Domenico Berardi: The Least Wanted yet Most Needed Winger in Serie A
The Rossoneri were able to bag two goals in the first 15 minutes of the game, and another heartbreak seemed close for the capitulated Neroverdi after the 0-7 humiliation Inter had inflicted on them three months before.
Unlike their previous fixtures against all the traditional powerhouses of Italian football, Sassuolo earned a 4-3 victory over Milan. The next morning the website of newspaper Il Giornale ran the headline "Berardi makes a mockery of Milan," as Domenico Berardi stepped into the breach notching all four goals to claim the victory.
At the age of 19, the Italian forward became the first player in Serie A history to score four goals past AC Milan and he became the second youngest player to be named a hat-trick hero in Italy’s top flight, making him the name on just about everyone’s lips.
With some scintillating football, Berardi wrapped up his first season in Serie A reaching double figures in both goals and assists registering 16 goals and assisting 10 others.
This was only Berardi’s second season of professional football, as in his first season Berardi managed to notch 11 goals and five assists leading Sassuolo to the Serie B title.
Although Berardi scored only one goal for the Azzurrini in the Euro, he brought some moments of magic with his textbook flicks, his left-footed crosses and he was most memorable for getting suspended from the semi-final for a needless booking as Italy celebrated Bernardeschi’s goal over Germany in the group stage.
Berardi’s disciplinary is undoubtedly the most lackluster of his career. Many moons ago, he claimed sleeping through his alarm as he failed to report to the Italian U19 training camp.
Later his former Sassuolo coach Eusebio Di Francesco burst in anger after a defeat to Genoa back in the winter of 2015 “He gets sent off and suspended regularly, it’s becoming an issue,” he continued “His exit ruined our game plan.”
Berardi served suspension in 17 league games as he has been booked with 39 yellow cards and three red ones, the most player in Serie A since 2013/14.
If goals are the public’s letter to an Italian forward, Berardi was not encouraged by his mail. After he shone the brightest in 2013/14 netting 16 goals, his record declined year after year, scoring only five Serie A goals last season, with the likes of Federico Bernardeschi and Keita Baldé rising ahead of him in the Capocannoniere race and in this summer mercato.
Friedrich Nietzsche once said “No one can build you the bridge upon which precisely you must cross the stream of life, no one but you yourself alone.” Picturing Mimmo reading these words he definitely did it his way building a whole new selfless path.
Berardi constructed a bridge of maturity as he developed less of a poacher and an extra mile as a playmaker. His maturing process made him a more team-oriented player, not losing possession as often as before and becoming more of a passer. The Sassuolo right winger now swifts to the middle allowing more space for Pol Lirola to make runs beyond him, and lets Lorenzo Pelligrini roam from his position in attack.
Delivering jaw-dropping moments with his devastating shots is not the only weapon for Berardi’s deadliest left boots, as Sassuolo’s biggest assets were his key passes and pinpoint crosses leading his team to play Europa League football, only a decade after playing in the fourth tier of Italian football.
A sideband strain in the knee prevented Berardi from participating in the Europa League group stage. As he was sidelined for over four months he only started 20 Serie A games for Sassuolo last season, which did not stop him from averaging 0.45 assists per game better than any player in Serie A.
Not even Jose Callejon or Juan Cuadrado hold Berardi’s record, with his faint flicks around the corner the blessed Italian playmaker registered 31 assists in his four seasons in Serie A more assists than any winger or any Italian player in the league.
Never troubled to show his affection, in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport "I was born with a Nerazzurro heart," Berardi continued. "Parents will always pass some things to their children and Inter won the faith of my father and my brother.”
Probably that was an enough reason to refuse joining Juventus who co-owned him since he was a Serie B player, as it would also throw the Rossoneri option off the table.
With the World Cup coming, Berardi will surely be looking for enough playing time next season. As this is Candreva’s yard at Inter Milan, the youngster will think twice before joining the club that won his heart as a child, and allegedly last summer, too.
While Napoli hold a well-oiled machine up front, it is reported they can offer him a contract after next season, which sounds fair for the player unless he finds his perfect fit now!
We can picture Berardi reuniting with new Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco, especially after these words a couple of months ago: “Berardi? He's a great person, who always works as much as he can. He's an exemplary professional that always manages to be decisive. He's ready for a top team, but for me that has been the case for two years.”
With The Lupi looking for cheaper options, the uncertainty will only grow about the 22 year-old’s future. Stuck between his hot temper, his talent and how much Sassuolo President Giorgio Squinzi weights his price, Berardi still has no sparkling role in the Soap Opera of this mercato.
Ramez Nathan