There’s no guarantee Massimo Maccarone will be an A-League success, but that doesn’t mean the Italian should be written off before a ball has even been kicked.
Sometimes it feels like the prerequisites to being a football fan in Australia are never watching the game, not owning a TV and failing to understand how the internet works.
I see mindless comments posted across the web every day, but even I was blown away by the amount of negativity Maccarone’s signing generated.
Much of it came from posters who said they’d “never heard of” Maccarone – a strange thing to admit about a player who spent four seasons in the English Premier League with Middlesbrough.
More recently Maccarone has plied his trade with Tuscan club Empoli, who by my calculations featured live on beIN Sports in the early Sunday kick-off at home to Juventus and Napoli and away at Pescara last season.
But even if watching Empoli games live on Australian TV holds little appeal, Serie A posts highlights to YouTube after every round.
Yet the easy access to highlights didn’t stop plenty of online commentators from revelling in their ignorance and proclaiming that the signing of a player who scored against Juventus, Milan and Inter in 2015-16 was a waste of time and money.
And since it’s obvious very few of those commentating on Maccarone’s transfer have actually seen him play recently, I asked a couple of people who had.
David Biuzzi is a journalist at Tuscan newspaper Il Tirreno who covers Empoli for a living.
He told me Maccarone is a “great professional” who looks after his body, and that Empoli fans were “shocked” by his departure.
“I think he’ll do well in Brisbane,” Biuzzi told me. “He had offers to stay in Italy, both in Serie B and Serie C, but he preferred to create this new experience just because he’s very motivated.”
Biuzzi added that as the captain and inspirational leader of Empoli, Maccarone was even nicknamed ‘The Gladiator’ after Russell Crowe’s character in the 2000 Hollywood blockbuster.
I was put in touch with Biuzzi by Il Tirreno contributor Simone Pierotti, and both journalists agreed that Empoli’s relegation battle – they were leapfrogged by Crotone on a nail-biting final day – impacted Maccarone’s form.
“I can tell you that he was affected by the bad campaign by Empoli last year,” Pierotti said. “(However) he did quite well in the previous one as he netted 13 goals in 38 matches – not a bad score, considering that Empoli have always aimed to avoid relegation and that he’s not young anymore.”
It’s Maccarone’s age – he’ll be 38 by the time the new A-League campaign kicks off in October – that seems to have got the majority of Brisbane Roar fans in a tizzy.
Yet even the question of why Maccarone was signed in the first place is answered by simply acknowledging that Jamie Maclaren and Brandon Borrello are now at Darmstadt and Kaiserslautern respectively.
As for failing to retain Thomas Broich – arguably the A-League’s finest ever import, but one who hobbled through the back end of last season – the decision seemed to be the player’s as much as the club’s.
But that is beside the point. Maccarone may be no spring chicken, but it’s not every day a player who has scored 79 goals in Serie A pitches up in the A-League.
And if he fits in with John Aloisi – a coach who knows a thing or two about Italian football – and he passes on some know-how to the up-and-coming Nick D’Agostino, the Italian should be worth every cent of his reported $450,000 salary.
We complain all the time that the A-League is so far removed from Europe, but when a player with genuine European pedigree signs, we complain about that too.
Maccarone may be too old for the A-League – or he may be a huge success.
But I dare say we won’t know until we’ve actually seen the Italian play.
Tom
Guest
Watched Maccorini play in some weekly highlights of last seasons serie a. Each time I got the impression that Maccarone was putting in and fighting for the ball in each match. Some of the goals he scored were a result of his effort and will to win the ball in the box. This suggests to me that he stil has the legs to engage in the battle. My only concern will be on his ability to acclimatise to football played in summer. The marquee status given to him is a way of managing his salary so it has no impact on the roars salary cap. The roar like other clubs is exploiting the marquee slot to fit another player under the cap. I'm sure Maccarone doesn't see himself as a marquee player.
CrampsRowZ
Roar Rookie
I think people are within their rights to question a club signing a 38 year old but I do agree that people need to be a bit more researched before they comment. It'd save a bit of energy As a roar fan I hope Broich wasn't let go because of his age Our squad is certainly a mixed bag but we always draw on our talented Youth team anyway Hopefully we can glean a bit of info from the FFA cup games on squad balances
tommaso
Guest
I'd say at 38 years old, Maccarone is probably pasta his used by date even in the A league.
LuckyEddie
Guest
No one should be playing football in our summer. The game in OZ will never improve if we stay in summer where players risk heat stroke. It is a joke but the FFA do what FOX want and FOX needed a summer filler, too bad about the weather and the impact it has on the standard of the football. Fox run the show.
LuckyEddie
Guest
He played Serie A last year and scored 5 goals as well as setting up quite a few yet some of the geniuses on here have decided he is no good. How about letting him play a few games first?
LuckyEddie
Guest
He played Serie A last year and scored 5 goals as well as setting up quite a few yet some of the geniuses on here have decided he is no good. How about letting him play a few games first?
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
He was angling for a move to Australia, but says the offers haven't fallen his way.
Fadida
Guest
There comes a point where age has the final say on fitness, explosiveness and sharpness especially. Cahill looks after himself brilliantly but he is clearly in a physical decline regardless of his best efforts. Even the most skillful players lose their effectiveness because of ageing. His age will eventually affect his skill and ability, the question is will it be this season or the next, because it will be one or the other. It isn't a conversation we'd have if he was 30
JF
Guest
Brisbane Roar did let go of Joseph Champness from the Youth team who could've filled the wing spot, and he now looks like being part of the first team with Newcastle. Also, Harrison Sawyer has returned to QLD from his brief stint with Newcastle and is absolutely killing it in the NPL for Western Pride. So far he has scored 15 goals from 7 games, including 4 hatricks, and is already second place on golden boot ladder having played 11 less games than the leader! Both local talent and 20 years old...
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
I think someone like Maccarone is ideally suited for such a mentoring role. Once upon a time, $450k would have represented a large chunk of the cap, but that's probably not the case anymore (assuming a cap of plus $3m).
Waz
Guest
The A League is not known for its speed of play, nor is it over physical with refs blowing up for the simplest of touches on an opponent. The European leagues are much faster, including Serie A.
Waz
Guest
What if he's not a marquee then? Is he worth it then? There is the possibility he will be moved under the cap to allow a new visa winger to be signed - if that happens does it all become worth it??
Waz
Guest
Not quite; Moore was responding to a hypothetical question as to why they didn't just sign him under the cap straight away, not explaining the reasoning behind the initial decision or the approach Roar wanted to take. It's clear some people aren't interested in the facts, the facts as explained by Broich himself and the club Management. Nor have any appreciation how hard it is to meet the cap requirements which mandate both a minimum and maximum spend as well as a maximum number of players. The decision to leave Roar was Broich's, first in announcing his retirement and secondly when told the club would review his contract situation in July (this month) after he'd changed his mind and after his ankle operation. He may well have been signed under the cap if (a) he hadn't told the club he was retiring at the seasons end or (b) he had waited until this month to see what was on offer. How anyone can get a "lie" out of that is plane conspiracy theory stuff, worse still Broich is in on the conspiracy lol. It's Broich's life and it's all perfectly acceptable from him as it's his career and he explained it pretty well at the open fan forum. Now if fans choose not to attend the forum, or watch it live streamed, or watch the replay of the livestream, or journalists don't attend and write it up, or journalists do write it up but people prefer to believe the speculation then there is no discussion or debate, just a difference of opinion which is not worth hammering away at really. Broich is no longer in Roars employ (for the moment at least) but he is planning to be at Perry Park for the Cup game, he's an open guy and will chat to anyone so just get along, stand in the bar, and go and chat with him when he's free. It's not hard, these are not EPL stars we're dealing with. Somehow I suspect the conspiracy theorists will be "washing their hair that night so unfortunately I'd like to attend but I can't" lol ?
Waz
Guest
Those concerns though are based purely on his age - 38 - and not his level of fitness or skill and ability. The thrust of the article was "wait and see" that's all.
stu
Guest
Great player he may well be, however the roar fans face an old player trying to assimilate into a new set up for potentially one season only. I don't think we need this.
hogdriller
Roar Rookie
Think you took the wind out of his sails with that one Mag11.
chris
Guest
Its quick in the last 3rd though
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
Yeh, many do speak fondly of Maccarone, always with a knowing smile. A record of 1 goal in 3 games would not be too bad a return...if it actually was 1 goal in 3 games. The key point remains that his output has been on the decline the last few seasons, and he comes to the A-League as a 38 year old. Anyway, I've just read in the Courier Mail that one of JA's primary objectives is to have Maccarone tutor D'Agostino. Good thought, and I think Maccarone would be good in such a role, but whether that's worth a marquee label is a completely different discussion.
Midfielder
Guest
Thomas Sorensen could come out of retirement for the Roar be one of the younger recruits
Fadida
Guest
I didn't say "he can't be any good". I've said concerns that he may struggle physically have merit