It all began with a simple statement. After about an hour of training, as the boys headed to the showers, Coach Antonio Buscè knocked on President Corsi`s office door. “President, if I had the money, I`d personally buy this kid`s registration. Trust me, we need to hold onto him tightly.” This memorable moment happened about a decade ago. Buscè, an institution at Empoli, was captivated by 12-year-old Samuele, who handled the ball with pure elegance. “A few minutes were enough for me. He was a small, frail, very shy boy, but when he played, it was incredible… he completely transformed.” In Francesco Totti`s 2020 documentary, there`s a part where the former Roma captain describes how as a boy, there was a private, introverted Francesco off the field, and a leader and motivator on it. For Ricci, it was very similar. “He changed completely, absolutely,” says Buscè. “Do you know what immediately struck me? The way he naturally dropped deep from midfield to receive the ball from the goalkeeper. He almost demanded it, always wanting to play. It was as if it were a pre-practiced movement or something he’d been taught. He had it inside him. And then, his skills! He’d skip past opponents with the sole of his boot, as confident as if he were twenty. Once I told a colleague: `Oh, this one looks like a little Zidane.` He really did, I’m not exaggerating.”
A child jokingly asks: `Do you have Barella in your pocket?`
Ricci and Empoli`s Talent Factory
Buscè coached Ricci for four years, across different age groups and categories. “We reunited multiple times. I had him when he was very young and also a bit in the Primavera (youth team), although by then he was practically with the first team.” At Monteboro, the Empoli youth academy, players live in an oasis of calm, where talent is patiently refined and improved. It`s a special place, and it`s no coincidence that Empoli has consistently produced talents like Baldanzi and Hamed Junior Traoré in recent years. “Ricci is a 2001-born player; many talents have emerged since him. But it must be said, these are special kids, it`s not luck. With Ricci, in particular, I remember his eyes. Even when you scolded him, they were always attentive. He was never passive, he didn’t just endure; he wanted to learn.”
Buscè`s Mentorship and Ricci`s Potential
Speaking of constructive criticism, Buscè pulls out a memory from his mental archive. “One day I took him aside and explained where he was going wrong. He was playing too horizontally and tended to get a bit lost on the field. I wanted him to attack the area better, not drop back so much. He listened attentively, and from then on, he grew. I always told him he’d be ready for a big club, and now his moment has finally arrived.” Their reunion is set for San Siro. “I will definitely go visit him.” Ricci is taking a significant step, joining Milan with Allegri as coach during a rebuilding year. But for those who know him, managing the pressure won`t be an issue. “He’s still that child who asks the goalkeeper for the ball and plays with his head held high, full of personality and class,” says Buscè. “And let`s not forget he’s an international. A player who consistently wears the national team jersey can, for me, comfortably be a starter for a top club in Italian football. In this regard, for the impact he’ll have, he’ll surprise everyone. He’s ready.”
The Train Journey with Teammate Leonardo Imbrenda
Echoing Buscè on character and pressure is Leonardo Imbrenda, Samuele’s teammate in Empoli’s Primavera, who retired from football at 26. Ricci joined the Primavera early, and his reserved, somewhat shy and quiet nature could have been a challenge. “We took countless train journeys together to the training ground; he’d board in Pisa and I in Viareggio. But besides being younger, he was very taciturn. He often had headphones on or was asleep, especially after training. So much so that sometimes we had to wake him up because it was his stop…” Here too, the memory goes back to one of their first moments together. “When a young player joins the Primavera, they might just go through the motions or be afraid to make mistakes. Then you’d see him, quiet even in the locker room, but on the field, he’d give his soul and perfectly control every ball. He seemed like a different person. I remember two or three incredible vertical passes. And he didn`t feel the pressure of the ball; he played as if he were with his peers. I have to say that both he and Junior Traoré had something extra, a different engine.”
Ricci: A Clean Slate at Milan
Samuele Ricci will turn 24 in August; he hails from Pontedera, and Empoli has been his second home. President Corsi always nurtured him, then let him go at the right moment. He remains that simple, clean-faced young man who plays with the same serenity as when he started. Now he could transition from `little Zidane` to `little Modric.` We’ll see. “It’s also a matter of upbringing,” concludes Buscè. “Samu has always earned everything through hard work and proving his worth. He will do the same at Milan. And with someone like Allegri, he can only grow. I see him as the beacon of our national team’s midfield for the next ten years.” San Siro and Milan will be a great test, but Buscè is confident in what he says, and you can see it in the determined look in his eyes as he recounts it. The same determination he had when he went to Corsi, asking him to secure that little prodigy who, at 12, already had a unique command of the ball. Never was a walk to the president’s office more perfectly timed.
Torino`s President Cairo: `We had a very good journey with Ricci. Now it`s Milan`s turn.`
