Lega Pro, Serie D, and other league loanee reports

Lega Pro

Alessandro Bacci (Siena): The 20 year old keeper got a surprise start over Lorenzo Montipò on Sunday, only to be shelled 3-0 at Tuttocuoio. He looked, frankly, rather shaky, although his defense certainly didn't do him any favors either. All in all, it's unlikely that he convinced manager Guido Carboni to entrust him with a full-time role, and he'll probably go back to the bench. Given that it was his first competitive match in months, we're willing to excuse some jitters. He's still a decent, albeit very rough, prospect.

Lorenzo Bardini (Prato): The 20 year old goalkeeper remains fixed to the bench. Maybe next year.

Marco Berardi (Pordenone): The 20 year old midfielder hasn't been in the matchday squad for the past 2 weeks. It's unclear if he's injured or excluded for tactical reasons.

Axel Gulin (Catania): The 20 year old winger has been benched since January, and shows no signs of getting any more match time. He needs a slightly friendlier environment for next season.

Saverio Madrigali (Arezzo): The 21 year old centerback played all 90 minutes in 1-0 win over Maceratese. He also assisted the equalizer for last week's 1-1 draw at SPAL; here's an interview he gave after the match (starts at the 1:41 mark in the video).

The youngster remains as handsome as ever, and is also showing signs of developing into a heck of a defender. It's crucial that he continue to get first-team minutes, so he's probably unlikely to feature for Fiorentina any time soon, but he's got the makings of a future starter. Also, check out his Instagram. Apparently he really likes his cat.

Diego Peralta (Pisa): The 19 year old Argentinean played the whole of Sunday's 1-0 win over Lupa Roma, and looked lively as you'd hope. Ever since manager Gennaro Gatusso moved him into the starting lineup, he's shown some technical ability, some pace, and some really impressive vision around the area. His agent believes that he's earned a move to Serie B or Serie A next year, and based on the player's late-season form, he could well be right.

Jacopo Petriccione (Pistoiese): The 21 year old midfield schemer played the first 73 minutes in Sunday's 1-0 loss at Savona. He's shown the odd flash of brilliance in his deep-lying role, although he definitely needs some time to catch up to the defensive side of the game. His ceiling may be as an athletically limited deep passer, but that's hardly the worst thing to have around.

Serie D

Daniele Ansini (Viterbese Castrense): The 20 year old midfielder was benched for Sunday's 2-3 win at ASD Astrea, although he played the first half of last week's 3-3 draw with ASD Cynthia. Following a real run of form last month, he's thrust himself into manager Federico Nofri's plans. He seems bound and determined to prove that he deserves a chance to prove himself at a higher level next year, and his recent form means who could well get that opportunity.

Jacopo Pagnini (Poggibonsi): The 19 year old goalkeeper was the custodian for Sunday's 1-0 loss to Colligiana. He's still got the league lead in clean sheets by a mile, and may have played his way into a loan to a Lega Pro side next season. Just another one of Fiorentina's pack of precocious young goalies.

Other leagues

Marko Bakić (Belenenses--Portugal): The 22 year old Montenegrin midfielder came on at the hour mark in Saturday's 0-2 loss to old friends Paços de Ferreira. The substitute appearance was actually quite promising, as it showed he's recovered from a thigh injury that kept him out for two weeks. Manager Julio Velázquez is probably thrilled to have him back, as the sartorially challenged Bakić has probably been his best player through the second half, and should get a crack at a lower-tier Serie A team next season.

Steve Leo Beleck (CFR Cluj--Romania): The 23 year old Cameroonian attacker came on as a 70th minute substitute in Saturday's 5-1 win against Poli Timișoara and scored a very nice goal (4:40 in the video) with an athletic but overenthusiastic celebration, considering that it put Railroaders up 4-1 with a man advantage. It was interesting, though, that the entire team seemed genuinely happy for him; maybe he's a really cool guy, and they're glad he finally scored. It's telling that this is only his second appearance since March, and that he only came on with the game pretty much wrapped up. The clock is ticking for the former youth international. I hope he settles in somewhere, at Fiorentina or elsewhere, because seeing how glad his teammates were that he scored makes me like him a lot.

Mario Gómez (Beşiktaş--Turkey): The 30 year old German striker scored the opener and assisted the second in Saturday's 4-0 rout of Kayserispor. He also notched a goal and a 90th minute assist to snatch a point in last week's 3-3 draw at Akhisar Belediyespor. While he's in the form of his life right now, his future remains completely clouded, as we've reported here at length. Who knows what comes next, but he's certainly banging in the goals.

Ianis Hagi (Viitorul Constanta--Romania): The 17 year old Romanian attacker scored a goal and notched a brace and an assist in Friday's 6-1 pasting of Târgu Mureș. He got a real poacher's goal to open the scoring, then ran a lovely line to smash home a nice cutback for the second, before turning provider for the third with a nice corner kick. He came off to a nice ovation in the 56th minute. This is more what we were hoping to see from the youngster, as he hadn't figured in a goal since August.With a bi more confidence, he may be ready for a bigger role at the club next year, and to really live up to the captain's armband.

Giuseppe Rossi (Levante): the 29 year old striker played all 90 minutes in Monday's 3-0 loss at Málaga, which assured that the Granotes would be relegated, despite a valiant effort from their temporary forward. He's played the full match for the past couple of weeks, which is encouraging, although his agent is spouting some nonsense about keeping him in Spain next season, probably in an effort to drum up promises of playing time back with Fiorentina next year. Pepito himself has baldly stated his desire to return to Florence next year, so he should be ready for Moena.

Rafał Wolski (Wisła Kraków--Poland): The 23 year old midfielder played all 90 minutes in Saturday's 3-2 loss at Korona Kielce. Life's been good to him back in Poland, but he's got a big decision ahead of him. He could probably get the Viola management to send him back for another season, or he could try making his way back to Italy and proving himself on the peninsula, either with a bottom half Serie A side or a promotion candidate in Serie B. He may not be the longterm Borja Valero replacement we hoped he would be, but he's got the chance to come good on his own terms. At this point, it's entirely up to him.