Parma Club Focus: Finding The Real Schelotto

Date: 22nd March 2014 at 9:05pm
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Ezequiel Schelotto is a player who in the space of two years has went from Azzurri debutant to footballing outcast. He’s a recent arrival at the Ennio Tardini but he has already made a positive contribution to the Parma cause with one assist and two goals in five games.

Due to turn 25 in May he should be entering the prime of his career. Could a permanent move to Parma rekindle his career and prove to be an absolute steal?

Schelotto joined in January as part of a five-player swap deal with Sassuolo. This deal saw Parma’s Nicola Sansone, Pedro Mendes and Aleandro Rosi move to Sassuolo and Schelotto and Jonathan Rossini headed in the opposite direction. As if that wasn’t complicated enough Schelotto actually joined Parma on loan from Inter who had been loaning him to Sassuolo.

Still with me? So in layman’s terms, Schelotto is contracted to Inter but on loan to Parma until the end of the season. The loan deal also involves a purchase option for Parma, meaning that Schelotto is basically on a five month long trial period with the Crociati.

From a tactical standpoint Schelotto offers something very different to Parma. He is in direct competition with French winger Jonathan Biabiany for a starting berth down the right hand side of Parma’s team. Whereas Biabiany is a lightning quick winger who loves to run directly at defences, Schelotto is a more languid player who looks a lot more assured on the ball, he prefers to keep the ball circulating in possession rather than running directly at defenders. He can dribble but nowhere near to the extent of Biabiany.

Due to their completely different playing styles Biabiany and Schelotto can offer Parma coach Roberto Donadoni a very interesting tactical choice. The two players require completely different marking methods from the opposition full back. Whereas Biabiany is more likely to pick the ball up and run, Schelotto will look to sit a little bit deeper and slowly make his way up the pitch. Schelotto could prove himself to be a valuable addition from the bench both when looking to see a game out and when looking to change the attack up.

Another area where Schelotto could prove valuable is his tactical versatility. In the past he has operated well both in a 3-5-2 and 4-3-3, coincidentally both are Roberto Donadoni’s two main preferred formations. He is also capable of playing right back, tactical and positional flexibility will be key for Parma next year as the squad will potentially have to cope with European football. The squad will need both added quality and depth to deal with the pressures of the Europa League, and Schelotto fits the bill.

There shouldn’t be too many problems securing him from Inter either, he does have a contract until 2017 but he has no real place in the current Inter side. He’s not the hard running, direct wide man that Inter coach Walter Mazzarri seems to prefer. Inter already have Jonathan and January arrival Danilo D’Ambrosio who are capable of playing wide right. There’s also the possibility of Javier Zanetti extending his contract with the Nerazzurri and he too his capable of playing there

Schelotto signed for Inter in January 2013 and played featured in 12 of Inter’s remaining 16 games that season. However come August 2013 he was deemed surplus to requirements and was loaned out to Sassuolo. His first half of this season with Sassuolo can be summed up in one word; tepid. In 11 league games he contributed with one goal and zero assists. There were flashes of the old Schelotto but for the most part he just coasted through games.

Already, even this early into his Parma career we have seen the same. After coming on against Atalanta, Schelotto looked very lively. He made several good runs and was eventually rewarded with the final goal in a 4-0 win. His first start for Parma came against AC Milan, for the majority of the game Schelotto struggled to get involved. Eventually however he set up Amauri’s goal. If he can find some consistency in his play then he could prove to be a steal for Parma come the end of the season.

 

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