AC Milan completed their first new addition of the January transfer window on Monday as they announced the capture of Filippo Terracciano from Hellas Verona.
The club’s official website announced yesterday that Terracciano has put pen to paper on a contract with Milan that will run until 2028, therefore a four-and-a-half-year deal, while he will wear the No.38 shirt.
The defender gave his first interview with the club’s official media channels and he spoke about his emotions after taking such a big step as well as the versatility he has acquired over the years.
Terracciano has been a starter in Serie A for 18 months now but you’d be forgiven for not having an extensive knowledge of what he can bring. Our writer Rohit Rajeev has taken a look at the first new addition of the winter mercato.
Back story
Terracciano’s story is a rather interesting one, and there is something that already links him to Milan. He is the son of former footballer Antonio Terracciano, himself a product of the Verona youth sector and a team-mate of current head coach Stefano Pioli at Fiorenzuola in 1997-98.
Raised in the academy at Verona which he joined from a very young age, Terracciano made his way up the various youth ranks.
He moved up to the U17s in 2019, then to the U19s a year later (the Primavera side) where he stayed for a couple of seasons before it was decided he was too good to be playing youth football.
The Italian made his first team debut on 15 December 2021, in a Coppa Italia match against Empoli which Verona actually lost 4-3. He would have to wait a while for his Serie A debut, which instead took place on 20 March 2022, during a 1-1 draw again against Empoli.
On 4 August that year, Terracciano renewed with the Verona club until 2026 and by the start of the 2022-23 season he had pretty much nailed down a starting spot in the team, diverting his time between the two flanks.
Terracciano made 20 appearances for the U17 side, scoring three goals from a sometimes more advanced role, as well as 49 for the Primavera (one goal, five assists) and 41 for the first team across all competitions.
In terms of his international exploits, the youngster turned heads from an early age. He played in the U18 , U19 and U20 youth national teams with the Azzurri, standing out with the latter in particular.
On 19 November 2022 he made his debut with the national U21 team, led by Paolo Nicolato, coming on in the final minutes of a friendly match which they lost 4-2 against Germany in Ancona. Since then, he has mostly been back with the U20s.
Playing style
Although he is a right-footed player by default, Terracciano has demonstrated that he is comfortable in playing as a left-back in a 4-2-3-1 as well when asked by coach Marco Baroni.
Initially Verona started using a 3-5-2 but owing to poor results he changed to a 4-2-3-1 with Filippo playing as the LB. When using a three-man defence the 20-year-old was also deployed in the right wing-back position (his natural role arguably). His versatility is an asset to coaches.
— Rohit Rajeev (@keralista_v2) January 6, 2024
When allowed the freedom to go forward, Terracciano does display ability to beat defenders on 1v1 and surge forward and overlap/underlap so as to pin defenders back when they are in an attack a prevent an overload on his flank.
— Rohit Rajeev (@keralista_v2) January 6, 2024
His eye for a pass is not to be underestimated either as he has shown here his ability to exploit the spaces in front of him, something very useful in a system where the full-backs are asked to create too against deep blocks.
— Rohit Rajeev (@keralista_v2) January 6, 2024
At the age of 20, Terracciano shows he still has a lot to learn in terms of defensive discipline and ability to read the danger.
For example, in the clip he fails to keep up with his man and lets Lorenzo Lucca dart past him to have a free header.
— Rohit Rajeev (@keralista_v2) January 6, 2024
He was troubled by the pace of Ebosele and therefore had to stay back one or two yards further than he would have liked. His 1v1 against Roma’s Zalewski further shows that he still is quite raw in this aspect.
— Rohit Rajeev (@keralista_v2) January 6, 2024
Terracciano has some very good recovery pace thanks to his long limbs. The run back and the tackle to prevent that through ball shown below – in the 85th minute of the game too – is a commendable effort.
— Rohit Rajeev (@keralista_v2) January 6, 2024
Standing at 1.96m tall, aerially he isn’t a dominant monster that his size perhaps suggests that he should be, but the ex-Verona man still can make some crucial headers.
— Rohit Rajeev (@keralista_v2) January 6, 2024
Terracciano was the set-piece taker of Verona, somewhat surprising considering his role. He was the main corner and free-kick taker which shows his technique. Against Lecce his free-kick into the box landed on the head of Juric, so Milan have another option on that front.
— Rohit Rajeev (@keralista_v2) January 6, 2024
Statistics
Fbref provide a comparison of Terracciano to his positional peers (in this case full-backs) across the ‘top five’ leagues as well as the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League over the last 365 days.
Based on 1646 minutes played, the areas where he stands out are in tackles (he is in the 69th percentile, meaning better than 68 players out of 100 in that area) as well as interceptions (91st percentile), blocks (88th) and aerial duels won (79th).
He averages 0.11 assists per 90 which puts him in the 61st percentile among full-backs for that, while he has a 40% shot on target rate which is in the 85th percentile.
Terracciano’s progressive passing distance of 282.52 yards per 90 minutes is worthy of being in the 75th percentile, while his long passes completed (67th) and attempted (79th) also stand out.
The 20-year-old ranks in the top 30% of full-backs for key passes per 90, crosses into the penalty area, dead-ball passes, through balls, switches of play (93rd percentile), crosses and corners taken.
On the defensive end, he is in the top 30% for tackles won per 90, tackles won in the defensive third, percentage of dribblers tackled, blocks, interceptions and errors.
Finally, he ranks highly when it comes to Shot Creating Actions from dead balls (87th percentile) and from take-ons (94th).
What about the areas to work on? Terracciano is in the 9th percentile for pass completion rate (70.5%), and in the bottom 20 for passes completed short.
He is in the 7th percentile for clearances per 90 (1.26) and in the bottom 15 for touches in the attacking third, carries into the penalty area, times dispossessed and aerial duels lost.
Conclusion
Terracciano is only 20 and it does not seem that he will be a starter for Milan, nor is he a player who instantly moves the needle towards a title charge. However, what he has shown is that he is a hardworking and talented player ready to fight for his spot.
Against Udinese, Terracciano covered a distance of 11-12km alone which shows that he has the kind of engine and intensity that Pioli likes from his players, especially when trying to play a high press.
Another advantage is that it allows Milan to add another name to the homegrown quota in the UEFA squad list composition and this remove somebody like Mattia Caldara, who seems to have been out of the plans for a while.
Transfer rating: 6.5/10
Terracciano covered a distance of 11-12km alone which shows that he has the kind of engine and intensity that Pioli likes from his players, especially when trying to play a high press.
Exactly what Pioli wants, run, run ,run, press, press, press eventually fatigue and injury. Just intensity with no creativity is Pioli’s style and not sure he will continue next season to play filippo.
riesen talent welches aber noch ausgebaut werden muss
Judging from the signing of a wingback like terracciano and continuos rumours of new centerbacks, is conte and his 352 / 343 coming to milan for next season?