This is a Lorenzo Lucca propaganda piece
Luciano Spalletti, listen up.
Moise Kean? No, Grazie. Matteo Retegui? Arrivederci. Lorenzo Lucca is the guy I am looking at to solve the Azzurri’s number nine headache. Is it purely based on the romantic and nostalgic aura I get from a striker of Lucca’s build and ilk and not on the actual performances of Italian strikers this season? Don’t ask questions.
Lucca is an old-school style striker with a hint of modernity added in. It’s very rarely you see a striker measuring at two metres tall in today’s game but Lucca towers above the majority, giving him an advantage that he uses well. His ability to connect with and direct headers with such precision is a huge strength of his.
But he’s more than the ‘big man’ cliche. He’s more on the ‘big man with good feet’ cliche, if anything. And he’s also very good at bringing people into the play, often dropping deep to get the ball and lay it off.
Lucca is currently one goal behind his tally for the entire of last season. With seven goals for Udinese this year, he is currently joint-fifth alongside Valentin Castellano and Dusan Vlahovic. His Azzurri counterparts, Kean and Retegui are up in podium positions with 12 and 11 respectively.
So, whilst Kean and Retegui are providing more goals, Lucca has a super opportunity to continue his form and break into the conversation. He may not be as good as the other two but he deserves the recognition.
The reason I am enjoying Lucca so much this season is because of my fondness for a tall Italian striker. I’m a romantic and football is all about style and stories, so when a player who’s providing some nostalgic relief in the modern game crops up, I sit up and take notice. Plus, when your favourite Italian player is Luca Toni, another imposing Italian, then it’s hard not to enjoy Lorenzo Lucca’s form this season.
Lorenzo Lucca’s story is also wonderful, grinding his way from Serie D to Serie A. Thanks to his goalscoring form, his loan to Palermo in Serie D is where the lower league fans started to notice the tall striker and he made the radars of Serie B and A clubs and it was Pisa who signed him. Life in Tuscany started well before quietening down for the remainder of the season. But he was still making noise in Calcio. From there, he had somewhat unsuccessful loans to Ajax and Jong Ajax before joining Udinese, initially on loan and then permanently.
I want, nay I need, Lorenzo Lucca consistency. He has to develop that side of his game and score goals more often and regularly. The striker has a lot to his game and if he can find that goalscoring rhythm, he can continue to excel in his career. Selfishly, I’d love for him to come to Napoli as Romelu Lukaku’s replacement. He’s scored seven so far this season and if that continues, then the bigger clubs in Italy will surely take a look. Don’t be fooled, though. His game isn’t that of a Serie C target man.
Friday 10th January
Lazio vs Como
Saturday 11th January
Empoli vs Lecce
Udinese vs Atalanta
Torino vs Juventus
Milan vs CagliariSunday 12th January
Genoa vs Parma
Venezia vs Inter
Bologna vs Roma
Napoli vs Verona*Serie B fixtures coming to the newsletter soon…*
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