Player Focus: Fabrizio Miccoli - Maradona Of The Salento

The name of Diego Maradona, despite his retirement as a player coming as long ago as 1997, is never far from the headlines, whether it be yet another comparison with Lionel Messi or his latest incredulous outburst as coach of Dubai side Al Wasl, the man widely regarded as the worlds greatest ever footballer remains pure box office. He was in the news once again this week, declaring his desire to return to his beloved Napoli, a city which bore witness to many of his most magical moments.

Yet that path remains blocked, the Argentinian barred from setting foot on Italian soil over the small matter of an outstanding tax bill which currently stands at around €38 million – Diego never does things by halves! The matter has dragged on and on, not least since the widely reported seizure of a number of items belonging to Maradona by the peninsulas Finance Police back in September. Among the goods taken was a diamond earring believed to be worth around €5,000 but which sold for five times that when it placed on sale at an auction in January the following year.

What isn’t as well known is the identity of the buyer, a certain Fabrizio Miccoli, captain of Serie A side Palermo and lifelong fan of el Pibe d'Oro. “I’d give it back to him for free,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport, “the only condition would be that I have to do it in person.” He also named his son Diego and sports a Che Guevara tattoo on his leg almost identical to Maradona’s own tribute to the infamous revolutionary.

Miccoli’s career, prior to landing in the Sicilian capital was also one of rebellion, first rising to prominence under the tutelage of Serse Cosmi with Perugia where his nine goals and seven assists in 2002-03 not only helped the Grifoni to an Intertoto Cup spot but also earned him a move to Juventus. He was never truly accepted in Turin, his outspoken nature not only alienating him among the playing staff but, crucially, drawing the ire of then Sporting Director Luciano Moggi. That saw him sent to Fiorentina where he enjoyed another stellar campaign, scoring twelve goals and becoming the darling of the passionate Viola supporters.

Unfortunately their financial situation was a disaster and he returned to Juventus, Moggi immediately dispatching him to Portuguese side Benfica where he scored a wonderful goal to eliminate Liverpool from the Champions League. Two seasons later he would be on the move once again, this time to Palermo, costing the Rosanero €4.3m which, on reflection, has proven to be an absolute steal. Now in his fifth season at the Stadio Renzo Barbera, he has been captain since 2009 and, on February 1st this year, became the clubs all time leading scorer.

He is, much like his childhood hero, the undisputed leader of his team, always keen to share his wisdom with his younger team-mates. He takes on a huge amount of responsibility but seems to always deliver, this season contributing no fewer than eleven goals in 22 appearances, only three of which came as a substitute. That total makes him the ninth highest scorer in Serie A and represents 29% of his teams 38 league goals thus far. Even more impressive is the fact he now leads the division in assists with 12, four more than his nearest rival – Juve’s Andrea Pirlo – and meaning he has either scored or created over 59% of all Palermo’s goals this term.

Miccoli leads Palermo in other categories too, starting with his 3.9 shots per game, with only Antonio Di Natale, Stevan Jovetic and Zlatan Ibrahimovic taking more across Italy. More important has been his creative passing, the best-ranked Rosanero player in key passes (2 per game) and accurate crosses (1.3 per game). He also averages a WhoScored.com rating of 7.42, comfortably the best at the club and good enough to be the seventh highest in Serie A's Player Statistics.

One major factor in his success, much like that of Maradona, is just how difficult it is to take the ball from him once he has it at his feet, turning it over just 18 times in total throughout 2011-12. Clearly his close control and low centre of gravity – he is just 1.68m tall – are major factors here, good enough to allow him to play as a lone striker on two occasions.

Despite breaking down in tears after scoring past his beloved Lecce last season, he clearly loves life in Palermo, as he told La Repubblica; “It’s my home. The people of Palermo treat me like one of their own. What more could you ask for?” Given that only Ibrahimovic has had a hand in more goals, the answer for il Pibe di Nardò must be ‘not very much’.