Insigne Can Be Italy’s Star Man at the Euro’s
In 2017, when Italy needed a goal in their world cup qualifier against Sweden, Danielle de Rossi infamously when asked to warm up, pointed to Lorenzo Insigne, insinuating the playmaker should be coming on to save the game, not himself. Italy played out a goalless draw, Insigne remained on the bench and Italy missed out on the World Cup for the first time since 1958.
Fast forward, four years and Insigne is preparing with his teammates for the Euros and the 30-year-old has all the attributes and form to have an outstanding tournament.
First and foremost, Insigne is a joy to watch, an artist on the football pitch. Typically playing off the left, the Napoli man likes to drift inside to create and score. He has a low centre of gravity that enables him to display phenomenal close ball control and to drift away from opposition players with ease.
Lorenzo can be Italy’s creator, with the Napoli man assisting 7 times for Napoli in the 20/21 season, the third most at his club. Insigne can help Italy’s exceptional midfield link up with the strikers and this link could prove crucial to Italy’s success at the Euro’s.
Insigne could also play a major role in Italy’s goal scoring due to the fine form he has been in for Napoli, scoring 19 goals making him the club’s top scorer in the 20/21 season.
He also averaged 4.1 shots per game, only Zlatan Ibrahimović and Cristiano Ronaldo had more, demonstrating the confidence he possesses, to take shots from all ranges and angles. This has also led to him scoring 7 league goals from outside the area. Only a certain Lionel Messi has scored more from outside the box across the top five European Leagues.
The goal scoring form he is in will be important as Italy do not rely on one player to score their goals. He will need to contribute with his assists and goals for Italy to be successful and there is confidence he can do this as his form has shown. The only Italian to score more goals in the top 5 major European Leagues than Insigne was Lazio’s Ciro Immobile.
Italy will play their group games at the Stadio Olimpico and will be aiming to reach the latter stages of the competition and if Insigne performs like he has done for Napoli, then this could be a memorable tournament for the Napoli man and his national team.
