Felipe Mattioni – new Cafu?

The week in which Felipe Mattioni signed for Milan will be remembered by Manchester City’s mega-offer for Ricardo Kaka. Perhaps that is why the arrival of Gremio right back to Italy was followed by only few headlines in the newspapers and comparison with Cafu that experts of Brazilian football ascribe to journalists’ poetic style. Milan signing young Brazilian player is nothing new. Salsa is played in San Siro locker-rooms and Portuguese is the dominant language.

When we think about the amount of money Milan paid for the new member it seems as a serious gamble. The player has a famous agent, Mino Raiola but he can’t boast a long professional career in football. Only last year did he earn a spot in Gremi and the ones that don’t favour him claim that his biggest quality is Italian passport so he won’t feel a stranger in Serie A. The calculations about his transfer to Europe started few months ago but the Brazilian club assured everyone that Felipe is still not ready for the new step in his career. There is also the big question of why Juventus gave up on him. Juventus scouting team were the first ones to spot this boy and he even went to Torino to negotiate but ended up in Milan.

The less-known fact is that Gremio don’t own his contract and that Mattioni is practically owned by a group of businessmen (similar situation like with Tevez and Mascherano) that bought him for €3 million. So Gremio will now cash in only the tenth part of his transfer.

But the real question is how much Milan will gain for signing a player used to completely different type of football. Even great Marcos Cafu wasn’t impressive in his first season on Old Continent, so it is hard to expect Felipe to adjust so quickly and impose his quality on Ancelotti.

Investment for the future?

This is a line for the press; Serie A is graveyard of talents and Milan are in the situation where they need immediate results. No one will have the time or patience to wait for anything, after all the case of Gourcuff and Gilardino are the best proof for that. Brazilian colony in rossoneri squad could make his life easier but opposing strikers won’t have mercy. To put the fate of one of world’s biggest clubs into the hands of a guy who played only 20 matches in Brazilian league is like shooting yourself in the leg. Carlo Ancelotti could be all sorts of things but he is not a masochist.

We don’t expect to hear about Mattioni soon, he picked the harder way, and he might just end up the scapegoat for Milan’s terrible season.

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