Sebastiano Esposito’s ‘Group Consciousness’

There has been so much discussion about his younger brother, Francesco Pio, that we have almost forgotten there are two Espositos in Serie A. While Sebastiano may not possess the imposing, broad-shouldered talent of the 21-year-old Inter centre-forward, he knows his trade and executes it effectively. Unlike his younger brother, he does not live for goals, yet he excels as the kind of player who prioritises the wellbeing of others over his own. Footballers who follow this path often remain in the background when it comes to popularity, despite all the talk of generosity in the game: the sport is one big lie, and any true fan is happy to preach one thing and practise quite another.

Sebastiano Esposito is one of those strikers with a community spirit and a sense of team unity. He is one of eleven; he feels part of a collective and knows that his own joy can only exist if it is everyone’s joy. For this reason, when he has the ball at his feet, he always tries to do what is best for the team: that is, take a tackle, pass it on, and seek out the cooperation of his teammates. A shot or a dribble is merely a possibility, a necessity only if it serves the good of the whole team.

That is why Sebastiano Esposito is rarely the focus of discussion. The forward does not score many goals, does not produce spectacular moves that draw applause, and almost always performs what is necessary rather than what is entertaining.

The seventy minutes Sebastiano Esposito enjoyed against Juventus were one of the finest demonstrations of what football means to him: playing as a striker, being part of a team. All of this was capped off by a goal worthy of a centre-forward. The fact that the Juventus defence played like a parish park-and-court side on this occasion is of little consequence.

The rest was all about sacrifice, chasing down opponents, generosity and the ability to pass the ball to whoever was unmarked or better positioned than him. Seventy minutes spent running, chasing, creating space and never standing still. There was a time when midfielders used to do these things; recent years have not been kind to centre-forwards. Sebastiano Esposito did not complain, partly because in other eras, someone like him would not have played up front – he would have done something else. What that might have been, we cannot say.

    

Olive is back again this year – Giovanni Battistuzzi’s column on the (not necessarily) leading figures of Serie A. Brief, unvarnished profiles, perfect for reading whilst enjoying an aperitif. You can read all the other profiles here.