Giovanni hoping to make the Simeone name his own with Genoa
Paolo Maldini knows exactly what Giovanni Simeone is going through in following in the footsteps of a famous father. “Hearing people refer to me as ‘Cesare’s boy’ followed me right up to the first team. My opponents and even my teammates’ parents used to say: ‘You’re only playing because your Maldini’s son’. I know Sandro Mazzola was reserved the same treatment.” With time, it got easier. It didn’t take long for people to realise Maldini was playing for Milan not out of nepotism, but on account of his immense talent. “He is no longer known as Cesare’s son,” Maldini senior soon observed. “I am now known as Paolo’s father.”
Giovanni must hope there comes a day when Diego says the same about him. “It’s not easy to live with his greatness,” he admitted last week. “That’s why I must become better than him. I have got to give it a go. I have to show that if I am where I am today, it’s down to me and me only.” There is no resentment, nor is Giovanni the only one in Italy attempting to step out of their father’s shadow. Federico Chiesa, Ianis Hagi, Federico Di Francesco, Lorenzo Di Livio and Simone Ganz are all looking to make names for themselves in the first and the second division at the moment.
“I’m proud of my Dad,” Simeone insists. “He’s my blood. My mentor. But I want to be Giovanni Simeone. Giovanni and nothing more.” How hard that is became abundantly clear in his first days in Genoa. Simeone arrived in late August after Argentina’s participation in the Olympic Games ended in the group stage. His father flew over from Madrid to see how he was settling in. One night they had dinner at the Antica Osteria Dindi. You could see them in the window from the street below and it didn’t take long for a crowd of Genoa fans to gather. They started singing “Sim-e-one alé. Sim-e-one alé” and “Forza Cholo.” Upon leaving the restaurant to catch a cab back to their hotel, Diego was the one everybody mobbed for a selfie.
Click here to see Giovanni Simeone's full statistics for Genoa this season
When Il Corriere della Sera sent a journalist to Pegli to talk to Giovanni last week, the 21-year-old saw right through him. “Look, Mister, with all due respect, if you have come all the way over here to interview me today, a lot of it will be down to the fact I am Diego Simeone’s son and I’m fine with that up to a point.” The inference being: just let me be my own man and judge me on what I do, not what my father did. Going by the number of fans now asking Giovanni for autographs, one can only conclude he has made an instant impact at Marassi. He is a fan favourite already in the Gradinata Nord and he isn't trading on his name.
Simeone was signed from River Plate for €2.75m in the summer as cover for last season’s top scorer Leonardo Pavoletti. When Pavogol strained a thigh muscle and had to go off against Napoli, young Simeone’s chance came. If it wasn’t for the quick reactions of Pepe Reina, he would have marked his debut with a goal. The opportunity presented itself when Tomás Rincon fired a low ball into the box. The pass looked overhit and impossible to control. But Simeone managed to stun it with his right and get a shot away with his left. It was a hint at what was to come.
On Simeone’s first start against Pescara, Santiago Gentiletti, one of Genoa’s six Argentines, released him through on goal. Giovanni latched onto it and, once again, controlled the ball with one foot and finished inside the near post with the other, all in one action. He became the first Simeone to score in Serie A since his father 4942 days earlier [in Lazio’s 4-1 win against Empoli on March 16, 2003].
A week later, on the road in Bologna Giovanni struck again to get Genoa all three points. His movement for the goal was excellent. Simeone made as if he were going to run to the near post. The defender bought it, hook, line and sinker. Backing up and then side-stepping into the middle of the six-yard box, he was alone to tap in Diego Laxalt’s low cross. It was Simeone’s first shot on target that afternoon and kept his ratio at a goal every 122 minutes.
Comparisons have inevitably been made in Genoa with Diego Milito. “His ability to take the ball in his stride is extraordinary,” Claudio Onofri, the former Genoa coach, explained, “Milito was a magician at this.” The player Simeone looks up to, however, plays for his dad’s old team, Inter. In fact, Diego tried to sign him for Atleti this summer. It's Mauro Icardi. “He’s a player I like a lot and a great guy too. I got to know him with the Under-20s,” Simeone revealed.
It remains to be seen whether Giovanni keeps his place once Pavoletti returns from injury. He has definitely given Ivan Juric a decision to make. “You’ve got a lot to learn Gio,” Juric told him, “but you’ll go far because of your talent and humility.” Simeone doesn’t lack his father’s drive nor passion. The garra is strong in this one. “It’s our way of saying determination, bloody-mindedness, stubbornness. My Dad’s a maestro at it even to this day. You saw him the other night against Bayern. He’s a capopopolo - a leader of the people.”
Make no mistake, football has Simeone’s undivided attention. It couldn’t be any other way in his household. “Dad and I are always talking about football. He lives for it every day. Even when I was five we used to talk about tactics and players around the dinner table. My objective is to get better and to learn from the great players that we have here like Pavoletti and Nicolas Burdisso. Serie A is a tough league. My father told me there are more tactics and that football is more physical here. Speed and 1v1s are very important.”
Simeone acknowledges that, as was the case on Sunday, he might only get one chance in a game - Genoa have scored only twice in their last four matches. As such, he has to be ready when an opportunity presents itself. To ensure he is, Simeone does brain training. He plays Luminosity to keep his concentrate levels high. “It’s a kind of videogame that helps improve your focus and speed of thought. I play on my iPad for about half an hour before games. I’m a completely different player since I discovered it.”
No one needs telling to remember the name. Just forget about calling him Cholito or Diego’s son. He doesn’t want special treatment. “People back home just call me Gio.”
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