Gianluca Scamacca is the new Italian star. The striker arrived in excellent form, scoring in three consecutive Serie A games and scoring a double in the first Europa League quarter-final with Liverpool (3-0).
Gian Piero Gasperini
Atalanta head coach
“Gianluca is experiencing rapid growth and is becoming a high-level player. The game against Liverpool should give a big boost to his confidence.”
But before Atalanta, Scamacca went from being a promising striker to a footballer who failed in the Premier League.
Scamacca has had an interesting career at the youth level. He trained with Lazio, Roma and Holland.
Scamacca was born in 1999 in Rome. His football life began in his hometown: at the age of seven, Gianluca ended up at Club Atlético. Over the years, Luca Toni, Paolo Di Canio and Francesco Totti found themselves in the team’s system. But Scamacca did not stay at Atlético for long. He began a tour of other Roman academies: Monterotondo (2008-2009), Lazio (2009-2012) and Rome (2012-2015). It is surprising that the young footballer played for both clubs in the warring capital.
In 2014, British media reported Liverpool’s interest in Gianluca. The London Evening Standard called Scamacca “the new Ibrahimovic.” At 15 years old, the striker was already 193 cm tall! It didn’t work out with Liverpool, but the moves didn’t end there. In 2015, Scamacca was acquired by PSV and they bought the Italian from Roma for 270 thousand euros. The Dutch saw promise in Gianluca and found a job for the player’s mother. But in two years in Holland, the forward only played three games for PSV’s second team. And in 2017, Sassuolo replaced Scamacca, paying the Dutch more than 4 million euros.
Gianluca Scamacca at PSV Eindhoven
Photo: psv.nl
In the 2017/2018 season, the forward played only three games in Serie A, losing the competition to Diego Falcinelli, Huma Babacar and Alessandro Matri. Curiously, this trio scored only eight goals. Maybe Scamacca should have been trusted more? However, the Sassuolo bosses made another decision: to give Gianluca on loan. At the beginning of 2018 he was signed by Cremonese, who played in Serie B.
However, this is just the beginning of Scamacca’s path towards Sassuolo. In the 2018/2019 season he ended up on loan at the Dutch PEC Zwolle, a year later at Ascoli and then at Genoa. And it was in Genoa where Gianluca revealed himself at the Serie A level. In 29 games, he scored 12 goals and helped Genoa finish in the middle of the table (11th place).
Gianluca Scamacca in Genoa
Photo: Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images
During his loan to Genoa a strange incident occurred. In May 2021, Italian publication Il Messaggero reported that Emiliano Scamacca, the player’s father, broke into the parking lot of Roma’s base wearing a Sassuolo shirt and vandalized several cars, one of which belonged to the then-Roman sporting director. Tiago Pinto. He then headed towards the field where the youth team was training. The police arrived a few minutes later and arrested the undocumented person. Already at the station it turned out that it was Skamacca’s father.
As a result, the violent father was sent for a mental health evaluation. Then it turned out that Emiliano works as a plumber and has nothing to do with his son’s career. And Gianluca’s father and mother were not even married.
First great season at Sassuolo and move to the Premier League
Scamacca ultimately spent the 2021/2022 season at Sassuolo. In 38 games he scored 16 goals, placing sixth on the Serie A scoring list. Also in September 2021, Gianluca made his debut for the Italian national team in a match against Lithuania. The 196-centimetre forward intimidated defenders, although he hardly used physical force. He based his game on technique. Not in vain, in his adolescence he was compared to Ibrahimovic, who had an incredible technical set and enormous height. Gianluca easily received any pass and showed extraordinary dribbling. And his ability, which helped him “eat” Konate in the match against Liverpool, the ability to keep the ball under pressure, was actively used even then.
Gianluca Scamacca in Sassuolo
Photo: Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images
The best clubs in Serie A and Europe began to look for Scamacca. Inter, Milan, Juventus, PSG and Arsenal joined the race. Surprisingly, Gianluca was eventually signed by West Ham. The Londoners turned out to be the most generous and offered Sassuolo more than 40 million euros, bonuses included. And Scamacca himself signed a five-year contract with West Ham. The Londoners, however, made a mistake with the Italian’s presentation, misspelling the forward’s name in the promotional video: “Scammac.”
But in the Premier League things did not go as planned for Scamacca. He began a difficult adjustment and by the end of 2022 he had scored just six goals. West Ham manager David Moyes preferred to place nominal flank players Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen in the center of the attack. Scamacca was hampered by what had become his strong point in Serie A: his poor ability to utilize his strength. In the English Championship this skill is vital and Gianluca relied on technique.
The second part of the season was ruined by the Italian’s injuries. In January 2023, Gianluca damaged his meniscus. Because of this, Scamacca had to undergo surgery and miss the rest of the season.
Gianluca Scamacca at West Ham
Photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Transfer to Atalanta
In the summer of 2023, West Ham and the Italian decided to part ways. Gianluca did not put down roots in England and Atalanta came for him. The Bergamascos paid a considerable sum for the forward: more than 25 million euros. Gian Piero Gasperini was looking for a replacement for the deceased Duván Zapata. Scamacca has similar traits to the Colombian, which is what attracted Gasperini. Furthermore, the experienced Italian is known for his ability to reveal players whose talent was not appreciated by others.
In 2022, we include the Scamacca transfer among the worst:
Classification
Worst signings of 2022
But at Atalanta Scamacca’s adaptation was not easy. Gasperini likes to marinate newcomers on the bench, limiting playing time. The same thing happened with Gianluca. And in September and December 2023, the forward was injured, missing several games. Scamacca couldn’t get into optimal shape. Another competitor, Charles De Ketelare, on loan from Milan, fit perfectly into Atalanta’s system. In general, I had to be patient.
Although in October the forward scored his first goal for the Italian team in the qualification match for Euro 2024 against England (1-3). In January 2024, Gasperini criticized the 25-year-old striker in an interview with L’eco di Bergamo: “he needs to work more because he doesn’t run much. If Scamacca is so undynamic, he will not be able to contribute anything good to the team. Even if he has other important qualities.”
Gianluca Scamacca in Atalanta
Photo: Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images
In January-February 2024, Gianluca played nine games, in which he scored only one goal and provided one assist. But since March Scamacca has been on fire! In nine games, the forward scored seven goals and also provided one assist. Powerful progress, although during this period Gianluca only played one full game (the first quarter-final against Liverpool). In total, Scamacca has already scored 14 goals in 34 games this season. And after the defeat against Napoli (3-0) in Serie A, Gasperini finally praised the striker.
Gian Piero Gasperini
Atalanta head coach
“I see Scamacca growing as the season progresses. He had some injuries and if people expected him to score 30 goals, it was an exaggeration. But his scoring figures already reach double figures and he is an important player for Atalanta. “We are happy and I hope that Gianluca can become the leader of the Italian team.”
The match with Liverpool was one of the best in Scamacca’s career. The forward not only scored a double, but also showed the best aspects of him in front of a large audience. Gianluca received passes of any complexity (often with his back to the goal), retained the ball and opened dangerous areas for his teammates. Scamacca also listened to Gasperini’s criticism of his performance: at Anfield he worked the full 90 minutes, pressing tirelessly. The forward made five tackles, one interception and recovered the ball four more times. The best performance by an attacking player who scored two goals in the same game.
At the same time, Scamacca was often positioned on the mid-flank, moving away from the center of the attack. This is how, for example, Atalanta’s third goal was born. Gianluca accelerated the attack, moved to the left midfield and gave a complicated pass to Ederson. The Brazilian shot at Liverpool goalkeeper Kelleher, but Pasalic was the first to finish. And Scamacca scored both of his goals as a pure “nine”: on both occasions he completed passes from the right wing.
Gianluca is one of the most unique forwards in Europe. Its powerful dimensions are combined with innovative technology, a smart head and versatility. If he learns to competently switch between post/creative/scoring modes, he will be among the elite forwards.
Scamacca will probably go to Euro 2024 as part of the Italian national team:
Classification
France? England? Or maybe Germany after all? Choosing the main favorite for Euro 2024
