Sharpshooter Icardi drawing Ronaldo-like rave reviews
MILAN — Argentina striker Mauro Icardi is the golden boy of Italian soccer as much for his scoring prowess with Inter Milan as his colorful lifestyle off the pitch.
The heavily tattooed 25-year-old from Rosario — also the hometown of Lionel Messi — followed the same route as his illustrious compatriot to Barcelona in 2008.
He moved to Italy in 2011 to Genoa club Sampdoria before arriving in Inter Milan five years ago, taking over as captain in 2015.
Icardi’s positional instinct and lethal finishing in a championship renowned for its tight defending have garnered 116 goals for the club.
Luciano Spalletti, who took charge of Inter a year and a half ago, said: “Icardi has no weakness, he is perfect. He is a complete striker and for his age shoulders so much responsibility.”
Icardi tied for the Serie A scoring lead last season with 29 league goals.
He was named Serie A Footballer of the Year last week, the first player not from Juventus to win since Zlatan Ibrahimovic with AC Milan in 2011.
The Argentine also won the best goal award for his spectacular backheel during a four-goal haul against Sampdoria last March.
He gave each Inter player a Rolex watch to thank them for helping him reach the mark for the second time in his career. “Without you it would have not been possible,” Icardi paid tribute to his teammates in an Instagram post.
Inter was due to take on PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday night in a crucial game for the Italian club’s progress in the competition, which it returned to this season for the first time since 2011-12.
Icardi scored his first Champions League goal in a 2-1 home win over Tottenham, but the Italian club lost away to the English side at Wembley, with both sides tied at seven points.
Inter will finish second and qualify for the knockout round if it picks up more points than Spurs who manage away to group winner Barcelona.
There has also been speculation about Icardi’s future with the club should it fail to advance in Europe.
“I’ve always clarified my goals,” Icardi said on the weekend.
“The first was to come back to the Champions League with Inter and we reached it, the second was to win something with Inter.”
But Inter’s title hopes have also been severely dented after losing 1-0 to Juventus in Serie A last Friday, falling 14 points behind the champion. Napoli is the nearest challenger, eight points behind Juve.
And Icardi has been overshadowed by the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus, with the Portuguese star scoring 10 league goals to Icardi’s eight.
Neither shone in Friday’s Derby d’Italia that saw Mario Mandzukic score the winner, and Icardi failed to record a single shot on goal during the match.
His high-profile off-pitch life with wife Wanda Nara, the ex of fellow Argentine and Sampdoria teammate Maxi Lopez, regularly provides fodder for the Italian press.
Argentine TV star Nara manages the interests of the striker, whose contract expires in 2021. Manchester United and Real Madrid are regularly reported as being interested in signing him. Icardi’s contract reportedly has a $114 million buyout clause, the sum which Juventus paid Real Madrid for five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo.
“Icardi is on a par with Cristiano Ronaldo,” said Nara. “He played three games fewer than Ronaldo, which is why he has fewer goals.”
Having not been selected for this summer’s World Cup finals amid reports he was snubbed because of Lionel Messi’s friendship with Maxi Lopez, Icardi has since been recalled by Argentina and scored his first goal for his country in a friendly win over Mexico last month.