Graziano Pelle: Italy’s Unlikely World Cup Hero

Last season, Graziano Pelle’s fantastic form in front of goal saw him surpass Christian Vieri and Luca Toni as the top scoring Italian striker in a foreign league in a single season, with his 27 strikes for Feyenoord bettering Toni’s and Vieri’s 24 for Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid respectively.

As a result of his exploits, the powerful attacker has become the subject of many Internet memes, with any casual better having a chance to make some easy money on him finding the back of the net on a Sunday fixture in the Eredivise—so consistently has he kept up his strong performances ever since signing a four year deal on January 5 of last year.

The Lecce born striker began his professional career with his hometown side after featuring with their youth teams in 2004, but failed to make no more than a dozen or so appearances for the Southern Italian side during his three years there. Loan spells with Catania (then in Serie B) and Crotone both proved to be fruitless, but he saw his fortunes improve whilst plying his trade with Cesena during the 2006-2007 season where his 10 goals earned him a call-up for with the Azzurrini during the 2007 U-21 EUROs in the Netherlands.

However, over the course of the tournament—his second time featuring for the youth set up of the Italian national squad, he made only three appearances—as a substitute, with his only goal coming in a penalty shootout versus Portugal in the fifth place play-off match. Prior to this he had put on a fantastic showing with the U-20 side in during the FIFA World Youth Championship (now the U-20 World Cup) in 2005, which despite being dominated by Lionel Messi’s Argentina, his four goals made him third only behind the now four-time Ballon d’Or winner’s half-dozen strikes, Juventus attacker Fernando Llorente’s five, and tied with Manchester City’s David Silva.

Finding opportunities to get more playing time hard to come by in his native land, the then 22-year-old Pelle opted to try his luck abroad, with his first sojourn in the Netherlands arriving with AZ Alkmaar, but found success disappointingly hard to come by there as well during his four seasons there and moved back to Italy, this time, with Parma before being sent out on loan again, to Sampdoria. As had happened previously, he failed to find his footing during either of these ventures and indeed, it appeared that a once-promising youth talent who was touted for big things by some had already fizzled out before his career even took off.

While he managed a decent four goals in 12 appearances with the Genoa-based outfit, he would soon find himself returning in 2012 to the very same country where he had failed to make his mark just a year prior in what appeared to be a last-ditch attempt to jump start his flagging career. And, unlike his debut feature in Dutch football’s top flight, this time, Pelle was like a man reborn: scoring 11 times in his first ten appearances, including a last-gasp equaliser versus hated rivals Ajax.

All in all, the 2012-2013 season was an excellent one for both the striker and his team, as his 27 goals saw him just behind Vitesse’s Wilfried Bony (now with Swansea City) in the top marksman’s charts, and the club finished third, only missing out on a Champions League qualifying spot to PSV Eindhoven based on inferior goal difference.

Proving that he isn’t just a one-season flash in the pan, he has continued in the same vein in his sophomore outing, netting 13 times (16 in all appearances) for his side as Feyenoord looks to remain within touching distance of league leaders Ajax. And as late as this past fall, the 28-year-old, who’s been linked with the likes of Chelsea, was still expressing hope that his recent renaissance would possibly turn the head of national team coach Cesare Prandelli, but as of now, nothing seems to have come to fruition regarding whether he’s done enough to earn himself a ticket to Brazil this summer.

Pelle will be rapidly approaching his 29th birthday by the time the World Cup rolls around in June. However,  given Mario Balotelli’s unpredictable nature, Giuseppe Rossi’s new injury fears following Fiorentina’s victory over Livorno earlier on Sunday, Stephan El Shaarawy’s World Cup chances now hanging by a slim thread due to yet another injury setback, there is a general feeling of uncertainty as to who exactly will be the go-to-men to lead the Azzurri in a potentially tricky group that includes Uruguay and England. Given this, perhaps it’s time for him to be given the opportunity to potentially shine for his country on the world’s biggest footballing stage.

Follow Michelle Bonsu on Twitter: @MichelleB289