On March 23, 2003 the Roma took the field, at the Olympic Stadium, for the match against Piacenza. It will end 3 to 0, with goals from Cassano, Delvecchio and Totti. All in the first half. Two penalties saved in the same match, one by Antonioli against Hubner and one by Orlandoni against Aldair, who led the defense together with Panucci and Samuel. In midfield there were Lima, Emerson and Dacourt. With the red and white wolves, however, the former Gurenko, Mangone and Di Francesco.
Also on March 23, 2003, in Poggibonsi, in the province of Siena, a family is celebrating. No, Roma has nothing to do with it. A son was born to him. His name is Tommaso. Tommaso Baldanzi. The new attacking midfielder of the Giallorossi team.
Baldanzi. Photo Source: Tuttosport
Baldanzi, a talent with blue on his skin
Baldanzi began to kick his first kicks with the team Castelfiorentino, which today plays in Excellence. First kicks that are also a promise of talent, shots that cannot go unnoticed. The first to set eyes on him are the observers ofEmpoli, who took him to them at 8 years old. Fiorentina also wanted him, but the Azzurri are closer to home and, as we know, the comings and goings with training are a bit of a bore.
The choice to go to the Patron’s shop CorsiHowever, it is right. Here Baldanzi finds the right environment to grow, to improve, to understand what to do when he grows up. From attacker he becomes midfielder, then the final choice: attacking midfielder. A role and a physique, small but agile, fast, technical, which earn him comparisons with Sebastian Giovinco or with Papu Gomez. The boy, however, has clear ideas: he wants to become like Dybala.
Tommaso Baldanzi with the Roma shirt. Photo Source: AS Roma
The dream that becomes reality
The whole process in Empoli, with the blue on, from the youth teams to Serie A. A blue that in 2023 also becomes that of the National, with the Under 20 World Cup ending with defeat in the final, against Uruguay. Last year was Baldanzi’s season of maturity, with 27 appearances and 4 goals. The one in progress, however, is that of the jump. He wants it there Roma and he has no doubts. He chooses those colors not only for the square, not only for ambitions. But above all for who he will find as a teammate: Paulo Dybala who he has always said he takes inspiration from. “In a hypothetical scale from 1 to 0, Dybala is 10 and I’m not even on the scale”, said Baldanzi, to the microphones of his new club, with a smile that says a lot about who he is. A serious boy, perhaps shy, certainly confident. That now he will play all his cards in the first call of a big team. There is a Europe to conquer, alongside his idol.