Stephen Miao
Who is he?
Marco Borriello is a 25 year-old striker who is currently owned by AC Milan, the club where he grew up in the youth system. He was loaned out to six different clubs with little impact before finally settling in this season at newly promoted Genoa CFC, hitting 19 goals in a fantastic breakout campaign. He has had some rough patches in his career and has worked hard to get to Euro 2008. He is seen as a future international forward for years to come and is currently highly-rated, as Milan proved recently by putting forward €7 million to buy out Genoa’s share of his contract.
How he got here
Borriello shocked the nation this campaign by bursting onto the scene with Genoa after netting 19 goals to put him third overall in Serie A scoring at season’s end. Not on many lists to be a surprise this season, mostly everyone had already considered him a flop. He has been loaned out to six different clubs and failed to impress in his only stint in Milan during the 2006/07 season, failing a drug test in December 2006 and subsequently being banned until March 2007.
He was given a fresh start this season and made the most of it. He helped Genoa to their first win this campaign by scoring a hat-trick against Udinese, and coincidently netted another hat-trick in the return fixture against the Friuli outfit. His solid season helped fire Genoa into a mid-table position, and he was given his first full international call-up by Roberto Donadoni on February 6, 2008 in a 3-1 friendly win against Portugal. Despite not appearing in qualifying he has been included in the squad for Euro 2008. He has appeared 3 times but has never scored a goal for the Azzurri.
Strengths
Borriello is a classic style center forward. His size and power are his greatest attributes. He is adept in the air and reasonably acrobatic for his stature. He has a considerably powerful left-footed shot and has experience taking penalties.
Weaknesses
Pace is of question for the burly hitman. As well, experience may be somewhat of hindrance to him. With only 3 games played internationally he may be tense at times in this tournament.
Impact Chances
Everyone knows Borriello is simply here to deputise for Toni. He is not considered a starter by any means and is in the mix with 5 other talented forwards but could see some decent time as a substitute. Should anything happen to Toni, Borriello would be the likely replacement. He will see the bulk of his action in relief of Toni in situations where Italy have the lead and are closing up shop. If the Azzurri are forced into a position of need by circumstance you could see Borriello make an impact in the competition given the team’s talented array of playmakers.
