In soccer, development is rarely linear or smooth. Highly rated young players often go through difficult periods and times of uncertainty. Some never get past it these stages while others fight through it and become stronger.
Gianluca Busio, 21, is a great example of both how rocky this road can be and how quickly things can change for the better. In the middle of the 2021 MLS season, Busio was 19 years old and was surging in his career. He was one of the league’s top teenagers and had just won the Gold Cup with the men’s national team. He moved to newly promoted Venezia of Serie A and was part of the U.S. national team for World Cup qualifiers.
But then came some tough periods. Busio had impressive moments in Serie A but his playing time wasn’t always consistent and Venezia was relegated. Later that year, Busio did not make the U.S. World Cup team.
Now in 2024, Busio has made important strides in his game and recalled the great expectations from when he was a teenager breaking through at Sporting Kansas City. He has gone from a luxury player to a well-rounded one who contributes on both sides of the ball.
The result of his development is that he is now an important player for Venezia and the United States U-23 Olympic team as both teams are at very critical junctures. For Venezia, Busio has started 28 of the team’s 30 games this season and he typically plays as a No. 8 box-to-box midfielder. So far, he has scored five goals and added three assists. Venezia sits second in Serie B and is in strong position to contend for promotion with eight games remaining.
“When I first moved, everybody talks about the main differences between relegation and promotion,” Busio recalled of his move from Sporting Kansas City to Venezia. “But I moved right into it. I didn’t expect a jump that far into it right away. It’s kind of a shock. … I got the worst of it, the pain of the relegation. Now it’s the opposite. It helped me grow into where now I can use what we all learned really was there — to try to help us get promoted.”
He has made big improvements in his game, and this could be seen in a recent win over Pisa when his defense, historically not his strength, won a game when he forced a turnover and started a stoppage time counterattack that resulted in the winning goal.
“It’s something that I said I wanted to work on since I signed in MLS,” Busio said of his defensive play. “I still don’t think I’m a great defender. I think it’s more just about the intensity and how you defend now, and it’s more of a mentality than anything because, I still get deep, but I think it’s just the effort and the timing. But it’s something that we’re still working on.”
Going immediately from MLS into an unsuccessful relegation fight and followed by a tough first season in Serie B has also helped him as he progressed out of his teenage years. He was out of the limelight of Serie A, but he was still developing well in cutthroat Serie B.
“It’s obviously very different playing when you’re in a promotion battle vs. a relegation battle,” Busio said. “When I first moved here, going through that relegation, even the first year in Serie B, where we were near relegation again for the first six months. That kind of helped me a lot. It helped me get to this point where I’m at now.”
Off the field, Busio has a number of things that have helped him in his adjustment. The first is the ability to enjoy life in one of the world’s greatest tourist cities. He grew up with Italian roots, was fluent in Italian before he left the United States, and he enjoys life in Venice outside of soccer.
“I don’t live in the city, it is still a 10-minute drive away,” Busio said. “It just makes a life outside of soccer very easy. If you’re bored, you can just go in the city, have a nice lunch, go shopping, enjoy the scenery, take a boat throughout the city. It’s special. I live a pretty normal life outside, basic hobbies, hanging out with teammates. But to be able to do that in such a beautiful, historic city — I’ve enjoyed it. It’s played a huge part in enjoying life here on the field and off the field.”
Meanwhile for the United States U-23 team, Busio has been equally important as it prepares for the Paris Games this summer. In the team’s first Olympic camp in October, Busio captained the team in a 2-1 win over Mexico.
Now in the March camp, Busio started and scored the team’s second goal in a 3-0 win over Guinea. Following this March camp, the U.S. team will have just one more gathering in June before the opening game of the Olympic tournament against France in Marseille.
“The team is a good group,” Busio said of the U-23 team. “We have good young players in MLS, and in Europe. It’s pretty cool because we have guys in very different situations. Some guys who are pushing to get to Europe, some guys who are just starting in MLS, stuff like that. And it’s just cool to see the different experiences [and] the different aspirations. Everybody has the fire. You can tell it’s a really talented group. Everybody is showing it at some level. This is going to be really special group together.”
Right now, Busio is a likely bet to make the Olympic team while heading into that tournament amid the Serie B promotional hunt, which is extremely tight with no margin for error for any of the teams involved.
“It’s in our hands right now,” Busio said. “It’s a close battle. We’re going to have to stay locked in and make sure that we don’t give up easy points or make little mistakes. It’s a good position to be in. Fighting for promotion, that’s pretty cool to experience. We’re confident. We know that there’s a lot at stake. We were built for this moment, we’re ready for it. … obviously each game has a little more passion and more fight. We know what’s at stake.”
Taking these steps with Busio will be Tanner Tessmann, who is Busio’s teammate on both Venezia and the U.S. U-23 team. Both players are in the same age group and both came up domestically before signing homegrown contracts in MLS.
In Venice with fellow U.S. Olympic hopeful
Now they are regular starters for Venezia and have been part of the club’s rise. Busio credits Tessmann’s performances in defensive midfield position as a big reason why Venezia’s midfield has been a strength.
“We came up together,” Busio said of Tessmann. “We had the same pathway. It’s pretty cool that we ended up in the same place in Europe. For both of us, it was difficult the first year or so. There’s times where I was playing and he wasn’t and then it switched and he would play and I wouldn’t.”
“But the off-field, that’s what helped us on the field. We grew into really good friends. We knew of each other. We weren’t close before or anything. But throughout the years, we really became close. Now it’s better that we can show that on the field and put it together.”
Like any American player, Busio’s ultimate goal is to play with the full U.S. national team and he hopes the Olympics will reopen that door.
But for Busio and many others, the Olympics tournament is important in its own end, not just as a means to advance one’s career. The opportunity to win a medal while playing high-caliber opponents in front of a huge television audience is a unique opportunity and it is an event he watched during his childhood.
“A lot of Americans, especially athletes, grew up watching Olympics, not just soccer,” Busio said. “I was watching every sport there. Once I heard we qualified through the U-20s, I was already locked in. I wanted to try to push for a spot on the team.
“Now that it’s coming closer and closer — it’s in the back of my head. My main priority is in Venice right now. But as soon as the season is done, it’s not really offseason. It’s preparing for the Olympics because that is a goal of mine and something that I really want to play in. It’s a huge priority.”