Chaotic Calcio: Palermo-Sampdoria, “The Fiorillo Show” of 2009

Goals are symbiotic with Palermo-Sampdoria, a match which has produced 77 goals in 33 previous meetings since 1999. That’s a substantial average of 2.3 per game.

Fifteen years ago, on the final day of the Serie A season, during Edinson Cavani’s and Giampaolo Pazzini’s free-scoring era, the two sides played out a volatile 2-2 draw where chaos reigned and conventional calcio wisdom went out the window.

This is a story of humiliation and atonement, a life lesson in which, in a game of two halves, one can stand accused and be acquitted moments later.

Meet Genoa-born Vincenzo Fiorillo. Some of you know him as the incumbent Salernitana goalkeeper who conceded four times against Sassuolo last night. Others remember the name from Pescara teamsheets or, if you rack your brain hard enough, the Italian national youth teams setup.

Most won’t know much about the 34-year-old who began his Serie A career under Walter Mazzarri at Sampdoria, the club he dreamed of playing for as a child.

In 2009, for the second week in a row, Mazzarri benched first-choice goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi to hand teenage prodigy Fiorillo another chance to impress at senior level.

Palermo and Sampdoria were safe from relegation, so blooding youth was prioritised, as is still the case today. Fiorillo, then 19 and fearless, was eager to back up his solid starting debut performance where he had barely put a glove wrong against Fabio Quagliarella’s Udinese.

Conceding twice in a 2-2 draw at the Luigi Ferraris, Fiorillo was beaten to the jump when Fabio Simplicio headed in and was within a finger of saving Gaetano D’Agostino’s spot kick. The report card suggested he should be rewarded with another match in Sicily.

This time, the primary threat at the Stadio Renzo Barbera was capricious striker Fabrizio Miccoli, who could move mountains on his day.

Miccoli, almost 30, came into the match with 13 Serie A goals for the season, just one behind teammate Cavani. Equalling or bettering the Uruguayan’s tally was the clear objective.

What better way to do so than to exploit an aspiring teenage goalkeeper?

To set the tone, here are the lineups:

PALERMO: Amelia | Cassani, Balzaretti, Kjaer, Migliaccio | Guana, Tedesco, Bresciano | Simplicio, Succi, Miccoli. Coach: Ballardini

SAMPDORIA: Fiorillo | Gastaldello, Campagnaro, Raggi | Dessena, Sammarco, Delvecchio, Pieri, Stankevicius | Pazzini, Cassano. Coach: Mazzarri

Cassano and Miccoli assumed their usual protagonistic roles within seconds of the kickoff. The latter tried one from 21 yards. Fiorillo responded with a first-class save down low to his left, swatting the Pugliese’s drive behind for a corner.

In modern-day calcio terms, comparing teenage Fiorillo to a young Guglielmo Vicario isn’t too much of a stretch, especially when considering physique and and speedy reaction saves.

But with intentions of showing him who’s boss, Miccoli, a true mastermind of chaos, knew that harassing Sampdoria’s brittle defensive line was key.

And it didn’t take long. Hugo Campagnaro’s heavy touch caused panic in the box, and Fiorillo, diving towards the ball, spilled into the path of the ambitious Miccoli who tapped home into an unguarded net in the eighth minute.

Into the 42nd minute, Fiorillo’s feet couldn’t quite execute what his mind had planned. Playing out from the back, his telegraphed pass was intercepted – again, punished by Miccoli – and placed in front of Davide Succi to tuck home. Fiorillo, stranded, watched in horror.

The embarrassment was somewhat relieved on the stroke of halftime when Samp’s Pazzano duo (Pazzini and Cassano) conspired with Lithuanian right-winger Marius Stankevicius to bridge the gap.

Cassano’s vertical pass into the penalty area unlocked Stankevicius to cross low into Pazzini who blasted high into the corner.

Credit to Mazzarri for allowing Fiorillo to stay on the pitch after the break. Fortunately for the both player and coach, the stakes weren’t high, given Sampdoria was safely 12 points above the relegation zone. This wasn’t a UEFA Champions League Final scenario where one howler unravels multiple seasons of work.

But it was indeed a day of extremities.

Palermo’s assault was unrelenting in the second half, but collectively and individually, the idea of a comeback encouraged Fiorillo to be brave.

First, he punched away Federico Balzaretti’s cross into the box. Moments later, he blocked Miccoli’s attempt to drive through his legs, essentially a 1V1.

The adrenalin had kicked in and so had the self-belief. The transformed Fiorillo was keeping Samp in the contest.

Stankevicus then drove low from the edge of the box, sending the ball from the right half-space into the left corner for 2-2.

With the game in the balance, Fiorillo redeemed himself by blocking two more Miccoli rockets, including one of the best free-kick saves of the campaign by any goalie.

Having repaid the faith shown by Mazzarri, Fiorillo was inspirational to the extent that the RAI commentators dubbed it “The Fiorillo Show.”

The shame was evaporated by conviction, displaying a mental resolve tough enough to earn a call up for Italy at the FIFA U20 World Cup, and U21 level (the Federico Macheda and Mario Balotelli era).

However, these 90 minutes in Palermo foreshadowed the theme of Fiorillo’s career, spent mostly at Pescara where he has appeared in 213 of his 279 professional league appearances to date.

Fiorillo would go on to feature in just 24 Serie A matches. Nine of those were between the sticks for Sampdoria where he conceded 19 goals in four-seasons at the Luigi Ferraris before being loaned to Reggina, Spezia and Livorno where he won promotion to Serie A under Davide Nicola in 2013.

Following a sturdy innings at Pescara that endured seven years, Fiorillo transferred to Salernitana in 2021, where he copped a whopping 15 goals in six rare Serie A appearances as Luigi Sepe and Guillermo Ochoa’s number two.

He has appeared four more times this season for the Granata in Serie B, conceding two per match on average.

After keeping a clean sheet in the first half against Sassuolo on match day 14, Fiorillo conceded four second-half goals, a microcosm of his career, which promised so much but was hampered by inconsistency.

How many other goalkeepers have walked and stumbled on the same path?

As fictional philosopher Rocky Balboa says, it’s all about moving forward and staying the course. Fiorillo turns 35 in January.

Occupying 18th place in Serie B this term, Salernitana is at risk of consecutive relegations, two points below Fiorillo’s former employer Sampdoria, which again travels to ninth-placed Palermo today.

This time, it will be aspirational 21-year-old Paolo Vismara who is tasked with protecting the Doria goal.