Domenico Berardi was one of the most underrated wingers in Italy. However, with time he got recognition and was even a part of Italy’s UEFA Euro 2020 winning squad. Berardi remained on the wishlist of many in Italy but none of the bigger clubs opted to sign him. Juventus were one of the teams interested in their former player. The 29-year-old forward had joined the club in 2013 but never made an appearance. He was instead loaned out to Sassuolo for two seasons and ended up playing there only.
During his time in the Serie A, Berardi has made more than 300 appearances and scored around 120 goals in the competition. His consistency in scoring and creating goals makes him a hot prospect in Italy and that too in his late 20s. Let’s take a look at the stats of this Italian winger that show why Juve are still keeping an eye on this fearless winger.
Terrorising defences from the right
Domenico Berardi has a very direct approach when it comes to creating and scoring goals. He is a typical left-footed right winger and likes to penetrate the opposition penalty box with his runs. Berardi has averaged around 2.5 progressive runs per 90 minutes combined in the last two seasons. Sassuolo’s talisman has completed 60% of his dribbles, with a few successful dribbles coming inside the opposition penalty box.
Every opposition who faces Sassuolo knows who their main man is. They usually tighten the defence from the left side. Berardi is a tough competitor and has the skills to get past the opposition’s defence. In this process, he has earned a few free kicks and a couple of penalties combined in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
The above pizza chart shows the percentile rank of Berardi in comparison to other right-attacking midfielders in Tier 1 of league football. Italy’s winger is rated at the top amongst the best players in the top-rated leagues in the world. Berardi contributes to both ends of the field.
Crucial contributions
Domenico Berardi’s left foot can terrorise any defence. He has shown this by netting goals in the 2022-23 season and in the current one too. In the previous season, Berardi’s game time was limited to 26 Serie A matches and he scored 12 goals in total, with seven coming from the penalty spot. At an average of 3.5 shots per 90 minutes, Berardi took 77 shots and had an accuracy rate of 35%. Most of his shots went over the crossbar in the 2022-23 season.
In the current season, he averages 3.02 shots per 90 minutes and has a high accuracy rate of 52.8%. The 29-year-old has netted seven goals and has scored quite a few goals in the far corner.
Domenico Berardi is a creative force down the right flank. He created seven goals last season and already has two assists in the current season. The winger averages around five passes to the opposition penalty box per 90 minutes combined this season and last season.
Juventus will look to sign Berardi in January and raise their hopes of winning the Scudetto. He is a goal-scorer and knows how to create a goal or two.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
