La Spezia’s Hidden Gem, Simone Bastoni
Players that play for their hometown clubs just have a different feeling, no matter the level. From Totti to Gerrard, all the way through to Mark Noble, the connection between the players that represent their boyhood team and the fans is special. Even in La Spezia, a small city in the Liguria region of Italy, they have their hometown hero — Simone Bastoni.
Spezia Calcio are not a big name in Italian football. They have spent most of their 115-year history in the lower divisions. They have never won a Serie B title, let alone a Serie A one. They currently have one of the smallest budgets and wage bills in the top flight, which they entered for the first time in 2020. Homegrown players are vital to the Aquilotti, who spent £478,000 in the summer, in an attempt to avoid relegation for the second year in a row.
Simone Bastoni is as homegrown as they come. The Italian was born in La Spezia. He joined Spezia’s academy at a young age, persisting with several loans spent in Serie C (at Siena, Carrarese, Trapani & Novara). He then rarely featured — just 516 minutes — as Spezia finished third in the 2019/20 Serie B season, gaining promotion via the play-offs. At 23, with no top-flight experience and most of his football played in Italy’s third tier, Bastoni was entrusted by Vincenzo Italiano to be Spezia’s starting left-back as they took on Serie A for the very first time.
As with most things Italiano tries (he’s now at Fiorentina, who sit one point behind the Champions League places, with La Viola’s most exciting team in years), it paid off. The left-back was one of the standouts of Spezia’s season, scoring a stunning goal in a win against the mighty AC Milan, and recording an incredible seven assists in twenty-two games.
Now Italiano has departed, and Spezia are trying to do this Serie A thing all again under the guidance of Thiago Motta — yes, the PSG midfielder, famous for trying to bring the 2–7–2 formation to the mainstream. The side has not started the season well, with just two victories in eleven games (both 2–1 wins against newly-promoted sides). Despite their slow start, Bastoni has stood out again for Spezia.
The twenty-four-year-old is very much a modern full-back. The player he is most similar to statistically (according to FBRef’s helpful player comparison tool) is the creative machine, Trent Alexander-Arnold. Unlike the Scouse full-back, Bastoni operates on the left-hand side. Spezia began the season using a 3–4–3, but this has quickly changed to a 4–2–3–1. Bastoni operates as the left-back, more often than not behind Emmanuel Gyasi. It’s down this side that most of Spezia’s play goes through, showcasing the responsibility and trust Bastoni has of his teammates and management.
Simone Bastoni has gone from on loan at Novara to Spezia’s main man in two years. Although the sample size is small, the Italian is already (all rankings of players with over 50% of minutes played):
- First in Passes into the final third (4.62 per90)
- First in Passes into the penalty area (1.72 per90)
- Second in Expected Assists (0.16 per90)
- Second in Progressive passes (5.16 per90)
Most of what is good at Stadio Alberto Picco is coming through Bastoni. Although comparisons with other players can often be meaningless, if we look at Bastoni’s stats compared to Milan’s much sought after Theo Hernández, the Italian is outperforming the Frenchman in Key Passes, Passes into the final third, Passes into the penalty area, Crosses completed, Progressive passes and more. In simple terms, Simone Bastoni is vital to Spezia. If Spezia are to perform a miracle for the second season in a row, the La Spezia native will be key. If Spezia are to ultimately return to Serie B, it’s doubtful Bastoni will be following them.
As mentioned, Bastoni is very much a full back of the modern form. If we look at his heatmap for the season so far, we can see just that. The Italian covers an awful lot of ground. He is expected by Motta to be influential in the attacking third but to be part of a solid defensive unit (which can be difficult, for a team with Spezia’s resources). He prefers overlapping runs and staying close to the touchline (or to use a phrase used by every amateur football coach in Britain, hugs the touchline). This is often to Spezia’s benefit, as the first choice left winger — Emmanuel Gyasi — is right-footed, meaning that he favours cutting inside from the wing. This allows Bastoni to move into space on the left-hand side and get the ball into dangerous areas (he is in the top eighteen percent of fullbacks for crosses completed into the penalty area).
Bastoni is an extremely effective attacking fullback. If you take a look at his FBRef Scouting Report on the left-hand side, there is an abundance of green. Here’s a breakdown of just how well he’s performing statistically (all stats vs. fullbacks, based on 2134 minutes played in the last 365 days):
- 92nd percentile for non-penalty goals
- 88th percentile for non-penalty xG
- 93rd percentile for assists
- 93rd percentile for xA
- 90th percentile for shot-creating actions
In a position that is currently becoming dominated by the most creative players in the sport (the already mentioned Alexander-Arnold, Cancelo, Hakimi and more), it is all the more impressive that Bastoni — a player worth five million, according to Transfermarkt — is putting up elite-level numbers at a club with resources that wouldn’t be out of place in a Championship relegation fight. It’s also fair to say that Bastoni can hit a ball. You’ve already seen his goal against Milan last season. This season, he has already hit an even sweeter one. This goal against Venezia is an early contender for goal of the season, and it showcases just how well Bastoni strikes the ball.
On the defensive side of the game, Bastoni is a proactive defender. He ranks highly for pressures, tackles and interceptions (84th, 86th & 74th percentiles). He is physically developed enough to handle himself against attacking players but is not the quickest off the ground, but this doesn’t tend to be a problem a lot of the time. He is weak in aerial battles, especially considering he is fairly average in height for a fullback (5'11).
One of his biggest weaknesses is his discipline on the pitch. Bastoni was booked seven times in the league last season and has already received two yellows and a red in this one. This is a particular area of concern for a team like Spezia. It’s also an area of concern for onlooking suitors, who may question Bastoni’s mindset and ability to keep a cool head in situations. This can be coached out of him, however, as although the Spezia native is twenty-four, he is still vastly inexperienced at the top level.
The other noticeable weakness is his ball retention. His pass completion is just 75.3% (in the bottom 28th percentile). While a lot of that can be put on the attacking responsibility that Bastoni has in this Spezia side, he is also dispossessed 1.27 times per90, which is in the bottom 15th percentile. If Bastoni is to progress in his career and progress beyond Spezia, he will need to be more secure on the ball.
Simone Bastoni is still an unknown quantity, even in his homeland. He is not a household name and even a lot of Serie A fans might be forgiven for asking twice when told his name. What he is, though, is a fascinating player. Someone who before 2020 had spent most of his time on the pitch in Serie C, is now posting numbers that has his ‘Player Comparison’ list looking like someone’s answer to the question — who are the best five fullbacks in world football?
Spezia will more likely than not succumb to the unfortunate constraints that their budget puts on them, such as is this cruel world of modern football. But if they do, a piece of Spezia will carry on in Italy’s elite. Simone Bastoni was never really a Serie B player, but he is definitely a Serie A one. The next logical step for him would be a Europa League club (or at least one that challenges for those places), and I would not be surprised if Bastoni makes a move to someone like Lazio or Vincenzo Italiano’s Fiorentina by this time next year. Whatever happens, one thing will be for sure, Simone Bastoni will always be one of Spezia’s own.
