Homemade talents: Lorenzo Insigne v Federico Bernardeschi
Fiorentina and Napoli sit fourth and second respectively in Serie A. On the one hand a win would allow La Viola to leapfrog AS Roma in third place, going only two points behind Napoli, and six behind table leaders Juventus, with the return game between the two sides scheduled for April 24th at the Franchi.
On the other hand, Maurizio Sarri’s side are ‘forced’ to win in Florence, not to allow Juventus running away with the Scudetto again.
So, the Franchi clash will say a lot about the future of the league, though it will be also an important game to know the future of Italy national team.
The spotlight will be on Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne, two ‘home-made’ talents. The first one is born in Carrara, Tuscany, just a few kilometers away from Florence.
He thrived in Fiorentina’s youth teams before moving on loan to Crotone and becoming a regular starter under Paulo Sousa this term (last year he suffered a serious injury which forced him out of action for long time).
The 22-year-old winger has yet to make his senior debut with Italy national team and his last game against Tottenham in Europa League was truly disappointing, though he’s probably among the best three young Italian offensive players out there.
He had been playing right winger and tasked with lot of defensive duties until Tello joined La Viola in January. Paulo Sousa has begun playing him behind a sole striker since then, in a 4-2-3-1 system. He has scored five goals and registered four assists in all competitions this term.
We were saying that Bernardeschi is probably among the best three young Italian offensive players, well, another one who has to be added in the list is definitely Lorenzo Insigne.
The Naples-born winger was the first player in Europe to reach double figures for both goals and assists this term. He has scored 12 goals and registered 11 assists in 30 seasonal games and is probably the most unpredictable Italian player at the moment. However, despite this season’s eye-catching performances, his last appearance with the Azzurri is dated back to the 20th of June 2014, when he played 33 minutes during Italy v Costa Rica in the World Cup group stage.
Insigne is reportedly not in good terms with senior Italy national team coach Antonio Conte who did not enjoy Insigne’s refusal to play for Italy due to a minor knee injury last September. The next Chelsea manager considered Insigne’s decision a way of snubbing Italy in favor of his club and his presence at EURO 2016 is not be taken for granted at all.
In the meantime he will face Federico Bernardeschi’s Fiorentina to keep Napoli’s Scudetto dream alive.
Lorenzo Bettoni @lorebetto
