Udinese forward Lorenzo Lucca reflected on his season with Ajax, his admiration of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his desire to break into the Italy squad.
The Italian striker emerged as an exciting talent with Serie B side Pisa and made the unexpected move to Ajax on loan last year. He failed to break into the squad in Amsterdam, seeing just 136 minutes of Eredivisie action across 14 matches. In that time, he scored twice and provided an assist.
Ajax decided not to sign Lucca in the summer, and he was sent back to Pisa, who promptly sent him to Udinese on a loan deal with a €10m buy option attached. He has scored twice for the Friulian side this term.
Speaking to Radio Serie A via Calciomercato.com, Lucca first discussed how it felt to score his first Serie A goal.
“My first goal in Serie A was a unique feeling, it’s every child’s dream. Obviously though, there is regret for the draw and for not being able to win.”
He looked back at his year with Ajax.
“The experience in the Netherlands helped me a lot. Ajax is a football school, it was my first year abroad and it helped me a lot on a psychological level, as well as improving me on an individual level. It’s a different way of working than in Italy.”
The 23-year-old gave his thoughts on former striker Ibrahimovic.
“He is my idol, I have followed him since I was a child. In Amsterdam there were several pictures of him, but I don’t know if relations are still good between the club and Ibra.”
He was asked what he would want to take from the Swede.
“Certainly, the quality with which he scores goals, in that I have to improve a lot, being in the right place at the right time.”
The Italian forward spoke about the comparisons made with Olivier Giroud and Peter Crouch.
“I’m not comparable to Giroud, he was one of the strongest strikers in Europe and he still makes the difference at Milan. But as physical and technical characteristics maybe yes.
“Many people have even jokingly told me that I look like Peter Crouch. He’s not my ideal type of player, but he was very strong. We have a similar height, but on a playing level I think I’m different from him.”
Finally, Lucca discussed his goals with Udinese this season.
“Doing well with Udinese is the main thing, then second place is the national team. A call-up is a dream I’ve always had.”