As the youngest Serie A captain, Giulio Maggiore managed to arouse the interest of Internazionale, AS Roma and Bologna. The Spezia midfielder, who grew up in the city of his childhood sweetheart, is regarded at the age of 23 as one of the pioneers of aquilottia† The story of the man who found out at AC Milan that he was very unhappy and withdrew from the World Cup with Italy Under 20 to pass his final exams.
By Mart Oude Nijeweeme
Maggiore is no stranger to Italians who play Football Manager. The Spezia midfielder regularly receives messages from football fans who thank him for a good assessment and associated points. “Luckily I don’t get a lot of insults,” he recently told GOAL† That fact is not surprising. Maggiore is a cheap but reliable force in the online manager game. Someone who can build weekly on a basic spot and therefore guarantees points.
However, it is not only the Fantasy Football players who appreciate the development of the young Italian. Also in Serie A more and more trainers appreciate his way of playing. The fact that he is the youngest captain of the Italian league is mainly due to his class and composure on the ball. He also stands out outside the lines. Maggiore is sociable, captivating and speaks with a certain maturity that belies his age. The right leg was born in Spezia and was picked up at a young age by the club from his hometown. At the age of fourteen he moved to AC Milan.
Maggiore lived his dream, knowing that the move to Milan contributed to his ultimate goal of becoming a professional footballer one day. The problem, however, was that he didn’t feel happy. It wasn’t just injuries that bothered him. Maggiore felt unhappy in his own body. “It was a situation that went beyond myself,” he says. “I wasn’t happy with myself. When I think about it now, I just wasn’t able to get myself on track. Maybe the injuries were the result of not being mentally focused. I wasn’t thinking about football, wasn’t into the game at all. After two months I returned home and went back to Spezia.”
They welcomed him with open arms in his hometown. Maggiore signed his first professional contract in April 2016 and made his professional football debut in September of that year, when he was allowed to play in the Serie B game with Trapani at the age of eighteen. Maggiore became a fixture that season and, as icing on the cake, received an invitation to the Under-20 World Cup in South Korea. Once again, the Italian decided to choose for himself. After missing many classes at school, he didn’t wish to jeopardize his hopes of graduating. He decided to reject the invitation. “My studies have brought me a lot, but because I played at the second level I had to miss a lot. I decided not to go to the World Cup and my esame di maturita (high school, ed.).”
An overview of the youngest Serie A captains (left) and the five biggest European leagues.
“It was a difficult decision, but the national team left me free to make my own choice. They were nice and understanding. I was a year younger than all the other players and I thought about doing what was right for me. I knew that this was the right decision.” It has not become an obstacle to his career. Maggiore continued to develop stormily, both on and off the field. When Spezia then had to look for a successor to the departed Claudio Terzi in the summer of 2021, the versatile midfielder was the most obvious and popular option.
At that time, Maggiore had already played more than a hundred games for his childhood sweetheart and played a crucial role in the historic promotion to Serie A in August 2020. In his first season at the highest level, he easily stayed on top under the guidance of trainer Vincenzo Italiano. the leg. Spezia finished fifteenth and managed to hold on. While some players are discouraged from becoming captain of the local pride, Maggiore wears the tie with gusto. Not surprising for someone who counts Steven Gerrard among his childhood idols. Maggiore enjoys his current role, although he admits to be hit by defeats and setbacks.
“I’m from La Spezia, so it makes sense that there is more pressure,” he says. “There are many things to take into account. Not only on the field, but also off it to help the group. You feel responsible in many situations. When things don’t go well, you feel the responsibility to do more than a other. The captaincy is something that gives me satisfaction and joy. Leading your own club is not given to many people. So, captain of Spezia as Spezzino makes it extra special for me.”
The captaincy came as a complete surprise to Delano Burgzorg. The attacker, who made the switch from Heracles Almelo to FSV Mainz this winter, played six months with Maggiore in the 2019/20 season. “I did not immediately see a leader in him,” Burgzorg tells Football zone† “He always had an extreme urge to win. All players have that, but with him you could really see that reflected in his character. He always went one hundred percent, also during training sessions. He was always ahead in quiet training sessions too. That erratic “I am surprised that he is already captain, which means that he has developed very quickly. When I was there, there were mainly a lot of experienced players. Everyone listened to that, there was a clear hierarchy.”
Burgzorg describes Maggiore as a ‘social boy who fits well in the group’. Within the lines it is striking that he does not excel at anything. Not in goals, assists or duels won. In fact, he is the Serie A player to score the most without scoring this season (28 shots). It gave him a total of two assists. Striking is his involvement in attacks by Spezia. Looking at the so-called pass chains, only Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan) and Piotr Zielinski (Napoli) show better figures. In addition, only Brozovic started more pass chains that ultimately resulted in a higher Expected Goals value than Maggiore, statistics from opta from.
Spezia had a difficult start to the season led by Maggiore. Italiano’s successor, Thiago Motta, was on the brink of being fired when he traveled with his squad to Genoa on January 9 for the derby against Genoa. Motta grabbed his last straw and won 0-1. To everyone’s surprise, AC Milan also won a week later in San Siro, to complete the winning streak again a week later against Sampdoria. “I think the last period has been fantastic, with three wins in a row. We have never achieved that before. We are finally achieving the results we hoped for all along and want to continue like this.”
Maggiore is a player who clearly comes into his own under Motta, a coach who has been treated with skepticism since his statements about a 2-7-2 formation as coach at Paris Saint-Germain Under-19. coaches because he has no clear formations,” concludes Maggiore. “He believes that all players should be able to play different roles, depending on the style of play. He can tinker a lot with a team compared to a week earlier. But he always stands for good football. I feel good in this system. past months have been satisfying and positive.”
What certainly speaks in Maggiore’s favor is that Motta is a central midfielder of yesteryear with some renown. Someone admired by Maggiore during his time at Internazionale. “He was an incredible player,” says the Spezia midfielder about the 30-time Italian international. “So it’s normal that you listen when he speaks. I try to copy everything he says. Of course Italiano was fundamental to my career. He helped me with my field occupation and I felt comfortable under him. But I also enjoy this year, Thiago Motta asks the same of me.”
Thiago Motta is on his second job as a Serie A trainer, having previously led Genoa.
With Italiano excelling as a trainer at Fiorentina, it is almost inevitable that Maggiore will be linked with a move to Stadio Artemio Franchi. Monday evening there was a reunion between the two men, when Fiorentina in the Stadio Alberto Picco was 1-2 too strong for Spezia. Maggiore still has a contract until next summer. Spezia is thinking of rewarding the midfielder now that Internazionale, Bologna and AS Roma have their sights on him. Maggiore meanwhile rejects all rumors and words about a possible transfer. As may be expected from a captain, he focuses on enforcement with his team.
When it comes to the Italian national team, he is a little more outspoken. Maggiore admits it’s a dream to own the shirt one day i Azzurri to carry. “They call the players who deserve it,” he says soberly. “The players who are constantly playing well at their club. I think I am a player who is still developing. Maybe one day I will have the chance to realize this dream, but slowly, without putting pressure on myself.” It’s hard to believe that Maggiore is telling the truth when he says that preserving life with Spezia is all he’s thinking about right now.
Maggiore is more than a Fantasy Football favorite. He’s one of those rare but very real city heroes.