Player Focus: Burden on Berardi as Italy U21s' Creator & Goalscorer-in-Chief

For a couple of minutes after the full-time whistle in Uherské Hradištĕ, Domenico Berardi lay on the turf with his hands covering his face. Breathing heavily, the Italy Under-21 international had given everything against Portugal. A knock on the ankle throbbed. He had cramped up late in the second half too. But what kept him down was a sense of disbelief and regret. How had the Azzurrini not won or even managed to score? They had produced fewer shots [14] than their opponents [15] but significantly more [6] had been on target [2].

Jose Sá was undoubtedly the busier of the goalkeepers. Unlike Francesco Bardi who wasn’t tested until the final five minutes, his opposite number had work to do from the get-go. Marco Benassi forced the bearded Maritimo glover into a save within seconds of the game starting and Andrea Belotti glanced a header against his crossbar only moments after the interval. A scorer of seven goals for the Under-21s under Di Biagio, including a brace in the critical come-from-behind-win against Serbia in Pescara last September, it was one of a number of chances the Palermo striker frustratingly couldn’t capitalise on.

Although not the source of all of them, Berardi has emerged as the creator-in-chief of this Azzurrini team. A significant development in his game at Sassuolo this season has not only been the following up of his goalscoring exploits of the previous campaign to demonstrate they were no fluke but a great ability to help his teammates score as well. The 10 assists he got in Serie A leave no doubt as to his worthiness of the No.10 shirt he wears for the Under-21s.

Recall it was the Sassuolo forward who played Belotti through against Sweden in the build up to the award of a penalty. Only William Carvalho has attempted more passes in the final third per game than Berardi at these championships in the Czech Republic [23]. The range and variation of them is something to behold. Long diagonal switches of play, through balls, outside the foot slide-rulers and reverse passes. His all-round game only consolidates the impression that Italy have a potential world class player on their hands.

Berardi’s goal from the spot against Sweden is the Azzurrini’s only one in the competition so far. It wasn’t a surprise to see him put it away. He scored six penalties for his club this season. Only Jérémy Ménez dispatched more in Serie A [8]. Of concern for the Under-21s, however, is the lack of goals from open-play. La Repubblica remarked that Antonio Conte must have experienced deja-vu while watching their performance against Portugal on Sunday. Like Di Biagio he has recently shifted to a 4-3-3 but the senior team and the Under-21s are struggling to score. Italy have found the net 12 times in 10 games. Nine different players have got on the scoresheet. Graziano Pellè, Giorgio Chiellini and Antonio Candreva are Conte’s top scorers with just two goals each.

It’s a slightly different story for the Under-21s. Manolo Gabbiadini, Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne have all graduated since reaching the final of the last Under-21 European Championship in Israel two years ago. Simone Zaza was fast-tracked by Conte and has been part of his senior set up since the beginning of his reign. Denied them and Stephen El Shaarawy, Di Biagio’s side only scored 19 in qualifying, the lowest of any group winner. A little more luck and ruthlessness in the Portugal game, however, and they could have won comfortably.

Arguably too loyal to those who got Italy to the Czech Republic in his opening game, he was accused of picking on past and not present form. But the five changes he made for their second, all of whom have established themselves as first team regulars in Serie A brought about a much better performance if not the desired result. The Azzurrini made a Portugal side that had looked special against England appear nothing of the sort. Their destiny however isn’t in their hands. Italy must win and hope Portugal and Sweden don’t draw, a result they’re unlikely to settle for because if England triumph then their qualification would still remain uncertain.

To do so the Azzurrini have got to start taking their chances. As the Under-21s’ most prolific player at club level, perhaps someone else other than Berardi should take responsibility for the creative side of their game and allow him to focus on finishing. Berardi has scored four hat-tricks in two seasons in Serie A. In all, he has got 31 goals and in terms of precociousness he reached that number faster than any Italian in the last 50 years, including Roberto Mancini, Antonio Cassano, Alberto Gilardino, Francesco Totti, Roberto Baggio and Alessandro Del Piero. The only player in that time to score 30 at a younger age is a certain Alexandre Pato but he took eight more games to do it.

Tap Berardi’s potential and Italy do have the firepower to blow England away. Harry Kane will probably have it harder against a Daniele Rugani - Alessio Romagnoli centre-back partnership that was excellent against Portugal and promises to be the future of the senior team. Too isolated in England’s performances so far, if they can get the Tottenham hero into the game more, well, this could be a shoot-out between two of the best strikers in the tournament. The duel between Berardi and Kane promises to be one of the stand-out moments of this European Championship. When the smoke clears and the dust settles, which of them will be still standing?

Will Berardi or Kane prove decisive when England and Italy meet at the U21 Euros? Let us know in the comments below