Ciro Immobile will be Italy’s starting striker at the Euros and Giancarlo Rinaldi believes there isn’t a better moment for the Lazio star to silence his critics.
They love a difference of opinions in Italy and nobody divides the nation much more than Ciro Immobile. To his fans, he is the goalscorer par excellence and a vital cog in the national team’s aspirations. Opponents, however, would be happy enough never to see him don the blue of his country again. The two sides are further apart than a couple forced to sit down for a family dinner following a messy divorce.
The reasons for this divide are not too hard to understand if you simply look at the stats. The Lazio man has struck more than 150 goals in Serie A in a shade over 250 games – the kind of strike rate that puts him right up there with the best in the business. His return for his country – 12 in 45 – is a lot less impressive. His backers say he has never been shown enough faith with the Nazionale. For detractors, however, he is the one bum note in Roberto Mancini’s Italian symphony.
Like him or not, however, he is a stick on certainty to be in the squad for the Euros and Italy could sorely do with him clicking into gear this summer. He has been in cracking form once again for Lazio and it augurs well for a successful international tournament. It might not be easy to silence his critics, but lifting the trophy as a key performer in the competition would certainly go a long way to achieving that.
In many ways, it feels like he has to convince his coach about his national team credentials, despite his impressive club record. Mancini has only played Immobile in about half the games he has called him up for, hinting that he is still unsure he is a man to build his team around. A haul of five goals in 13 appearances for the current boss is decent but it is not enough to guarantee he will be a starter in every game.
It seems ridiculous that there should still be doubts over his abilities but some question marks – for some observers anyway – remain. Italy have been transformed under their new boss but the starting striker’s role remains more uncertain. A glorious summer for Ciro could finally make that spot all his own.