Brignani, the scoring defender Castellón’s radar unearthed in Italy | OneFootball

CD Castellón’s radar found Fabrizio Brignani in Italy. The centre-back underlined his scoring knack by netting in the 1-0 win over Almería, his seventh of the season.

El Periódico Mediterráneo reports that he stands 1.93 metres, turned 28 in January and joined from Mantova last summer on a deal to June 2029. If Castellón win promotion to Primera, bonuses would lift the fee to one million euros.

He has admitted the early months were difficult, arriving from a league where a defender’s job stopped at defending, while in Spain he is expected to do as much as possible.

Working to an individual plan, he embraced the challenge, saying his mentality is to graft and improve. Daily work targets winning duels then using the ball, finding inside passes and breaking lines. He is moving beyond safe options and beyond only set plays.

The learning phase included defensive errors that cost goals. He found greater space, quality and speed, and says team-mates have helped. Step by step he is refining his game.

So far he has played 33 matches and wants to be more than a set-piece weapon. His personal best remains nine for Mantova in their promotion to Serie B.

That productivity owes plenty to repetition. The summer before Mantova’s rise he hammered finishing drills, friends serving countless crosses, which made him a specialist.

Now in his prime, Brignani sees the chance of reaching Primera within sight. He left Cremonese’s youth system for Bologna, made first-team squads, then had spells at Pisa, Cesena, Vis Pesaro and Olbia before finding at Mantova, and now in black and white, a place to keep growing.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo