Name: Lorenzo Insigne
Born: June 4, 1991, in Naples, Italy
Position: Forward
Pro club: Napoli
Insigne put in a man-of-the-match performance for Italy on Wednesday at the UEFA U-21 European Championship, spurring the Azzurrini to a 1-0 win over England. The Italians dominated their English opponents for long stretches throughout the game in Israel – and even had an appeal for a clear penalty in the first half inexplicably denied. But Italy couldn’t break through and looked destined to have to settle for a draw. And then Insigne stepped forward and delivered a gorgeous, curling free kick from the edge of the box that beat English goalkeeper Jack Butland in the 79th minute. Italy went on to win, thanks in large part to the classy goal and even classier display from Insigne.
He’s special because
The playmaking forward is being touted as the next Italian superstar, and he’s already drawn comparisons to fellow Napoli icons such as Diego Maradona and Gianfranco Zola. Insigne combines quickness, mazy dribbling skills and deft touch on the ball into a dangerous attacking package. He only stands five-foot-four-inches, but the Naples-born Insigne is fearless, using his pace and trickery on the ball to run at defenders and take them on one-on-one when he gets inside the attacking third of the field.
Club career
A product of Napoli’s youth system, he made his Serie A debut for the Partenopei in 2010 against Livorno. He quickly went out on loan to Cavese in Serie C1 before moving on to Foggia (also in Serie C1) where he teamed up with legendary coach Zdenek Zeman. It was at Foggia that he first shot to fame, scoring an impressive 19 goals. From there he moved on loan to Pescara, where he was reunited with Zeman, and helped the Delfini win the Serie B title and earn promotion to Serie A in 2012 – he also scored 18 goals and was the Serie B player of the year. After Ezequiel Lavezzi was sold to Paris St. Germain, Napoli had a gaping hole in its attack and they recalled Insgine at the start of the 2012-13 Italian campaign. Insgine responded by netting five goals and establishing himself as one of the league’s top playmakers with seven assists, as Napoli finished second and clinched a berth in next season’s UEFA Champions League group stage.
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International career
Still only 22 (his birthday was on Tuesday), Insigne could have easily been named to Italy’s senior squad for this summer’s FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil. But he felt he still had some developing to do, and even though he’s already made his debut for the Azuzrri, he opted to play for Italy’s youth side at the UEFA U-21 European Championship currently taking place in Israel. Insigne has played a handful of matches for Italy’s under-21 team since making his debut in 2011. His lone cap for Italy’s senior team came in a World Cup qualifier against Malta last September. This summer’s tournament in Israel will mark his swan song with the under-21 team, as he is destined to graduate to the senior side and play a prominent role in Italy’s World Cup qualifying campaign going forward.
His most famous moment
It would have to be this week’s win against England, where he capped off a man-of-the-match performance with a wonder strike from a set piece on the edge of the box that sealed a win for the Italians. Bravo. Molto Bravo!
Here’s an interesting fact
Insigne once received a phone call from his idol Alessandro Del Piero. The former Juventus legend wanted to congratulate Insigne on receiving his first call up to Italy’s national team.
He said it
“I look up to him (Alessandro Del Piero). As a kid, I watched all of his goals and I’d love to ‘steal’ his curling shots.”
What they’re saying about him
“He’s a great guy. In terms of his dribbling, he reminds me of Messi, who is the best in the world, and Insigne has the chance to emulate the career of the Barcelona phenomenon.” — Goran Pandev, Insigne’s Napoli teammate
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