Last summer, Israeli soccer champions Maccabi Haifa signed defender Jean-Pierre Romero Carreño from the Spanish club Oviedo, from Spain's 2nd division. They went on to sign Frantzdy Pierrot, a forward from the French club of Guingamp, also from the 2nd division.
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Since these moves have ultimately panned out, it is now time to sign someone from Serie B, Italy's 2nd division, and Lorenco Šimić is the man for the job. The Croatian center-back comes from Ascoli, a modest club from central Italy, not too far from Rome. Haifa spent a cool million Euros on the Croatian, who despite Ascoli's 12th-place finish last season, largely impressed with his tackling and tenaciousness.
"In Serie B standards, he did quite well," says Anna Rita Marini, a soccer journalist who covers Ascoli extensively. "His pairing with Eric Botteghin in central defense worked out beautifully."
Danielle Felicetti, who also covers Ascoli, lavished equal praise. "He was one of the finest central defenders in Serie B last season, particularly in the second half of the season, when Ascoli were vying for a spot in the playoffs. He even scored in his debut against Bari, instantly solidifying his spot in the starting 11. He excelled in both a 3-man or a 4-man defense."
Felicetti goes on with the praise. "Lorenzo's head game is on point, leveraging his 6.4" stature to great effect in set pieces. For someone that tall, he's relatively quick. He's physically quite forceful and he reads the game well. He can man-mark, he's tactically disciplined and would like to do well in Serie A as well."
It might sound overly ambitious, but that was his goal when he began making his mark, playing in the academy of his home club Hajduk Split. He was the captain of their youth team, represented his country in various age tiers and was considered somewhat of a prodigy, even to the extent that some labeled him Croatia's most promising talent in 1996.
Among those who kept track of his advancement were London giants Chelsea, but it was the Ukrainians who came really close, with Dnipro's soccer club auditioning him on their home turf. He was set to sign a contract to play for them once he turned 18, but then their funds ran out and they decided to focus on more local talent.
Journalist Slavan Alpirevic, who profiled the youngster favorably, even compared him to Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos, mainly because he himself is a fan of the Spanish giants. In contrast, his friends nicknamed him "Pique", since they believed he more closely resembled the Barcelona icon.
But if there's someone he can truly claim to be his stunt double, it's Hollywood pretty boy Ashton Kutcher, and these comparisons have accompanied him wherever he went. Whether it's considered "fair" or not, his good looks made him the "talk of the town" in Croatia back in 2016.
The defender's deep pride in donning the team's uniform, a passion he has held since childhood, was matched by his ambitious goal in August - to advance alongside his teammates to the group stage of the European League. However, their path was obstructed by Maccabi Tel Aviv. It was during the away game in Croatia that Šimić experienced what he still regards as the most formidable and demanding match of his career.
Though he missed the 2-1 loss in Netanya, he persevered on the field for the entire duration of the away game, generating his utmost effort in the 2-1 victory that extended the game into a penalty shootout, which he lost, prompting him to burst into tears. Little did anyone anticipate this elimination would mark the end of his European journey to this day.
Hajduk's decision to sell Šimić to Sampdoria in January 2017 was heavily influenced by the loss of income from UEFA, though it is more than possible he would have joined the Genoa-based club regardless, as the Croatian club couldn't turn down a €1.5 million offer for such a promising young player.
Moreover, trust in Šimić started to waver during that period after he received two red cards in a span of just a few weeks. Croatian journalists, in general, had lingering doubts about his true potential. While his hot temperament on the field led to sharp criticism, for others it simply further justified the comparisons with Sergio Ramos, a fiercely combative defender himself.
His on-field mishaps notwithstanding, Sampdoria's manager at the time, Marco Giampaolo, bided his time by introducing the Croatian youngster into the big time, mostly placing him on the bench, where he spent some quality time with Bruno Fernandes, now Manchester United's creative midfielder. During training, he learned quite a bit from his tussles with the Portuguese, as well as those he had with Sampdoria icon and star forward Fabio Quagliarella, who took the young central defender under his wing and gave him some manmarking tips.
It seems the advice served him well, given his excellent performances with Empoli at the top of Serie B. During that time, he played alongside some notable soccer stars, such as Napoli's Giovanni Di Lorenzo and AC Milan's Bosnian defender Rade Krunić. His coach at the time, Vincenzo Vivarini, held Šimić in high regard: "He has great potential. He's technically and physically excellent and can easily play in Serie A, provided he keeps his concentration intact. He needs someone who will trust him enough to let him thrive. When he's focused, it's very difficult to get past him."
Šimić participated in 15 games during his time at Empoli, and the club was eager to extend his stay. However, Sampdoria intervened in January and transferred him to S.P.A.L, a club based in the north Italian town of Ferrara. In his second game with his new team in February 2018, the Croatian scored an impressive goal against Crotone, leading his club to a crucial 3:2 victory that provided them with some much-needed relief and helped secure their position in the league. Although he didn't have many opportunities to play, this goal left a lasting impression on the fans, as journalist Mauro Melagotti, who covers the team, noted.
Initially, the start was expected to boost his self-confidence. However, a few weeks later, Šimić suffered an ankle injury, which initiated a chain of medical issues that persisted for several years. The player firmly believes that these problems were the root cause of all his difficulties, hindering him from realizing his full potential and making the expected breakthrough.
His failed loans persisted with Croatian minnows Rijeka and Slovak club DAC Dunajská Streda, but he failed to make his mark with both.
So 2020 came along, and his fortunes (or misfortunes, depending on your outlook) took him to Poland, with Lubin-based club Zagłębie Lubin.
The initial objective was for Šimić to thrive and secure a path to the national team, but unfortunately, this never materialized. "Due to his background in the Italian league, there were high expectations for Šimić, but he didn't meet the anticipated level of performance. While he demonstrated prowess in attacking set pieces and scored 5 goals during his time in the Polish league, he made numerous defensive errors and displayed significant instability. He had an excessive number of subpar games, which resulted in goals being conceded by the team," as reported by a journalist covering Zagłębie.
This period, lasting a year and a half, was further marred by ankle injuries. In January 2022, the club willingly released him for free to join Italian small-timers Lecce, despite having paid Sampdoria approximately €250,000 for his transfer at the time.
So by that time, he was no longer held in such high regard in his homeland, with a local reporter saying that his time in Hajduk Split was marked by notable inconsistency, playing excellent in one game and poorly the next.
He hypothesized it might have had something to do with a problematic lifestyle and frequently missing training sessions, so even though his time in Empoli made some believe in him, that was ultimately replaced by the inevitable realization that he lacked the features of a modern-day defender, and his somewhat feisty personality did not help.
So is that it? Is his failure a done deal? Not quite. After he joined Ascoli, he seemed to have found his purpose again, forming an excellent defensive duo with Brazilian Eric Botteghin. "Eric is my mentor," Šimić recounts. "He's ten years my senior and has seen a thing or two, and he teaches me a lot about soccer. I'm thrilled to play alongside him."
During that time, in what seemed like a miracle, he actually sustained no injuries and even though his personality had been previously called into question, as far as Ascoli is concerned, he's the perfect angel. "He has a great personality and he fits in well in the dressing room," Marini said. "He exudes leadership and confidence."
It's fair to say his career has been a mixed bag thus far. Aside from some lavish praise and fondness for his playfulness and leadership skills, he was also criticized for inconsistency, a less-than-ideal attitude and sluggish performances brought about missing critical training sessions.
At 27, Maccabi Haifa is hoping to get Dr. Lorenco and not Mr. Šimić. Should that materialize, the Israeli champions have managed to nab themselves an overall excellent defender who could make a real difference, provided he keeps his wits about him and receives the requisite trust from the coaching staff.
One thing is for sure - Everybody will constantly be reminding him of his Ashton Kutcher look.