Gianluca Busio is enjoying a smooth transition to life in Serie A, and his second start for Venezia showed just what an impact he can make for the newly-promoted club.
Busio turned in an outstanding performance in Venezia’s surprise 2-1 road win against Empoli on Saturday, helping the Venice club earn its first win of the season, and earning himself SBI Americans Abroad Player of the Week honors.
Busio contributed four tackles, completed 17 of 21 passes and did well to help shut down the passing lanes to keep Empoli’s playmakers from being able to cause problems for Venezia’s defense.
Here is a closer look at some of the other Americans Abroad who delivered strong performances this past weekend:
Cameron Carter-Vickers, Celtic
The 23-year-old central defender could not have asked for a better debut than the one he enjoyed for Celtic, scoring a goal and completing a game-high 102 passes in a 3-0 win vs. Ross County.
Joe Scally, Borussia Moenchengladbach
The 18-year-old fullback has settled into a starting role for Moenchengladbach after the recent broken ankle suffered by regular starting right back Stefan Lainer, and he turned in another strong shift, contributing two tackles and two clearances while completing 51 of 60 passes in a 3-1 win vs. Arminia Bielefeld.
Chris Richards, Hoffenheim
It should come as no surprise that Richards would ease right back into the Hoffenheim starting lineup and fit right in, as his second loan stint with the Bundesliga club began with a steady shift in a 2-0 loss to Mainz. Richards completed a game-high 75 passes, adding three tackles and a game-high six clearances.
Antonee Robinson, Fulham
Building off the momentum of his standout showing in the USMNT’s World Cup qualifying win in Honduras, Robinson continued his strong season for Fulham. He wasn’t able to keep the Cottagers from dropping a 1-0 road loss to Blackpool, but Robinson was arguably Fulham’s best player, delivering a game-high three key passes while completing 61 of 74 passes and adding three interceptions and two clearances.
Amazing story. Here’s a guy a lot of USMNT fans were down on from the Gold Cup. Not me I thought he was pretty solid in the Gold Cup. Here he is and starting right off the bat over there. Wish him the best
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I was high on Busio starting after MLS is Back but I think we need to pump the brakes a little he’s played also recently promoted Empoli and mid-table Udinese. We’ll see how he does against the Napolis, Romas, and Milans of the league. I watched the 2nd half because I couldn’t take Gruether Furth still didn’t see a lot of bite in his defense which is his biggest weakness. But is promising that he’s stepped right in when the irrational voices around here said Venezia was going to spend 6 million to sit him on the bench.
I also think the USMNT fans expectations on Busio were way too high. They were expecting another Pirlo which isn’t fair to him. Who can live up to that
Just got to Serie A and starting…this is awesome. Hope this team helps to elevate his game to the next level
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h2YihTyaOE
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….Gianluca Busio played very well and showed he can more than hold his own but David Okereke though!!!!
Keep progressing young stud, keep progressing!