Ciro Immobile, Lazio Rome’s centre-forward, goes into this new football season just as hungry as ever, where he wants to equal a record – to be Serie A’s top scorer for the fifth time – and show that he has come to terms with the fiasco of the Nazionale on the way to the World Cup.
“That Ciro Immobile continues to score many goals…” This is the first wish expressed by Roberto Mancini when he was asked in the press regarding his expectations before the resumption of the Italian championship. The Italian coach and ex-Lazio striker (1997-2000) has been heard: “Ciro il Grande” got the Laziali out of trouble by scoring the decisive goal of the inaugural victory once morest Bologna (2-1) on Sunday last.
Join Nordahl
This thunderous start is a habit for Immobile, scorer in the first game of the season for the fifth time in a row. But that did not prevent him from letting his joy explode under the northern bend of the Stadio olimpico, that of the ultras laziali. “This goal is for the Lazial people,” said the Roman captain, who had demonstrated his attachment to the shirt before the match by posting a video to support the subscription campaign (23,000 subscribers at the moment). “This team showed great character, which we had missed a bit so far. We finished fifth last season, with a change of gear. This year, no excuses. A lot of good players have arrived, there is great potential,” he added on Sky Sport.
Even if several other Serie A strikers scored from the 1st day (Vlahovic, Lukaku, Osimhen, Jovic), Immobile shows that he intends to defend his crown of top scorer in the 1st division championship, conquered last May for the fourth times in his career: three times with Lazio (2018, tied with Mauro Icardi, 2020 and 2022) following having been in 2014 with Torino, Lazio’s opponent tonight. If he succeeded, Immobile would equal the record of five titles, a feat that only the Swede Gunnar Nordahl has so far achieved in Italy, in the 1950s, with AC Milan.
Top scorer in activity in the championship with two goals ahead of Fabio Quagliarella (183 once morest 181), the center forward of Sampdoria Genoa, the Roman captain is at the gates of the historic top 10 scorers. Currently twelfth, he has only six goals left to overtake the Del Piero-Signori-Gilardino trio who are ahead of him, which might go quickly for a striker who averages 25 goals per league over his six seasons in Rome.
Mancini counts on him
Beyond the figures, Immobile also has a reputation to improve with the Italians, who have not forgotten the zero points of the Azzurri attackers once morest North Macedonia (0-1) last March, depriving the Nazionale of the World Cup in Qatar . In the wake of this “crash”, several media had suggested that Mancini turn the Immobile page, he who was already the starting center-forward during the previous fiasco of 2017 once morest Sweden in the dams of the 2018 World Cup (0-1, 0-0).
Faced with criticism, the European champions striker (55 caps, 15 goals) asked himself the question of a possible international retirement at 32 years old. Injured, he did not play the international matches in June. But Mancini is still counting on him: “We spoke to each other and he didn’t tell me anything. For me, there is therefore no problem, ”assured the coach to Gazzetta dello Sport. The “Mancio” does not have many alternatives anyway: with the exception of Lazio, the big teams in Serie A all rely on foreign centre-forwards. Andrea Belotti might be satisfied with a role of luxury joker at Roma. Moise Kean stagnates at Juventus. And young Gianluca Scamacca (23) still needs to grow, which he left to do in the Premier League at West Ham. Enough to encourage Mancini to repeat his wish often: “That Ciro Immobile continues to score…”
The “Door Revolution”
By proving to the world that goalkeepers know how to use their feet, the Colombian René Higuita helped revolutionize this position and paved the way for a generation of goalkeepers who have become essential in the construction of the game. Today, Manuel Neuer, Marc -André ter Stegen, Ederson and Allison appear as prototypes of modern goalkeepers, capable of dribbling the ball at the foot and throwing cleanly. An evolution linked to the ban on taking the ball in hand on a pass from a teammate, imposed by FIFA in 1992 following too many abuses.
“The greats of football like Pelé and (Diego) Maradona (were) very good players, but they did not change a rule at FIFA”, declares, with a touch of casualness, René Higuita during a videoconference . Nicknamed “El Loco” (“The Fool”) because of his raids on the ball away from his surface and, above all, his legendary scorpion kick once morest England in 1995 (an acrobatic save with both feet thrown over of his head), the former Colombia international has shown that goalkeepers do not have all the square feet and can participate in the game.
In 1992, just before the Olympic Games in Barcelona, FIFA amended the rule of the “back pass” to the goalkeeper and decided that recovering the ball by hand would be a foul giving rise to an indirect free kick in the box. The only solution was therefore to use the feet. Higuita believes he “inspired” this major change, which revolutionized football at the time, much criticized for its slowness. The 1990 World Cup in Italy had indeed been painful for the fans. “FIFA put an end to a horrible thing (…), almost all the teams played backwards to give the ball to the goalkeeper”, recalls sports historian Luciano Wernicke. Argentina’s Sergio Goycochea, Costa Rica’s Luis Gabelo and Italy’s Walter Zenga “held the ball in their hands for an eternity” to save time, he added.
Watch out for blunders
Higuita was good with his feet. Penalty and free kick taker, he scored 43 goals during his career and participated in the offensive animation. A style of play that his counterparts did not share… “El Loco” is amused: during the first matches following the entry into force of this standard, some goalkeepers continued to “catch the ball with their hands”. “For us, it was a big surprise (…). We weren’t used to it,” former Spanish international goalkeeper Santiago Canizares recently confirmed.
Others, like Barcelona legend Andoni Zubizarreta, were opposed to this law. It “limits the goalkeeper”, he said to the Spanish daily El País in 1992. Not sure that the current generation hears it that way. Ederson at Manchester City, Alisson at Liverpool and Neuer at Bayern Munich don’t hesitate to dribble an attacker in the laundry or deliver decisive passes… Football “is faster today, (there is) more mobility , every day the goalkeeper has to work a little more with his feet to support the team,” said Higuita.
However, be careful not to take yourself too much for an outfield player!
Missed control, uncontrolled ball exit, hazardous recovery… Goalkeeper blunders have multiplied since the reform. Higuita himself made a big mess at the 1990 World Cup when he lost the ball in midfield to Roger Milla. The Cameroonian then scored in the empty net and eliminated Colombia from the competition in the round of 16. “El Loco” continues despite everything to plead for change thirty years later. “There is a lot of talk regarding establishing real time (of play) like in basketball,” he said. Here is an idea less dangerous than a dribble in front of his goal line…
Jump-offs from C3 and C4
In addition, late Thursday night in the first leg of the Europa League (C3), the Moldovans of Sheriff Tiraspol, who had managed to climb to the group stage of the Champions League (C1) during the 2021-2022 season where they had notably beaten Real Madrid, were held in check (0-0) by the Armenians of Pyunik. Just like Olympiakos once morest the Cypriot club of Limassol (1-1). Fenerbahçe, on the other hand, took the upper hand over Austria Vienna (2-0).
In the other meetings of the evening, in the first leg of the Europa League Conference (C4), Nice was surprised (1-0) by Maccabi in Tel Aviv, Israel. The Aiglons, unconvincing for the moment in the French championship (12th with only 2 points following two days), had nevertheless dominated the first act, but ended up giving in following returning from the locker room. The French club will have to surpass themselves on August 25 at home to hope to play the group stage. Villarreal, who reached the semi-finals of the C1 last season, is in a much more favorable position following its clear victory (4-2) once morest the Croats of Hajduk Split. Another renowned club, West Ham also dominated (3-1) its modest evening opponents, the Danes of Viborg, who have never played in a European group stage. Slavia Prague was dominated (2-1) by the Poles of Czestochowa. Anderlecht, on the other hand, has reason to be more optimistic following its victory (1-0) once morest the Young Boys of Bern.
Source: AFP
Ciro Immobile, Lazio Rome’s centre-forward, goes into this new football season just as hungry as ever, where he wants to equal a record – to be Serie A’s top scorer for the fifth time – and show that he has come to terms with the fiasco of the Nazionale on the road to the World Cup. “May Ciro Immobile continue to score many goals…” This is the first wish expressed…
