Napoli’s Lorenzo Insigne says his goal against Real Madrid was the best of his career, and insists “I never asked for number 10”.
The attacking midfielder is a Neapolitan and has spent his entire career with the Partenopei, aside from a loan spell at Pescara.
“A Neapolitan who plays for Napoli will always shoulder some extra responsibility,” Insigne admitted, speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport.
Napoli’s Lorenzo Insigne says his goal against Real Madrid was the best of his career, and insists “I never asked for number 10”.
The attacking midfielder is a Neapolitan and has spent his entire career with the Partenopei, aside from a loan spell at Pescara.
“A Neapolitan who plays for Napoli will always shoulder some extra responsibility,” Insigne admitted, speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport.
“The fans expected so much of me because I had scored a lot of goals for Pescara and I got some criticism, but I kept working hard to achieve my goals.
“There have been many club symbols in the past, like [Francesco] Totti at Roma. I’m proud to be at Napoli and I want to stay as long as possible.
“Zdenek Zeman also launched Totti? Zeman has launched so many great players, he threw me into football and I’ll be grateful to him forever.
“If I’m an important player today, then the merit also goes to him.
“Rafa Benitez? In his system, the defensive side which I had previously neglected was fundamental, with Rafa I learned to play both phases with the same intensity.
“There’s also a lot of credit to [Maurizio] Sarri for my past two seasons, he put his faith in me and I’m trying to pay it back.
“Was my goal at the Bernabeu the best of my career? I’d say so, yes.
“I was so happy that I didn’t even know how to celebrate. It was instinct, I saw that the goalkeeper was off his line and I hit a perfect shot.
“Unfortunately though it wasn’t enough for us to go through. I’m not saying we deserved to, but we made it hard for the best team in the world.”
Diego Maradona has said Insigne can wear his number 10 shirt if he scores more goals, but Insigne says he has never asked for the retired number.
“I never asked for the number 10. I prefer 24, the day my wife was born. You see the player beyond the number.”
The Italian international was also asked about Antonio Cassano, who called a Press conference this week to announce his retirement, before swiftly changing his mind.
“Antonio is good and strange at the same time,” Insigne explained.
“I read that he was leaving for family reasons, so I called him. He told me he was no longer taking joy from going onto the pitch, he felt like he was almost ‘clocking in’.
“Then I heard his Press conference and even I was surprised. I don’t think it was a cassanata though, and I’m not just saying that because he’s my friend.
“If he didn’t feel like playing anymore…”