Betfair Official Blog

Italian Football

Federico Marchetti: Remember the name as he's Buffon's most likely successor

Click here to view market

Dave Farrar tells us about the crucial role played by a certain Federico Marchetti in Cagliaris' recent revival of fortunes in Serie A. And with limited options amongst Italy's goalkeepers and question marks over Buffon's long-term fitness, you may be seeing plenty of him in the future.

The shock of last weekend in Serie A was Udinese's rather odd home defeat by Reggina, but not far behind was Cagliari's stunning win over Fiorentina: Cagliari looked down and out five weeks ago, after they lost their opening five games of the season, but since then, they've won four of seven, and have dragged themselves up to the edge of the top ten.

One of the reasons for their improvement has been the faith shown in the coach Massimiliano Allegri: many clubs would have fired a manager after such a poor start but Allegri survived, and has turned things round for the time being. The five goals of Robert Acquafresca have been important to their current form, but possibly the most significant thing about Cagliari is their last line of defence, a young goalkeeper by the name of Federico Marchetti.

The 25 year old arrived on loan in the summer from Albinoleffe in Serie B, along with another unknown in the shape of Simone Aresti and the more experienced Cristiano Lupatelli. Marchetti impressed pre season and got his chance as the starter: since then he has been quite outstanding, and his impressive start was crowned earlier this week with the news that Gigi Buffon had identified him as the best young goalkeeper that he has seen this season. It's not solely down to Marchetti that Cagliari are now trading at [2.5] for relegation, but he has played a major part in their renaissance.

Buffon's comments in a wide ranging interview with the Gazzetta website carry serious weight within Italian football, particularly given the soul-searching that is currently going on about the lack of good young Italian goalkeepers. The country that provided us with a post Zoff succession of brilliance including Pagliuca, Perruzzi and even Toldo, is now worried that, if the body of the great Buffon starts to let him down, there is no obvious replacement for him.

Marco Amelia, now of Palermo, was always presumed to be the next man in line, but he has lost his way a little, and suffered with injury, and Italian fans are starting to realise that the cupboard is a little bare beyond Gigi, which is why the naming of Marchetti by Buffon may turn out to be so significant.

It's a popular debate in England as well, of course, and the Azzurri's problems aren't as deep seated as those facing Fabio Capello. Thirteen of the first choice keepers in Serie A are Italian, as opposed to the seven in the Premier League, but there are plenty of journeymen in that group, and, in the absence of both Buffon and Amelia for this week's international friendly, Gianluca Curci of Siena, and Morgan De Sanctis of Galatasaray have received the call from a rather conservative Lippi. Neither will be the long term solution, and it surely won't be long before Lippi names a new name like Marchetti in a senior squad.

The two other names which are always thrown around when this subject arises are those of Vincenzo Fiorilllo and Emiliano Viviano. Fiorillo, poor fellow, is still only 18, but has long been described as the new Buffon after outstanding performances for the Sampdoria Primavera team: he will be ready one day, but is far too young to figure in any current debate, while Viviano is a good example of a goalkeeper whose development is being held back by the presence of so many foreign goalkeepers in Serie A. He's with Brescia in Serie B, but will soon be ready for a step up to the big time, if anyone is prepared to take a risk.

Gigi Buffon is only 30, just five years older than the man he has named as his heir apparent, but football followers in Italy tend to look into the future and worry, rather than simply complain when a problem comes along. If Buffon's fitness is starting to become an issue, and he he's only played four times this season, then those of you thinking of a long term World Cup bet on Italy at [14.0] would do well to remember the name of Federico Marchetti. His should also be a key name to consider with regard to Cagliari team news, as their resurgence gathers pace. If he gets an injury, that [2.5] about relegation may start to look like value.

And a final note to punters on a slightly different subject: one of the other things that Buffon said in his interview with Gazzetta is that the Juve squad feel that they have a big chance of winning the Champions League, more so perhaps than Serie A. Pavel Nedved and Alessandro Del Piero have both made similar noises in recent weeks. They're currently trading at [19.5] which is simply too big: listen to Gigi, and get on.