Lorenzo Paratici’s name has begun to carry weight at Roma for reasons beyond his well-known family connection. The 18-year-old forward, son of Fiorentina executive Fabio Paratici, produced the clearest indication yet of his potential in the UEFA Youth League, scoring three times as Roma Primavera swept aside Slovan Bratislava 5-0.
Mattia Scala’s side controlled the afternoon, with Camara and Arena adding the other goals, but Paratici supplied the defining passage of the match. He completed his hat-trick inside 40 minutes: first with a firm right-footed effort from range, then by reacting quickest for a close finish, before completing his work with a header. Sporting director Tony D’Amico, CEO John Galantic and former Roma player Federico Balzaretti were among those watching his performance.
It was not an isolated contribution. Paratici had already found the net against Fenerbahçe in the same competition and has regularly been among Roma’s more influential Primavera players in league football. Born in Turin on 21 October 2008, while his father was working at Juventus, he is principally a central striker but can also operate between the lines, stretching opponents and arriving decisively in the penalty area.
Gian Piero Gasperini has followed his progress closely. The first-team coach included Paratici in the Serie A squad for last Saturday’s match against Genoa, giving the teenager his first place on a senior matchday bench. Fabio Paratici, who often watches his son from the stands, had particular reason to enjoy that step.
Roma’s decision to bring him back was shaped by the regard in which he is held within the club. After a season with Roma Under-18s, Paratici returned to Sampdoria in June and signed his first professional contract there, running until 2028. Roma’s new youth-sector chief, Margiotta, did not want to let him disappear from the club’s pathway, particularly after requests from Gasperini and Scala, who had previously coached him at Under-18 level. Near the end of the transfer window, Roma secured his return on a temporary deal with an option to buy, this time assigning him to the Primavera group.
A three-goal display is also familiar territory for Paratici. In a summer friendly against Roma City a year ago, he also struck three times, with his boyhood idol Paulo Dybala watching. Their connection goes back much further: when Paratici was seven, he accompanied his father to Turin airport to welcome Dybala following the Argentine’s move to Juventus. A photograph from that day shows the young Lorenzo smiling beside the player he admired.
Roma’s latest academy prospect now has a more immediate ambition. After a first Serie A call-up and a commanding Youth League afternoon, Paratici is moving closer to the possibility of sharing a dressing room with Dybala rather than simply watching him from afar.
