Fiorentini flies flag for Italy and England as Tribe bid to foil young Rebels
IT’S not often, if ever, that an Italian name is to the forefront in Croke Park – but that’s not the only thing that makes Galway minor centre-back Ethan Fiorentini stand out from the crowd.
Little did his great grandfather know many moons ago when he left Italy to start a new life in the Donegal town of Moville that a few generations later the distinctive name would grace the game’s biggest occasion at GAA HQ.
Ethan’s father, Martin, would settle in Galway where he married English woman Christine and it’s there in the west of the city that their son began to show an expected flair for soccer given his heritage, but also Gaelic football with local club St Michael’s.
Soccer was “his first love” but Fiorentini gradually gravitated towards football with childhood coach Sean Summerville – who worked with him from U-9 to U-14 – remarking that “between the English and the Italians they have created a great footballer”.
Anyone watching Galway end Kerry’s 34-game unbeaten run at minor level stretching back six years during their epic All-Ireland semi-final would have noticed the diminutive blond No 6 who continuously burst out with ball from defence and drove forward.
That was nothing new for Summerville, however, having watched the slight teenager mop up ball as he progressed through the ranks, culminating last year when he captained St Michael’s to U-16 ‘A’ championship glory.
“Ethan was so small and so skinny growing up but I always played him at centre-back. People were always surprised because you’d normally expect your centre-back to be a big, strong lad,” Summerville said.
“We always played him there because he just read the game so well, he was always in the right place at the right time and he always seemed to have loads of time on the ball. He picked up some amount of ball for us.
“The gas thing is, you wouldn’t even have to coach it into him. You’d be there watching the match and you might see danger coming and be ready to shout to Ethan to drop back but he’s already exactly where you want him to be.”
Fiorentini is among a strong contingent from St Joseph’s Patrician College (The Bish) representing the Donal Ó Fatharta’s Tribesmen tomorrow in the Electric Ireland AllIreland minor final and Summerville expects him to shine as Galway bid to thwart Cork and lift the Tom Markham Cup for the first time in 12 years.
“If Galway can win the final, I wouldn’t be one bit surprised if Ethan is man of the match as he’s always a chap for the big occasion – he’s well capable of doing it,” he said.
It’s may not be your typical GAA name, but football fans can expect to hear a lot more about Ethan Fiorentini in the days and years to come.