Louis van Gaal has been scouring the transfer market for a new right-back, with Rafael being deemed surplus to requirements at Old Trafford. Names such as Dani Alves and Nathaniel Clyne were being linked with moves, but it seems that van Gaal has found his man.
Meet Matteo Darmian, who has joined Manchester United from Torino for a fee of €18m (£12.9m). The 25-year old joins the Reds as somewhat of an unknown talent outside of his native Italy, but back home in Italy he has had high expectations on him.
Darmian shot to prominence during last year’s World Cup in Brazil, as Italy crashed out in the group stage. Despite this, he impressed, and that has seen him being compared to the legendary Antonio Cabrini, whose rise to fame also started at a World Cup.
Cabrini was uncapped when the Azzurri travelled to Argentina for the 1978 World Cup, but he made his debut in their first game against France, and returned home having been voted as the best young player of the tournament. He never looked back from there, going on to win six Serie A titles with Juventus and forming the backbone of the 1982 World Cup winning side in Spain, where he played alongside Dino Zoff, Gaetano Scirea, Giuseppe Bergomi and Claudio Gentile in defence.
When asked about Darmian, Cabrini said: “He can become a focal point of the Azzurri defence for many years. It all depends on him. After a very positive season in Serie A, he has the chance to keep on improving, especially by gaining important experience at international level.”
“For more than a decade the importance of the flanks was overlooked due to different tactical approaches. Then coaches began to reuse the flanks, but there were not many players able to operate comfortably in that position any more. After a few years there are finally some who can do it and Darmian is certainly one.”
Darmian experienced a similar route to the Azzurri, making his debut in a pre-World Cup friendly against Ireland in London before being selected in Cesare Prandelli’s 23-man squad. He made his official debut for the Azzurri against England in the stifling Manaus heat, where he played a pivotal role in Italy’s 2-1 victory. Darmian started all three games in the group stage, and despite Italy crashing out, he was one of the few shining lights in the side.
Darmian has come a long way from his early days in the AC Milan youth system, which he joined in 2000. He made his professional debut when he was just 16, being brought on as a half-time substitute in a Coppa Italia tie against Brescia in November 2006, and just a year later he made his Serie A debut against Udinese. However, he made only four further appearances in all competitions for the Rossoneri before being sold to Palermo in a co-ownership deal after a successful loan spell at Padova.
Although his time in Milan is viewed as a failure, having failed to break through to the first team, he has gone from strength to strength since leaving, although there were a few speed bumps along the way. Injuries curtailed his only season at Palermo – where he only made 16 appearances in all competitions and he was loaned out to Torino in the summer of 2011, where he has not looked back since.
Making the right-back spot his own, Darmian made 33 appearances as Torino were promoted back to Serie A, and Torino made the deal permanent for a fee of €825,000, paid to both Milan and Palermo. In the 2013-14 season, Darmian made 37 appearances in the league as Torino finished seventh and earned a Europa League spot after Parma could not obtain a license to participate in Europe. Darmian’s impressive season earned him a place in the Serie A Team of the Year, and a place on the Azzurri’s plane to Brazil.
Darmian continued his standards last season, making 47 appearances in all competitions and scoring five goals as Torino made a historic run to the last sixteen of the Europa League, where they were knocked out by Zenit St Petersburg, and finishing ninth in Serie A.
Darmian’s development has been remarkable from the days where the Rossoneri deemed him not good enough to become a consistent first team player. His positional awareness and his ability to burst up and down the line at pace makes him hard to handle, and his versatility is also an asset, with the ability to play anywhere in defence and also at wing-back, where he is a crucial component in Torino manager Giampiero Ventura’s 3-5-2 system, playing down the right-hand side.
Explosive going forward, Darmian is also strong defensively, with his tackling a particular strength. He started out his career as a centre-back, which may explain his defensive solidity. On the wing, he can stretch opponent with deep runs to the byline, but his crossing can certainly be improved, with his end product being erratic at times.
It’s more likely that Darmian’s defensive qualities have attracted the interest on van Gaal, who likes his full-backs to be solid at the back first, rather than be attackingly-minded first. United have failed to fill the massive void at right-back ever since Gary Neville retired back in 2011, with fan favourite Rafael often producing erratic performances, while Antonio Valencia has failed to convince fans while playing there. It may well be Darmian that fills that gaping role.
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