some worrying times and currently seems cemented at the bottom of the Italian league and its hard to say if Miccoli can even save them now.

Fabrizio Miccoli

Dinosaurs

It must be a hard thing to know when your end is near. They no longer rush to see you. They say your days are long gone. To grow old is to me, a privilege and a bane. I was raised by my grandparents and I know first hand the savagery of age. I sat and watch as they went from stern bodies and objects of might to things less than shadows. Their fall was only seen by my eye but for athletes it must be a soul wrenching experience. From being the prodigy to the contender to the champion and in a whim to a fading star. I am not a tennis expert but in no sport it is more evident. Unlike team sports like football and rugby, the fading star can still contribute to the goal of victory by letting the younger legs do his running for him but in solo sports like tennis you stand alone. Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and now even Roger Federer star fades, it is saddens me to see what men like these were but time has no pity.






Name: Tommaso Rocchi


D/O/B: 09/19/1977


Place Of Birth: Venice, Italy


Position: Striker


Height: 5'9 1/2 ft/inches


National Team: Italy


National Team Debut: Italy vs Croatia 2006


Club Team(s): Juventus 1995-96, Pro Patria 1996-97, Fermana 1997, Saronno 1997-98, Como 1998-2000, Treviso 2000-01, Empoli 2001-04,  S.S. Lazio 2004-present




Tommasi Rocchi for me is a one club man. Discount the string of teams you see above you except one. S.S. Lazio is where he has made his name, found a home and the place where he gartered my attention. Rocchi a Venetian can be said to be the greatest asset that Roman side has ever produced. Quick and hardy and all those nice words associated with a workman like footballer but there is something about Rocchi that not only endears him to the Lazio masses but anyone who watches him."Rocchi Balboa," as he is affectionately known to his fans began his footballing career as a youth player at Juventus in 1995 and made his way into the full senior squad quickly after. Although full of potential at the time the Juve higher ups wasn't sold on him so much so much so that he never made his senior debut for the Turin side and was shipped off to Pro Patria the following year. Little known Patria gave Rocchi his first opportunity as a professional albeit in the lower leagues of Italy but a start was start notching 27 appearances all while racking up six goals  for the side. 

 Then came a move to Fermana in 97. I don't know a lot about Fermana, all I know is that they float around the regional leagues and they didn't give my boy here Tommaso Rocchi a ton of chances. Three appearances in a whole year? That was unacceptable. His Serie C adventure continued with Saronno and Como from 1997 to 2000. His hard work paid off when he got the jump up to the gauntlet that is Serie B. Treviso  handed the dynamic forward his first stint in the Italian second division. Nine goals in 37 appearances for the outfit had Empoli snuffing around. 

 At Empoli is where Tommaso really came into his own as a striker. He was the prolific scorer and the man with all the answers, 29 goals in over just a hundred appearances earned him a switch to S.S Lazio in 2004. Just a mere four million euros, has to be a steal considering what he has lend to the Romans. To date he has made 221 appearances and hit the net 77 times and in the 2008-09 season delivered the Coppa Italia to the "Biancocelesti." The following year Rocchi guided his side to the Supercoppa Italiana when Lazio defeated Inter Milan. You really saw the man sparkle when he was paired with the Macedon Goran Pandev. Any tandem you can think of, Batman and Robin, The Green Hornet and Kato , my Goddaughter Kassie and any inanimate object with fur, burger and fries all pale in comparison to the force that Rocchi and Pandev could generate. They were the quintessential hammer and nail but with all great duos one moves on. As Robin left Batman to become Night Wing and so will my goddaughter leave her fetish for stuffed animals behind, Pandev left Rocchi for Inter Milan but in typical Rocchi fashion he soldiered on. Today he is joined by the likes of Mauro Zarate and Matuzalem and I with every confidence will say whoever the Lazio Avant-garde decide to bring in, Rocchi will still be there. In Italy unlike other leagues teams reward their aging stars and respect them they just won't farm them out so Rocchi I want to bet will be the only one who decides his own fate. 

Il Capitano