Lorenzo Insigne has had his best season at Napoli and Vilizar Yakimov expects him to produce the same at the Euros.
The current campaign was definitely not the best one for Napoli in recent years, but it’s safe to say this had little to do with Lorenzo Insigne’s performances. In fact, 2020-21 turned out to be the most productive season from an individual perspective for the Partenopei talisman, so being included in Roberto Mancini’s Euro 2020 provisional squad can hardly be a surprise.
Insigne’s 19 goals this term are the highest tally he ever managed in Serie A, while he also contributed ten assists across all competitions for his club. Unfortunately for Mancini, Lorenzo’s good performance in a Napoli jersey doesn’t necessarily mean that the 29-year-old will be able to replicate his form with Squadra Azzurra.
This is actually something that has happened way too often in the past and it partially explains Insigne’s not so impressive record of three goals in 28 official games for the Azzurri. Indeed this isn’t a record that does any justice for the quality of the player, but the truth is Insigne often lacked the maturity and continuity to make a difference for La Nazionale.
While the Naples-born winger has failed to establish himself as one of the leaders in the National team, there have been some promising signs ever since Roberto Mancini took over. The numbers confirm that as in the last year, Insigne managed five assists, which is almost double the tally that he had in his whole Italy career before that.
Mancio’s free-flowing attacking football came as a breath of fresh air for the Azzurri and his ideas seem to be perfect for Insigne. With Mancini Italy once again have a midfield that is good on the ball and can play direct incisive passes forward, while his 4-3-3 setup at times is very similar to the way Napoli were playing not so long ago.
All this points out that the conditions for Insigne to succeed are there, but even from an individual perspective, the player finally seems ready to make the next step mentally and become one of the team’s focal points.
Insigne has always been superb technically-wise, but too often he was unable to find put his head in the right place and be a leader for Squadra Azzurra just like he for Napoli. However, this since Mancini took over, Lorenzo seems to be more focused, calm and aware of his abilities which is an added value to a team that is full of young players.
Federico Chiesa is arguably the most exciting player in Italy’s attack right now, but both him and Domenico Berardi, who is another player that grew immensely in the past year, need someone to look up to at times and Insigne can be exactly that.
The expectations are that Lorenzo will make the left wing his own at Euro 2020 – something that he failed to do in the past. However, his growth is visible and despite Napoli’s struggles this term, Insigne proved once again he can be the leader that both his club and country need.
For some reason, he never really lived up to his potential with the Azzurri jersey, so at 29 years of age and a big forum coming up, it will be up to him to show that he can be a difference-maker for Italy as well.