Serie B Talents: Meet Cesena's attacking midfielder Luca Garritano

Article by Wesley Davidson

Born in Cosenza, Calabria to a family that includes four additional calciatori, Luca Garritano was perhaps destined to follow in the footsteps of his father, two uncles, and cousin to ply his trade on the pitch. That possibility became a reality at fourteen years of age when he left home to joinInternazionale’s youth academy.

“Arriving at Inter was like a dream”, said Garritano in an interview with Rinaldo Salino for Red Bull. “I was fourteen years old”.

The early days in Milan were tough on the young player and he often entertained the possibility of returning home to his family. “I came from Cosenza alone, and I cannot say that everything was easy at first”. Nevertheless, Garritano remained and he continues to develop as one of Italy’spromising young talents, earning caps for the national team at the U16, U18, U19, U20, and U21 levels.

The attacking midfielder spent 2008-2013 with Inter, making his way through the youth system before appearingfor the Nerazzurri twice in the Europa League and three times in Serie A. His Serie A debut came on April 21st in a home match against Parma with his family in attendance.He signed permanently for A.C. Cesena of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region in the summer of 2013 and has been with the club ever since. The 2013-14 campaign brought a solid 25 appearances for Garritano in route to Cesena’s promotion to Serie A by way of the playoff. The following year presented a new challenge as he made only six appearances in the top flight and was subsequently loaned to Serie B side Modena in January of 2015. After returning to Cesena for the 2015-16 season, he featured 1387 minutes in 29 matches, roughly half of his playing time this season.

Standing at 5 feet 8 inches, Garritano is certainly not an imposing figure on the field. What the Calabrian lacks in size he makes up for with his pace, dribbling ability, vision, and skill in orchestrating his team’s moves going forward. His emarkable speed with the ball at his feet and willingness to take on defenders make him a headache for opposing back lines, and he is also able to quickly switch the point of attack through accurate long balls. He is able to play as a central midfielder, left or right winger, or second striker, providing manager Andrea Camplone with valuable versatility when selecting his squad each week.

Garritano’s contract with Cesena runs until June 30th of 2018. He has been a stalwart for his club this season, notching 3 goals and 6 assists while appearing in all but four of their matches in Serie B. He also registered five appearances in Cesena’s run to the Coppa Italia quarterfinals, which included a goal against Roma to level things at 1-1 in the 73rd minute. Francesco Totti later won it for the Giallorossi with a penalty in stoppage.

A spot in the 23-man squad representing Italy at the European Under-21 Championship in Poland is a deservedreward for Garritano’s fine season. While he will likely find playing time hard to come by behind the likes of Sassuolo’s Domenico Berardi and Fiorentina’s Federico Bernardeschi,Garritano offers a unique blend of ability and experience (11 caps for the Under-21s) should coach Luigi Di Biagiocall his number.