On Tuesday evening, at the Cinema Fulgor in Rimini, Adin Licina received the Gianluca Vialli Award — dedicated to the best young player in Serie B — in the first official prize of his young career. The award unites technical qualities with human ones, in the memory of the values transmitted by Gianluca Vialli himself: a man who was remembered, as the Lega B president Paolo Bedin noted in his introduction, “almost more for his human qualities than for his great technical ones — which tells you that we are looking at an extraordinary figure.”
“I Share a Bond With Vialli Through Cremonese and Juventus — It Is an Honour”
Licina’s acceptance speech was delivered with the composure and the genuine emotion of a 19-year-old who understands both the weight of what he is receiving and the human significance of the name attached to it. “I want to thank you for awarding me this prize. With Gianluca Vialli I share having played for Cremonese and for Juventus. I have heard many important things about him — especially in these two clubs. For me it is an honour to receive this prize and I am very happy. I am truly very proud and I thank everyone.”
The bond he describes is not merely biographical coincidence. Vialli scored 52 goals in 97 appearances for Cremonese before his breakthrough at Sampdoria, and then returned in spirit to the club that launched him as one of the most admired figures in Italian football. Licina, wearing the number 10 at the same Cremonese, has already scored goals, won a prize named for his predecessor, and carries the Juventus badge on his registration documents. The parallel is not forced. It is organic — and made explicit by the award itself.
“I Hurt Myself — But Fortunately It Isn’t Anything Serious”
The second chapter addresses both the wrist fracture and the recovery update. Licina’s own characterisation of the injury — “mi sono fatto male, ma per fortuna non è niente di grave” — matches the official communication that followed Dr Pegoli’s successful surgery at the J-Medical: the operation was clean, the 72-hour rest observation period produced no complications, and the assessment now underway will determine the precise recovery timeline before he returns to the pitch. His presence at the Rimini ceremony — elegant, at ease, composed — is itself the clearest visible indicator that the operation has left him well and that the recovery is proceeding without concern.
Juventus, meanwhile, are watching. The plan remains unchanged: June 2027, the summer return, and then the direct assessment by Spalletti that determines whether the player whose Serie B impact has generated international interest and a first career prize is ready for the next level. The Continassa is waiting. The prize is a marker on the road towards it.
