Antonio Raimondo’s season at Frosinone has moved into a different register. Seven Serie A goals have taken the forward to the top of the scoring chart, and his hat-trick against Sassuolo has made him one of the figures of the latest round.
The 22-year-old has not allowed the attention to alter his outlook. For Raimondo, the goals matter, but so does the daily work required to keep Frosinone moving through the campaign.
Quick facts
- Raimondo has scored seven Serie A goals for Frosinone.
- He struck three times in the latest match against Sassuolo.
- The striker credits coach Massimiliano Alvini with helping him find consistency.
- He previously worked under Silvio Baldini with Italy Under-21.
- Former Napoli forward Edinson Cavani was his childhood reference point.
“I try to give everything, follow the coach’s ideas and help the team,” Raimondo said. “Scoring is always pleasing, of course. A striker lives for goals, and I am happy with this spell, but there is still a great deal to do.”
Asked to choose his favourite goal from the Sassuolo match, he selected the third. Completing a hat-trick, he said, made that final finish the most special of the afternoon.
His first goal carried a moment of improvisation, with Raimondo using two feints after seeing the goalkeeper go down. He said the second movement was simply an extra safeguard, to make sure he did not make an embarrassing mistake.
Behind the recent scoring run is a player who believes his game has been reshaped by continuity. Raimondo recalled his spell at Ternana, where he was 18 and enjoyed a strong first half of the season before struggling after the winter turn.
At Frosinone, he has found a demanding guide in Alvini. “He has changed me as a player,” Raimondo said, explaining that the coach pushes him hard in every training session.
“Anyone can have a good period, but consistency is the essential thing for a player,” he added. Greater experience, in his view, has also helped turn promising moments into a more sustained contribution.
Raimondo also spoke warmly of Baldini, his Italy Under-21 coach, describing him as a very good person. The senior national team remains a hope rather than a target he takes for granted, but he admitted he would welcome the prospect with all his heart.
The comparison raised with Totò Schillaci, in the context of the next European Championship, was received with gratitude rather than grand claims. For now, Raimondo’s immediate stage is Frosinone, where each goal is strengthening his place in a season that still has much to write.
His instinct in the penalty area is part of that progress. Raimondo said he continues to believe in balls that may appear lost, anticipating a mistake, a rebound or a loose pass that can suddenly become an opening.
That hunger has a childhood source. A Napoli supporter from an early age, he watched Cavani closely and admired not only the Uruguayan’s finishing but his willingness to chase back, his determination and his edge. Those are qualities Raimondo is now trying to bring to Frosinone’s own Serie A story.
