Page 48 - Soccer360 Issue 104

E N G L I S HS E P R R I E E MA I PE R R O L F E I LA EG U E
“NAPOLI OWNER ANDREA DE LAURENTIIS HAS PLACED
A HUGE VALUATION ON OSIMHEN.”
club colours. It was all an unnecessary distraction from a mixed start to the Partenopei’s title defence as Garcia struggled to emerge from the almighty shadow left by title winning coach Luciano Spalletti. Nobody was going to adequately fill the shoes of history maker Spalletti, who successfully built a relentless winning team, and the French coach was at an immediate disadvantage from the outset of his tenure.
Osimhen didn’t entirely appear to be on his side either. Yet when the social media scandal dissipated the skilful forward silenced everyone by scoring in four goal routs at home against Udinese and away at Lecce. He even redeemed himself by converting a penalty although Fiorentina exploited all of
Napoli’s defensive vulnerabilities in a stunning 3-1 home reversal.
Just when Osimhen was returning to his best everything came crashing to an abrupt halt as
he damaged a hamstring on international duty
for Nigeria in a friendly draw with Saudi Arabia. Allowed time off to sort out a personal matter in his home country - a move which some interpreted as a peace offering after the forgettable TikTok debacle - De Laurentiis again made the headlines. He suggested the striker’s mood had altered after they shook hands on a new deal before anything was officially agreed and even hinted that Osimhen could be sold. A media backlash prompted another official club announcement which insisted the
Olivier Giroud is at the top of the goal scorers table
Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (R) in action
DID YOU KNOW ?
15 year old Francesco Camarda
18 AND 18
Napoli ace Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is the only Serie A player to
have scored at least 18 goals and provided at least 18 assists in
all competitions in the last two seasons.
THE YOUNGEST
At 15 years and 260 days, AC Milan’s Francesco Camarda is
the youngest player to make his debut in Serie A history, surpassing Wisdom Amey who debuted at 15 years, 274 days.
OLDEST FRENCH GOALSCORER
AC Milan’s Olivier Giroud (37y 38d) became the oldest French goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history, overtaking Laurent Blanc (36y 338d).
3 CLEAN SHEETS IN A ROW
Lazio have kept three clean sheets in a row against AS Roma in Serie A for the first time since 1996 (four on that occasion).
Milan’s forward Olivier Giroud during the UEFA Champions League
46 SOCCER360