Salvatore Bocchetti is on course to break a whole raft of records. A central defender who started out as a full-back, the Naples native and former Ascoli youth player was called up by Marcello Lippi after contesting a mere 25 Serie A matches, including 23 with Genoa at the start of the 2008\/09 season.<\/P>
The defender first began enjoying competitive action on loan at Lanciano in Serie C, but after returning to Ascoli in 2006\/07 he made just two top-flight appearances before being rapidly loaned out again, this time to Serie B outfit Frosinone.<\/P>
His displays nonetheless caught the eye of club officials at Genoa, and the young left-footed player seemed the perfect match for the Rossoblu’s system of play, built upon a trio of central defenders at the back.<\/P>
After joining Genoa in summer 2008, Bocchetti was quick to tie down a starting berth and began to progress at an astonishing rate. “It makes all those sacrifices worthwhile,” he said. “It’s difficult to express my emotion, but I still have everything to prove.” Impressive at the Toulon Tournament for Under-21 sides, he was awarded his senior Italy debut in the Azzurri's penultimate 2010 FIFA World Cup™ qualifier against Republic of Ireland, when he replaced Fabio Grosso in the second half. Four days later, he was a starter against Cyprus and he has been a fixture in Lippi’s squads ever since.<\/P>","31E4B7E841B17C66":"Salvatore Bocchetti","DF03820F537F8E7C95F8F8605BCB052C":"Italy","3DD52A7123843A0599BD59EBE6AB4E97":"","C9B224F2C5B356EF":"Hellas Verona","1E9A8D352C52FB60DE0D25B327F8FD01":"2022-10-13","B628C0FB460378A51A233D645651DF2F":"","e_index":7};