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Gabriele Formiconi. Photo by Vaso Brodeur
Imagine for a moment you’re Gabriele Formiconi. You’re 18 years old, you’ve never traveled outside of your native Rome (nevermind traveling to Putnam, Conn.), and your English is a little suspect. One of your closest friend from home is with you, but starting up at Putnam Science Academy isn’t going to be easy.
But at least you’ve got soccer. You can get out on the pitch, you can get the ball on your feet, you can make some runs from your position on the wing. This, you know. This, you don’t need to worry about. Out here, you’re comfortable.
And then, just as the weeks are going by and the harder stuff is getting a little easier, the soccer all of a sudden gets harder. Your coach tells you he wants you to switch positions, to try to fill a void the team has.
“At the start, I didn’t like it,” Formiconi said of moving from a winger position to striker. “It was the first time I had ever played that position. For me it was very hard. The first game, I was absolutely uncomfortable. I did it, but it was very uncomfortable.
“But now, with coach and the training, now I like it.”
The biggest adjustment is going from playing with open space in front him on the wing to playing in the center of the attack with his back to the goal and the center-back leaning on him.
“He’s growing into it,” said Mustangs coach Sam DeMello. “It just comes with repetition and more experience. One of the biggest things we had to work on was the movement. It’s very different coming off a wing versus coming in the center.
“I definitely had to sell him on it a little bit. He never played there, he was unsure. But he has shown improvement.”
Formiconi had been playing well on the wing, registering two goals in the team’s first three games. In the three games since the switch, he has scored once. But, while scoring goals is the ultimate measure, that is not the only way to account for improvement. Formiconi has better movement, making runs that help both in the buildup of offense but also in support of the team’s attack. What he does once he has the ball on his foot, particularly maintaining possession, is of utmost importance as well.
The position also requires a physical presence. At 6-foot, 1-inch, 180 solid pounds, he fits that mold.
Valerio Proietti, a defender on the Mustangs who has been good friends with Formiconi for the last six years or so, said playing against someone like that up front is challenging.
“When a strong player floats forward like that … that’s a good thing for them,” he said. “You have to play against them with another mentality. Surely in that position you have to be strong, and Gabriele is strong. He’s physical. He likes very much to use his body.”
The move can also only help Formiconi as he looks to play at the next level.
“He’s physically what you would look for in that position. He’s big, strong, fast, he can get in behind, he can fight with the central defenders,” DeMello said. “We talk about American soccer at the college level all the time that it’s very direct, it’s very physical. A lot of the time, coaches aren’t necessarily looking for the most technical soccer player, they’re looking for someone who can compete and make a difference. “In Gabriele’s case, he does have good ability with his feet, and then when you add the physical aspect to it, it’s a very attractive prospect for some college coaches.”
Formiconi ultimately bought in because he trusts DeMello that it could be better for the team and that it would be better for him individually.
“Coach told me that it was better for playing at university,” Formiconi said. He told me that in the U.S., the position is better for my body. That’s OK. I can see myself playing there at university. Definitely. Now I like it.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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