It was a long and winding road to sign Antonio Nocerino.
The midfielder expressed interest to go to MLS and D.C. United jumped at his discovery rights even as Nocerino expressed interest in joining his former AC Milan teammate in Orlando. Negotiations and finger pointing ensued before D.C. United finally backed off its tampering charge, agreed to some form of compensation and allowed Nocerino to sign with Orlando City.
Finally, Nocerino signed with the Lions and is on his way, expected to begin training with the team this week ahead of the March 6 season opener. The saga was over.
Of course, now the problem is where to put Nocerino and how to make this talented player fit in with a midfield that seemingly had itself settled.
Nocerino is undoubtedly a talented player. To get to play with AC Milan, you have to be even though Nocerino has spent the last two years on loan elsewhere. He will bring something to the mix for the Lions.
“Having spoke to a lot of people who have either worked with him or played with him, he can play virtually anywhere across the midfield and that’s what he’s done,”Heath told Paul Tenorio of the Orlando Sentinel. “He has got two good feet, he can play inside, he can play outside. So it’s going to be invaluable for us and it does give us a little bit of flexibility in terms of do we change the shape occasionally to make us more solid away from home.
“There are things we have spoken about and things we have started to try to implement in their heads that we are going to start to do when he gets here. So we think it’s going to be a really good pick-up for us.”
The Lions certainly value versatility. Brek Shea is a midfielder-turned-defender who has played both in the midfield on the left wing and also left back. Depending on injuries, Shea can play just about anywhere on the wing.
Nocerino might be the center version of Shea, although he will not be displacing anyone at centerback any time soon.
Still Nocerino could join Cristian Higuita, Darwin Ceren or Servando Carrasco or replace one of them as a defensive midfielder just as easily as he could push forward and join Kaka in the middle or switch with versatile midfielder Adrian Winter.
That versatility is valuable for sure. Any team could use it and with a player as talented as Nocerino, that becomes even more valuable. Orlando City likely will face more international callups and shifting lineups. Injuries will play a role in the season for sure too.
Nocerino likely will be all over the field. How he will be used initially is still unclear. He has to make it to the United States first. Once he gets some training in with his new teammates his role will emerge. At this point, and as the season progresses, it could literally be anywhere.
One thing feels certain though. More talent is good. And this long saga to bring Nocerino to Orlando should benefit the team.
