Leonardo Balerdi has become one of the key figures in Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma in a remarkably short time, shedding a difficult past at Marseille to emerge as a fan favourite at the Olimpico. As a child, Balerdi wanted to play as a midfielder—his first coach, Luis Lucero, even told his father Flavio that the young Argentine would become 'a Rummenigge'. Balerdi himself had no intention of playing in defence: 'I didn't want to play as a defender, I wanted to be a midfielder. Gago was one of my idols, though I also liked Riquelme and Palermo at Boca.' His family nicknamed him 'Balazo'—literally 'gun shot'—a name that captured his aggressive temperament.
But Balerdi's path led away from midfield and into a career as a central defender. He played for Boca Juniors, Borussia Dortmund and Marseille before arriving at Roma. That background as a midfielder still shapes his game: he does not merely look to break up play but consistently seeks to play the ball vertically and move it beyond the first line of pressure. At Marseille, he endured a harsh confrontation with Roberto De Zerbi after a defeat to Auxerre. According to L'Équipe at the time, the coach told him: 'You humiliated us and you humiliated the club. You don't have the balls. And you, Leo, have fewer balls than anyone.'
The Balerdi seen in Roma's opening weeks appears almost a response to that old accusation. Against Inter, he produced what may have been his most telling performance: six defensive recoveries, four duels won from five attempted, and two tackles won from three. His physical contest with Thuram was particularly intense, played without retreating an inch. When cramps forced Balerdi to leave the field, Roma progressively lowered their entire shape—his ability to defend away from goal allows the team to stay higher and more aggressive. His pace in recovery, power in challenges and one-on-one ability seem tailored to Gasperini's system.
Comparisons to Walter Samuel remain premature, and Samuel himself recently urged caution. Yet like Samuel before him, Balerdi needed little time to win over the Olimpico crowd. He is still at the start of his Italian adventure, but Gasperini appears to have found exactly the defender he needed: one who thinks about the next action even as he makes the tackle.
Testo Originale / Source Text
“Da bambino voleva fare il centrocampista. Il suo primo allenatore, invece, vedeva qualcosa di diverso e arrivò addirittura a pronosticargli un futuro alla Rummenigge. La carriera di Leonardo Balerdi ha poi preso tutt’altra direzione, ma una cosa è rimasta: quel modo di giocare sempre guardando in…”
Read the full article in Italian at GialloRossi.net.
