LORENZO INSIGNE
For the 29-year-old Napoli captain, Euro 2020 may represent a final chance to establish himself on the international stage.
Ever since he scored 18 goals alongside Ciro Immobile and Marco Verratti in the Pescara side that won Serie B in 2011-12, Insigne has been one of the great, unrealised hopes of Italian football. That, however, may have much to do with the fact that for the last nine seasons he has played for Napoli.
His outrageous talent, ability to both score and set up goals, pace and low centre of gravity, have all inevitably prompted a crippling comparison with the late Diego Maradona. The weight of expectation regarding their Naplesborn captain has not always helped him, indeed has prompted bitter rifts with Napoli fans, especially during last season’s dispute between the players and owner Aurelio De Laurentis.
Insigne, however, is always a potential match-winner. In the context of this attack-minded Italy, in which he is seen as a “main man”, he could reach new heights.