Serie A: Five Things to Know About Ciro Immobile

Serie A: Five Things to Know About Ciro Immobile

He’s Lazio’s lethal goal scorer, and he’s ripping up the Serie A league again this season; yes, we’re talking about the irrepressible Ciro Immobile.

Before the enforced break in play, he was well on target to win the Capocannoniere, with 27 goals from 26 games, six more than his nearest rival Cristiano Ronaldo. And as we approach the return of football in Italy, Immobile is sure to stay in the Serie A 2020 news while his team continues its assault on the Scudetto.

After a nomadic start to his career, the now-30-year-old Immobile has matured into one of the best strikers in world football, for club and country. Born in Naples, as a young player he headed north, took an ill-fated trip to Germany and then eventually settled down in the Italian capital.

He’s a player who can terrify defences with his pace and ability to time a run to perfection, able to finish with either foot or his head. He’s a coach’s dream, hard-working, tracking back when needed and pressing opponents with ferocity.

1) Moulded by Juventus

A young Immobile impressed as an under-17 at Sorrento in the 2007/8 season, scoring 30 goals. That’s where he caught the eye of the Juventus scouts. At the end of the season, he signed for I Bianconeri for a modest fee of 80k Euros.

In March 2009, he made his Serie A debut in a 4-1 victory over Bologna, coming on as a substitute to replace the Juve legend, Alessandro Del Piero. Later that year, he replaced Del Piero again in his first Champions League game against Bordeaux. He was understudy to one of the greatest of all time and learned well.

2) Jointly owned by Genoa (briefly)

While impressing on loan at Pescara with 14 goals in the first half of the 2011/12 season, Genoa moved in January to pay 4m Euros for half the player’s rights.

He stayed at Pescara for the remainder of the season, firing the seaside club to Serie A as league top scorer with 28 goals. Immobile became a Genoa player when the loan expired in summer 2012. But a year later he was back in Turin.

3) Capocannoniere at two teams

After Immobile had failed to impress at Genoa, Juventus’ big rivals, Torino, took a gamble and signed the striker for the 2013/14 season and it certainly paid off.

At 23 years of age, the Turin side could see something in the young striker, even though he had only scored five goals in 33 games at his previous club.

Torino’s faith was rewarded handsomely as Immobile won the Capocannoniere with 22 goals, the first Torino player to achieve that feat since 1977. He finished the 2014 season with a bang, scoring in Torino’s penultimate fixture against Parma before being sent off and missing the final game against Fiorentina.

4) Struggles in Dortmund

Immobile was on the move again, and in June 2014 he made his first foray away from his homeland to sign for Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund. But he lasted just a season at the Signal Iduna Park, scoring just three league goals and a total of 10 in all competitions, and he was shipped off to Sevilla on loan in 2015.

His return to Italy, to play for Lazio, launched his career to new heights.

5) Subbed before Lazio’s capitulation against Inter

Since signing for Lazio for 8.75m Euros in 2016 Immobile hasn’t stopped scoring. In 2017 he bagged 23, behind only Roma’s Edin Dzeko in the Capocannoniere, and in 2018 he ended up with 29 goals, sharing the top scorer trophy with Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi. But despite the personal triumph that campaign ended in despair.

Lazio’s disastrous last game of the 2018 season, a defeat to Inter Milan at the Stadio Olimpico still hurts in Rome and holds particularly sad memories for Immobile. Lazio just needed a point to confirm a Champions League place.

At 2-1 up with 15 minutes to play, head coach Simone Inzaghi took off his star striker to be replaced by defender Jordan Lukaku. Inter roared back as Lazio lost their shape and discipline and ended up snatching a 2-3 victory, and the final Champions League place.

But he’s back with a vengeance this season and he’s one of the favourites here in the SBOBET football writing team; and while Juventus are heavily backed by Serie A 2020 betting odds to win a ninth successive Scudetto, Immobile will have something to say about that.

The Serie A clubs are back in training and hopefully matches will resume soon when their star striker will be spearheading Lazio’s push to the finish line. It’s a race not to be missed!

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