This season’s Serie A looks more like a competition for second, third, and fourth place after Inter Milan’s 14-point lead at the top of the table with nine games remaining. One of the clubs fighting it out for the Champions League places is AS Roma. After sacking their manager, Jose Mourinho, the club appointed former player Daniele de Rossi. However, amidst all this chaos, one youngster named Edoardo Bove rose and showed his talent.
Although he is only 21, he has been a more than capable player in the central midfield region. Roma are currently three points off fourth-placed, the impressive Thiago Motta-led Bologna, for the Champions League places. However, if Serie A finishes as the top two leagues in the UEFA coefficient system, the league will get five places in the revamped Champions League format from next season.
If this were to happen, more people would witness this special talent. So, who is Edoardo Bove, and how good is he?
Edoardo Bove profile
Born on May 16, 2002, in Rome, Italy, Edoardo Bove had a keen interest in football from a young age. Growing up in the Eternal City, there was no doubt that the youngster grew up supporting AS Roma. Moreover, his idol was Danielle de Rossi, not only his current manager, who also played in the same position as Bove for the club till 2020.
His own journey, however, started at a local club, Boreale Donorione. Bove’s talent, though, would help him garner huge attention in the youth football ranks of Rome. In 2012, he would get the opportunity every young aspiring footballer in Rome dreams of admission into AS Roma’s youth academy.
However, the real tests started soon after, as he had to prove his worth among one of Italy’s most talented clusters of young players. Bove accepted this challenge head-on. Bove first came to notice in the 2018-19 season when he was playing for Roma’s under-17 side; he scored 15 goals in 14 games. This included an incredible eight-game run where he scored 12 goals (which included four braces) and one assist.
This earned him a promotion to the under-19 side, where he would spend two seasons perfecting his craft. This would finally earn him his first senior cap when he made his debut against Crotona at the end of the 2020-21 season.
Roma had been searching for a player to replace de Rossi in the middle of the park, and the then-teenager seemed to fit the bill perfectly. He would make 13 appearances in the 2021-22 season (11 in Serie A and two in Conference League) and scoring one goal.
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🇮🇹 20 years old
💪 1st start in Europe this season
⚽️ 1st European goalRoma’s Edoardo Bove ✨#UEL pic.twitter.com/xnMrjmOXTm
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 11, 2023
Edoardo Bove stats
At the end of the 2021-22 season, Roma won the UEFA Conference League. So, things were very optimistic at the club for how much the club could achieve the following season. Bove was an essential part of it and made several substitute appearances for the first half of the season. However, towards the end of the season, his fortunes began to change as he started eight of the nine final games in the league.
Bove also played a key role in Roma’s campaign in the Europa League, scoring the only goal in the two legs of the semi-final against Bayer Leverkusen. Roma lost the final, but Bove’s stock rose further.
This brings us to this season when he has finally become one of the first men on the team sheets, despite the club sacking Jose Mourinho mid-season.
The midfielder has played 24 times for the team this season, leading from the front. Bove has made the most counter-pressing actions of any player on the team. He also has won the third-most tackles and the fourth-most fouls. The youngster has played the role of being the midfield enforcer on the team. His stats from Fbref for his tackle success rate are among the top percentile of midfielders. Among all this, he has also managed to keep an 83.7 percent passing accuracy.
He is also very good at shielding the ball, which often leaves the opposition with no other option but to foul him.
Edoardo Bove style of play
Bove can best be described as a roaming playmaker who is also excellent at winning possessions back. His creative side resembles his natural talent, while his tenacity comes from the demands of a league that has long demanded players be good during duels. Most of his work involves ensuring that Roma are never overrun in the middle of the park.
He uses smart movements across the pitch to disturb the opposition’s shape. In fact, most of the time, he deliberately goes to the right flank and takes a defender with him so that one of his teammates can exploit the space evicted.
Bove also doesn’t shy away from making tackles to win the ball. We must remember that for the most part of his career, he played in a far more advanced role. However, at Roma, he had to curb his creative output to be more useful for the team. This is the kind of versatility a player needs to thrive at the top level.
Furthermore, since Bove is so technical and physical, dispossessing him off the ball remains arduous, even for the most adept players. So, the position ends up fouling him more often than not. It is a combination of all these things that makes him an all-around midfielder.
Edoardo Bove potential
At 21 years old, Edoardo Bove is playing for one of the biggest clubs in Italy. If things work out, he could showcase his talent in the Champions League next season. Bove is not the most talented midfielder out there, but he sure is one with the most drive and passion. His mentality is one of winning a game by using all the resources.
What Bove might lack in skill compared to some of his peers, he more than makes up for with his drive and leadership. Players like Edorado Bove are silent heroes who do most of the underrated work for a team. And it is these players that form the base of a champion team, which means that come the summer transfer window, clubs will be lining up to sign him, which is the biggest endorsement of how special of a player he is.