A special blog post on Puscas
here
George Puscas is fast becoming one of my favourite Primavera players. For those who follow me on facebook/FIF, and have read some of the blog articles here, you will know how highly I rate him.
George Puscas
We signed him quietly last summer on loan from a second division club in Romania. George Puscas was born on the 8th of April, 1996 – making him barely 18 this year. Initially signed on loan, and under the radar (with fanfare signings of Ventre and Capello), people didn’t have a huge expectation of him. Considering the many players we had going for us up front – Bonazzoli, Ventre, Capello, and the then-unknown Camara and Puscas – it was fair to assume he wouldn’t get a substantial amount of game time, especially as it was initially insisted that the Primavera would follow Mazzarri’s tactics, leaving only one or two strikers starting every match.
How wrong we were.
He showed substantial levels of clinical ability in our youth team, scoring at least one hat-trick that I can recall off the top of my head now (notching 8 goals in 18 primavera appearances last year, starting only about a dozen of those games), Puscas managed to really thrive in the Primavera and claim a first team spot for himself, competing with the 5 million euro rated Alessandro Capello among others.
Inter converted his loan deal to a permanent contract quickly, for a meagre 300,000 euros – a real bargain – and he has arguably directly led to the discarding of Alessandro Capello, who I thought was still pretty good, but clearly our management decided that the money was better invested in Puscas – and they were certainly right.
Today, as many people will know, he scored 5 goals in the Primavera league opener against Lanciano. None of them individually brilliant goals, but the sum product of them is one hell of a complete forward that does not leave a lot to be desired, at his level.
2:00 – Puscas first
4:07 – Puscas tap in
4:50 – Puscas hat trick
5:30 – Puscas 4th
6:35 – Puscas 5th
If you watch the goals, you’ll see someone who knows how to get into the right place at the right time, who has a very keen eye for goal, and knows how to find gaps in the defense. Of course at this level anyone with some talent can make the opposing team look like a very mediocre side, but I also don’t remember the last time a Primavera striker scored 5 goals in a match for Inter. I don’t believe that any of Longo, Destro, Balotelli, etc, managed this great achievement for us.
I’ve long said that George Puscas in the youth team this year would be a waste, I’m still hoping for a last minute loan to a Serie B side, I don’t think he will necessarily thrive there yet, but he should be well posed to compete for a first team position, and I think it is the mental development that he needs now more than anything else – his technical skills are as complete as they will be for our youth team.
George Puscas is a great gem that we have our hands on, and I think he actually has the footballing intelligence to succeed at his game – he isn’t dependent on muscling off defenders who will never make it as professionals – but rather, his positioning, timing, running, and technique.