Mirko Antonucci finally gets his long awaited goal at Cittadella

The wait is finally over. Mirko Antonucci has scored his first goal for Cittadella since joining in July.

The ex-Roma midfielder’s time at Cittadella as started off fairly well. With a handful of assists in the first 11 matches, Antonucci’s presences has made Cittadella dangerous going forward.

But despite all this, one thing was still missing: a goal.

Having scored only one goal in his professional career–coming in Portugal a year and a half ago–Antonucci came close to breaking his drought. There was no problem in creating chances, as the midfielder created 17 of them prior to last Sunday.

Mirko thought he was going to get his moment on October 28th. A penalty awarded in the tenth minute saw Antonucci run up to the spot. However, a diving effort from Gianluigi Buffon denied the Roman his first Granata goal.

He kept providing set ups for the likes of Orji Okwonkwo and Enrico Baldini up top. For Mirko, it was only a matter of time. And on November 7th, his persistence payed off.

A head from Romano Perticone following an out swinging corner fell perfectly for Antonucci. Spotting the open far post, he fired the ball into the side netting, giving Cittadella an important 1-0 lead.

His celebration tells the entire story. Chance after chance in previous games frustrated the midfielder. But this time, the narrative changed, and Antonucci delivered.

“The first thought went to my family, who have always been close to me.” Antonucci explained to Il Mattino di Padova post-match. “And then I said to myself: “It was time, man!”. And finally I thought about the fact that we were winning against the leaders.”

“The dedication? This goes to my girlfriend, but also to my daughter Sophie. And then to the people I don’t need to name, because they already know that I think of them and I keep them inside of me. We always believed in ourselves, even when the results aren’t coming. It remains a very difficult championship.”

Prior to signing with Cittadella, Antonucci was at a rough moment in his early career. A loan terminated in Portugal due to TikTok usage, and not playing at Salernitana, Cittadella seemed like a reasonable place to restart. So far, Antonucci has shown his promise, playing in all 12 league matches with six goal involvements.

The road ahead looks promising for Antonucci and Cittadella. With a goal last Sunday, Granata fans hope to see more of this version of the midfielder.