Name to Remember: Fernando Forestieri

By: Martha | January 24th, 2008

Born (of Italian parents) in Rosario, Argentina, Fernando Forestieri’s first club was Newell’s Old Boys, a team he joined when he was very young. In addition, he’s tiny, aggressive, and brilliant on the ball; given those superficial similarities, it’s no surprise he’s already being called “The Heir to Messi.” The label, obviously, is utterly laughable to stick on anyone, but it gives a good indication of just what is expected from a kid who turned 18 just last week and is currently playing for Serie A side Siena.

Forestieri’s play for Newell’s was so impressive that Boca Juniors bought him when he was only 13. He spent two years with Boca’s youth teams, developing as a player and earning those comparisons to Messi before his parents moved home and, in a hotly contested sale, Forestieri joined Genoa on a five-year contract. At Genoa, he played mainly for the Primavera team, but also made a handful of first-team appearances and made his Serie B debut a few days before his 17th birthday, scoring Genoa’s only goal in 2-1 loss.

With the Genoa youth team, Forestieri quickly made name for himself, leading them to the championship of the 2007 Torneo Viareggio, a massive international youth tournament, the 60th annual installment of which kicks off this weekend. Playing primarily in his preferred trequartista role, the kid scored four goals (tied for third-highest total in the tournament) and was named the tournament’s MVP, a massive honor in an event that includes dozens of teams from around the world, routinely featuring big names like Boca Juniors, Shakhtar Donetsk, Pumas, Anderlecht and AC Milan.

After his eye-catching performance, Forestieri was immediately on the radar of all of Italy and, despite having secured promotion to Serie A themselves, Genoa let him go for what is through to have been almost nothing, selling his rights to Italian minnows Siena. And, so far, things in Serie A have preceded just like they did in Serie B: Forestieri scored his first goal a few days before his 18th birthday (against Inter, no less), and got his first start the following week against Palermo. He didn’t score in that match, but he did leave Azzurri defender Andrea Barzagli absolutely for dead late in the match, only the have his shot tipped over the bar.

Because Siena are in a battle against relegation, they’re not exactly he most attacking side, and Forestieri doesn’t have the ball at his feet as much as he might with a stronger team. But when he gets it, it’s immediately obvious what he can do: The 18-year-old has no fear about taking anyone on and, despite his diminutive size, can hold his own surprisingly well against much bigger, more experienced players. He does sometimes try to do to much and, after beating three guys, will lose the ball to the fourth, but it’s probably safe to assume Siena coach Mario Beretta does little but smile when he seems the kid taking people on so eagerly — there’s a little magic to Forestieri every touch, and you can just tell that, if he keeps playing, by April he’ll be beating that fourth guy at least 50% of the time.

In addition to his success at the club level, the Italo-Argentine youngster has won caps for the U-17 and U-19 Italian teams, and has already refused at least one call to the Argentine youth set-up — it looks like the Azzurri have another pint-sized wonder waiting in the wings.

Obligatory highlight clip(s). Warning: There’s not much to choose from when a prodigy’s dad doesn’t film his every move.

[Footage of Forestieri from the Torneo Viareggio]

Especial Forestieri | Uploaded by Shrek_16

[long highlight feature on the Torneo Viareggio final, in which Genoa beat Roma 2-1]