Emanuele Vignato – Bologna’s prodigious midfield maestro

Emanuele Vignato was one of the most sought-after young prospects when he was leaving Chievo as Barcelona were interested in the youngster before he decided that Bologna would be the perfect step-up for him. At 17-years-old, he had already made his Serie A debut for Chievo and notched a goal at professional level as Vignato came off the bench against Roma in 2017. Francesco Totti walked up to him to ask him who he was before suggesting that he looked like a 12-year-old. The now 21-year-old was born to an Italian father and a Brazilian mother while he already speaks Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and English. Sinisa Mihajlovic constantly advises him to play like a Brazilian in possession while switching to his Italian mindset without possession as it will be interesting to see which National team he plays for.

Vignato opened his goalscoring account in 2017 against Roman opposition in Lazio in the Stadio Olimpico, dribbling past Marco Parolo and placing a shot in the right corner of the goal. It was the end of the season as he was voted most valuable player of that matchday as his younger brother, Samuele Vignato has also left Chievo for Monza to open his scoring in Serie B, also at 17-years-old. The elder Vignato represents the new generation of technically skilled creative talent coming through in Serie A as he is a master of space, constantly turning his head to scan for space and demand possession while he can connect play in build-up as well as in the final third. He is also an immensely gifted through ball player, looking to thread passes from audacious positions through tight spaces and angles as well as moving into space to dink passes into runners.

He is not yet one of the first names on the team sheet but will become a crucial player for this highly talented Bologna side at some point of this season. Pint-sized with an oversized shirt and shorts with long black locks that restlessly fill the air as he twists and turns his head to recognize space, Vignato is a playmaker capable of playing in a variety of positions. Away to Torino last season, he was not having one of his more mesmerizing performances but still managed to move the ball effectively when he received possession. On the counter-attack, he would receive possession on the right flank to cut-back a cross for Rodrigo Palacio to have a shot blocked and then have the rebound saved. He would receive possession on the flank to cut past a marker and flick a pass in between the lines to a teammate with the outside of his right boot.

Vignato nearly strung together a counter-attack when he received possession on the flank to thread a switch pass to the opposite flank for his teammate to play a one-touch pass to another attacker making a run into the centre. One thing that makes Vignato such a prodigal talent is his directional first touch and sense of space as the 21-year-old is unafraid of dropping into space, be it in build-up play or in between the lines in the opposition half to receive possession by allowing the ball to roll across his body or beat a marker with a phenomenal first touch. Away to Torino, he had a sequence where he received possession in the deeper areas from his fullback as he allowed the ball to spin and allow the ball to roll across his body to control possession with his right foot to beat his marker as he strode into the opposition half and had an attempted through ball intercepted.

The 21-year-old then showed his ability in the final third, receiving possession by the touchline to work a one-two with a teammate to evade three markers on the flank as Vignato played the ball past another Torino defender to find a teammate in the ten space who had his pass intercepted. He would then show his Italian side in the counter-press, regaining possession with a clean tackle against an opponent who was much larger than him before spreading the pass into the wide areas and moving into the ten space to receive possession again swivelling away from a challenge to work a one-two with a teammate in the right half-space before threading a ball into the channels for a cut-back as Torino had a shot blocked inside the opposition box. Vignato receiving possession and turning with possession is one of his favourite manoeuvres as it allows him to hold the ball and pick a better progressive pass while in possession while also creating a better overview of the pitch and allowing teammates to move into space before receiving possession.

Vignato would then notch an assist, cutting inside from the right flank to flick a nonchalantly flick a pass past three defenders and in behind to Roberto Soriano who applied the finish. He would then receive possession on the right flank and cut-back a pass to Soriano to instigate central combinations before receiving possession in the deeper areas to play a one-touch flick to a teammate before receiving possession and angling a through ball in behind to Rodrigo Palacio to instigate a counter-attacking move. At home to Hellas Verona, he would play on the left flank as he slowed the game down to his pace, looking to connect with players in the half-space rather than challenging his marker with pace. He also tucked inside and looked to thread passes to teammates as he had a through ball to Musa Barrow which was blocked while he also had a cross to the back-post volleyed over by Soriano.

Vignato would then receive possession, hold the ball and roll a pass for Mitchell Dijks to cross for Barrow as the Gambian was unable to get his head on the ball. One of the reasons that Vignato seeks to slow down the game is to look for passes into the channels or central areas while he also showed the ability to move into central midfield and operate from the ten space while facilitating interchanges in the wide areas. In his early career, apart from his debut and first goal in Rome, Bologna’s home match against Fiorentina is the crowning jewel of his early career. It was a performance of creative genius personified as he finished the game with a hat-trick of assists, refusing to swap his shirt as he took it home to gift to his mother. He received possession and slid through Palacio with a defence-splitting pass for the Argentine attacker to take a touch and finish. He also crossed for Palacio to score while having another impeccable through ball from an audacious angle on the flank as he was the fuel for the 39-year-old striker’s three goals.

Palacio has remained a fan of the young Italian, consistently lauding him within the dressing room and to the media. His return home to Verona would also prove to be an intriguing tactical assignment for him, playing in a deeper midfield role in a 4-2-3-1 formation while shouldering more responsibility in and out of possession. He started the game by threading a pass for a teammate in the channels before moving into the ten space once possession was in the opposition half. This was an intriguing and challenging position for Vignato as Ivan Juric’ Hellas Verona were known for their high and aggressive man-orientated press. Vignato would continue to participate in the creation of opportunities when he took down a lobbed pass and played a ball to Palacio who cut-back for Nicola Sansone to have a shot saved. Vignato’s first-touch was excellent, constantly guiding the ball into his stride while also being a fantastic one-touch passer as you could see his head swivel, scanning a few times before he received possession.

His one-touch passing set a quick tempo for his side and allowed them to move the ball at a much quicker pace to beat the opposition press. The 21-year-old did not look out of place in a deeper role as in one sequence, he received possession with his back to the opposition goal, using the outside of his right boot to swivel past a marker and drive the ball forward to work a pass for a teammate on the flanks. His first touch allowed him to change direction with the ball at his feet to weave past his marker as he received possession from a clearance, utilizing his patented change of direction to beat his man before threading a pass to Palacio on the break. He continued in the second-half as Mihajlovic pushed him higher as he cut inside from the right flank, cutting inside past one man before cutting back past two men before Antonin Barak held him back to concede a foul. His ability to turn and dip out of challenges was phenomenal as he manages to quickly shift the ball to the outside of his boot where he can skip past markers. His dribbling and first-touch is aided with the fact that he can control the ball with his in-step as well as the outside of his boot which facilitates him being able to quickly shift the ball from one part of his foot to the other where he can weave past players.

The 21-year-old Italian playmaker then pulled off another party trick, holding the ball amongst a glut of opposition defenders before calmly lobbing a pass to Dijks on the flank as he put in a phenomenal performance in orchestrating play from deep. Vignato started the game in a deeper midfield role before finishing the game on the left flank, creating 2 chances with an 100% pass succession rate in the final third as well as ¼ takeons and 12 ball recoveries. Away to Juventus on the final day of last season, in possession, Vignato could not influence the match but he still managed to connect play in the final third and pick up some brilliant positions in between the lines. In one sequence on the right flank, Vignato moved into the right half-space to receive possession before playing a one-two with a teammate to swivel and glide past two Juventus defenders and spread the ball to the opposite flank.

In the opposition half, he received possession to head the ball to a teammate with his head constantly swivelling to receive possession again to cut past a defender as he drove the ball into the centre before steadying himself and playing a pass into the box for an attacker to attempt to thread through a teammate with a pass. A few moments later, Vignato would drop into space to receive possession in the left half-space to lay-off a pass to a teammate with his first touch before receiving possession again and playing a pass to the wide areas as he received possession again, to cut past one Juventus defender, leaving him outstretched on the turf before cutting past another with an intelligent turn of pace to fire a strike straight at the goalkeeper. Despite, having so many impressive performances to start the season, Vignato is still not a starter for Bologna as his feet are kept firmly on the ground and he will have to earn his place in Mihajlovic’ starting lineup.

The 21-year-old would have the opportunity to start against Bologna, in a deeper role similar to the one he played away to Hellas Verona. He positioned himself in the left half-space as well as on the left to receive possession in the build-up phase, receiving possession and working one-touch passes to players in between the lines. He remained incredibly comfortable in receiving possession in tight spaces as he would lay-off passes for his fellow midfielders to thread balls in between the lines. Vignato’s scanning and constant movement into space is exemplary as it allows him to utilize blind-sided movements to back or side-step into space to receive possession and work passes as he utilized a one-two with Aaron Hickey to beat pressure before receiving possession on the left and driving the ball forward to spread a pass for Marko Arnautovic.

His movements into space were so well-timed and sharp while he also has a brilliant passing range as he is capable of longer switch balls. The 21-year-old is a master of the unmarking movement as in one situation he was marked before utilizing a wall-pass to make an unmarking movement as he received possession, turned and played a pass to Arnautovic in the nine-space. He earned a yellow card for a late lunge, but he was undeterred, making two more tackles on the flank as his game is so simple, yet so elegant, just occupying spaces in the opposition defensive shape to work one-twos as a press-resistant conduit. He was taken off at half-time as he managed to earn a 79% pass succession rate. Vignato has continued to show some potential in his second-half cameos this season.

At home to Genoa, he came on in the second-half and side-stepped into a pocket of space to receive possession in the second-half before cutting past two opposition attackers and driving the ball forward as he spread a pass to the wide areas. The 21-year-old then created an opportunity when he received possession on the left flank as he controlled the ball with his right foot, cut inside and drove the ball into the centre to make a perfectly weighted slide-rule through ball for Hickey to have a shot on goal. Vignato received possession in the eight space to turn and thread a progressive pass to a teammate in between the lines. Vignato would receive possession in the eight space again to work a one-two with a teammate in between the lines before picking his head up and lobbing a pass which landed perfectly on the head of Arnautovic as he was making a run in behind.

In a 6-1 away thrashing against Inter Milan, he came off the bench in the second-half, again showing his movement and intelligence in build-up play to receive possession from the goalkeeper in the eight space to turn and play the ball to his left-back as the defender gestured for him to push forward in between the lines before playing a pass to a player positioned on the touchline as Vignato had moved into the perfect position to receive a one-touch pass and lay-off for a teammate. The 21-year-old would then instigate a counter-attack when he received possession after a turnover to thread a pass for Barrow on the flank to drive forward before dropping into space in the left half-space to turn and thread a pass in between the lines to Arnautovic in the nine-space. He would move into space and receive possession again, this time in between the central lines from the left flank as he scanned twice before threading another pass to the nine-space to instigate an attacking move. He would have a quieter cameo against Atalanta but still made time to thread a pass into the box for Arnautovic to have a crossing opportunity.

In the early stages of his career, Vignato has shown the ability to play on both flanks as well as a central attacking midfielder or a deeper playmaking eight as the 21-year-old’s footballing intelligence and technical abilities adds range to his game. Mihajlovic is currently insistant on playing him in a deeper-lying midfield role as he has a set of tools that would allow him to thrive in all these positions. For instance, his constant scanning and movement in the possession phase as well as his recognition of space makes him a connective player in the final third as well as giving him the potential to be a crucial transitional player. Vignato is constantly searching for areas to receive the ball as he can adjust his position to give a passing option to his teammate in possession or move to receive possession as a third man to give another teammate a one-touch passing option. His progressive and penetrative passing range also adds to his skillset as in the eight-space, he constantly finds players in between the lines while in the wide areas and ten space, he has a tremendous sense for runs as well as vision for elaborate through balls to teammates.

His ball-carrying is already high-level as this allows him to receive possession, turn away from pressure or attract pressure to find the correct penetrative pass. He will glide with the ball at his feet, slaloming in between challenges as he is also a high-level ball-carrier. Vignato seems like a player purpose-built to play as an interior in a 4-3-3 formation as in the coming years, he could be a midfield option for Roberto Mancini’s reinvigorated Azzurri. His ability to receive possession in tight spaces, scan and constantly utilize even the smallest spaces in the opposition defensive block as well as his comfortability in the eight space, ten space and half-spaces would make him the perfect multi-functional midfielder to fill a 4-3-3. He also has the willingness to participate in the defensive side of the game in winning turnovers while also being crucial to creating opportunities after turnovers.

Vignato has to break into Mijahlovic’ Bologna side and show his talent for an extended period of time before even considering making a move as it will be interesting to follow his development as a first-team player. The creative potential is there while it will be interesting to see which position he plays in long-term as in the medium term, he would be immensely effective as a roving playmaker from the higher central areas or from wide areas. Playing in a variety of positions at a young age will improve his football intelligence while also allowing him to adapt to the defensive and attacking requirements of whatever position he plays in. In a year or two, he could draw the same amount of attention that Manuel Locatelli drew this summer as the 21-year-old also possesses immense potential.