Giovanni Simeone broke into tears and kissed a Champions League tattoo after scoring his first goal in the competition, fulfilling his childhood dream.
Simeone scored his first goal in Europe’s elite competition minutes after making his debut at the Stadio Maradona tonight. He had replaced the injured Victor Osimhen and found the net against the Reds almost with his first touch.
Once the ball crossed the line, he broke into tears and kissed a Champions League tattoo on his arm, fulfilling a dream he had since childhood.
Simeone got the tattoo when he was 13 and during an interview with the Guardian in 2021, he said he would have kissed it after his first goal in the tournament.
“I was 13 when I got my first tattoo,” Simeone, a Cagliari striker at that time, said.
“You’re supposed to be 18, but I was such a fan of the Champions League that I got the logo done at 13. My dad didn’t want me to. And my mum said: ‘Why?’ I said: ‘Because the day I play and get my first goal in it, I’m going to kiss the tattoo.”
Simeone joined Napoli on loan with an option to buy from Verona last summer.
He scored 17 goals in 35 Serie A appearances at the Stadio Bentegodi before moving to the Stadio Maradona this summer.
He made his absolute debut with the Partenopei coming off the bench in the second half of a 0-0 draw against his former club Fiorentina on August 27 and has racked up 17 minutes across two league appearances so far.