Simone Pafundi: Did Udinese get it wrong?

Simone Pafundi is frustrated. Another young Serie A talent leaves Italy to do what he gets paid to do; play football. His loan to Lausanne smacks of lessons not learned as Italian clubs continue to allow their coaches to waste young talent thanks to their own debilitating conservatism.

In the age of Yamal, Zaïre-Emery and Hato, the idea of a teenage prodigy starting in the top-flight is less alien than ever, yet for Udinese it seemed beyond their comprehension that their most promising academy graduate for a generation might be worthy of a start. 

With only 106 Serie A minutes in his career, it is natural to ponder what the Pafundi hype is all about, or at least what caused it. A 17-year-old rarely bursts onto the scene anymore, rather their early teenage years end up plastered all over YouTube. Pafundi was a Primavera sensation, breaking into the team in 2021, creating and scoring goals for fun. 

A professional debut came in May 2022, eight years after Udinese plucked him from local club Monfalcone at a Friulian youth tournament. Naturally, we expected to see more of Pafundi as last season began, but the first mainstream glimpse we caught was in a rather bizarre Italy call-up from Roberto Mancini in November 2022. 

Pafundi has some Gianfranco Zola about him, or Domenico Morfeo. 

With a 91st minute introduction in a friendly win over Albania, Pafundi became Italy’s youngest international for over 100 years. But why? Perhaps Mancini was trying to prove a point, that only he could make such a bold decision in a nation full of coaching curmudgeons. Being cynical, I might suggest the Pafundi call-up was a form of protest, a passive aggressive callout to Italian football for the lack of options it provides its national team. The truth? Probably somewhere in the middle.

Often compared to Maradona due to being a left-footer with a low centre of gravity and magnetic attraction to the ball, plus having Neapolitan parents (tenuous, I know), Pafundi is a talent that Italian football rarely produces. Obviously, Maradona is a poor comparison to any footballer not named Messi, but perhaps Pafundi has some Gianfranco Zola about him, or Domenico Morfeo. 

However, much like his contemporary Tommaso Baldanzi at Empoli, his greatest strengths have, at times, been seen as weaknesses. Udinese coach Gabriele Cioffi, when questioned for the umpteenth time as to why Pafundi warms the bench, said: “I am paid to make choices. At the moment my choices do not include Pafundi playing.”

In a league where theses on tactical philosophy read like liturgy, Pafundi’s hybrid style, not quite an attacking midfielder, nor a winger or second striker, means that he struggles to fit his team’s 3-5-2 formation, one that has always favoured the larger player. 

His predecessor, Andrea Sottil, faced similar questions when his time at the club came to a lame conclusion. He said: “We're talking about a kid from 2006 who last year only played in the Primavera. The point is that in Udinese there are players who are starters and who have more experience than him. Then he must be the one to manage it better.”

Pafundi’s age, inexperience, and reading between the lines, physical attributes have all worked against him. Had he been an imposing goalkeeper like Gigi Donnarumma, or a centre-back like Giorgio Scalvini, perhaps age would not matter. 

Or perhaps not. In a league where theses on tactical philosophy read like liturgy, Pafundi’s hybrid style, not quite an attacking midfielder, nor a winger or second striker, means that he struggles to fit his team’s 3-5-2 formation, one that has always favoured the larger player. 

The 5ft 5ins Pafundi paired with the 6ft 7ins Lorenzo Lucca might make a visually comical front two, but the brutal reality of Udinese’s place in Serie A means that any coach lacks the freedom to launch a youngster without consequence.

So, what makes Pafundi worth the loan plus >£10m buy option that Lausanne Sport are said to have offered? Beyond the aforementioned Maradona comparisons, his performances at underage level for Italy are often impressive. His potential is undeniable and much like current Azzurri players Federico Dimarco and Wilfried Gnonto, he has shown the courage to leave the comfort blanket of Italy to make a name for himself in Switzerland.

Lausanne look set to become part of another wonderfully corporate ‘network’ of clubs like the Red Bulls and City Football Group, given their owner ties them to Manchester United.

Just as the Decreto Crescita (Growth Decree) that provided tax breaks to Italian clubs exits stage right and Italy’s competitiveness in the transfer market hits an all-time low, Udinese have fumbled a bona fide prospect, I think. It is easy to see Pafundi getting lost like so many ‘next Maradona/Messi’ wonderkids, but he has the ferocity to make it, and his self-belief to demand first team football highlights that it is the sport, not the money, which drives him.

What is next for Pafundi really depends on how he takes to Lausanne. The INEOS-backed club look set to become part of another wonderfully corporate ‘network’ of clubs like the Red Bulls and City Football Group, given their owner ties them to Manchester United. Will he end up in Salford? Who knows. First, he needs to play football on a regular basis. Maybe he returns to Italy after a successful spell up north, at a club more established than Udinese. 

His agent, Edoardo Crnjar, also manages Roberto De Zerbi, and we know Brighton love to buy low and sell high. Modern football is so unromantic when spoken about in these terms, but this is the game now. It is hard not to feel that a Pafundi in any other major footballing nation would be steadily eased into senior football, rather than allowed to stagnate in a dugout until he leaves. Italian football does so well to reject the ugliness of modern football, but maybe it needs to get with the times, even just a little.