Massimo Cellino recruit's two-year impact is underrated — View — Football League World 10/5/24

By ADAM CLEARY

Mirco Antenucci spent two seasons at Elland Road and had a decent record in from of goal

Leeds United had a turbulent time in the Championship from 2010-2020 with many player turnovers.

Mirco Antenucci's impact at Elland Road was underrated, scoring crucial goals for the club.

Despite a messy exit in 2016, Antenucci remains a respected player and is still active at 39.

It's fair to say that Leeds United's time in the Championship between 2010 and 2020 was somewhat eventful, and plenty of players came and went at Elland Road.

It wouldn't be unfair to say that some of the players who played for the club during this period probably weren't up to the expected standard, and there was a huge turnover in players most summers, particularly during the Massimo Cellino era.

However, there was the odd anomaly, and the signing of striker Mirco Antenucci in the summer of 2014 was certainly an underrated one in hindsight.

The Italian joined the club from Serie B side Ternana, who had finished 16th in the Italian second division the season prior, so it hardly set pulses raising at Elland Road, but he turned out to be a very decent signing.

It's fair to say that Leeds United weren't exactly the most stable of clubs when Antenucci joined in the summer of 2014, but he still managed to make a big impact at Elland Road.

Dave Hockaday took the reins at the club in the summer of 2014, but he had been sacked by the end of August, just summing up the mess the club were in at the time.

However, Antenucci didn't let the off-field problems affect his game, and he became a regular starter for the club as soon as he joined.

He scored his first goal for the club in his fourth appearance in a 3-1 win away to eventual champions Bournemouth, and he backed it up in their next game with another goal against Huddersfield Town.

Perhaps some Leeds supporters were surprised by how good Antenucci was, especially given the fact his CV wasn't the most impressive, and in total, he scored 10 Championship goals for the club during the 2014/15 season, finishing as their top goalscorer.

The Italian helped Leeds to a 15th place finish, a decent return when you consider how badly the club were being run at the time.

He remained at the club for the 2015/16 season, and he impressed again, playing 39 Championship games, and finding the back of the net nine times, helping his side finish in 13th place under Steve Evans.

By no means was Antenucci a prolific goalscorer, but he managed to exceed the expectations of Leeds fans, and without his goals in the 2014/15 season, the club could have been relegated to League One.

However, like most things at Leeds at the time, the striker's exit in the summer of 2016 wasn't straight forward, and Antenucci claimed he had an automatic contract extension in place had he reached a certain number of goals, so he was given less playing time towards the end of the 2015/16 season to ensure he wouldn't reach it.

He departed in the summer of 2016 after scoring 19 goals in 75 games - an underrated spell.

Mirco Antenucci returned to Italy in the summer of 2016, and he's remained there ever since, with his spell at Leeds the only time he's played outside his homeland.

Quite remarkably, the 39-year-old is still going strong now, and he's currently playing for Serie C side SPAL, where he's still a regular starter despite turning 40 this coming September.

It remains to be seen how much longer Antenucci will continue to play, but to still be playing professional football at 39 is very impressive, and he clearly loves the game.

His time at Leeds may have ended on a bit of a sour note, but he impressed during his two-year stint at Elland Road, and Leeds fans should be grateful for his goal return which helped secure their Championship status.

He may have been overlooked given the club's recent success, but Antenucci's time at Leeds was certainly an underrated one.