Insigne: ‘In Naples they didn’t understand me 100%’

It is a Lorenzo Insigne who spoke on many topics, in the interview with the magazine Undici. “The biggest bias against me was my height. My football school was affiliated with Turin, they made me sign a paper that at 14-15 I would go to them for an audition. I left, I did two or three training sessions, I played a game and they sent me home because I was too small physically – said the Napoli captain -. The only one who believed in me was Peppe Santoro, in the Napoli youth sector. When I was a kid, there were companies that took kids with no technical skills. It was enough that they had the physique. Now it seems to me there are more opportunities, even to make his debut at eighteen or nineteen as a professional ”, he explains.

Distances

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Many fans have never liked his character. “I have a particular character. I can joke with everyone, but at first I keep my distance. For some fans it is pride, it seems that I want to pull it. It’s just a defensive attitude. Someone has never fully understood me. Those who really know me know how I am ”, says Lorenzo Insigne, Toronto FC player since 1 July. “People have always expected a lot from me. I tried to reciprocate. I’ve had some disagreements with the fans a few times and I’m sorry. A captain is a guarantor for the people who love the team, I believe I have always ensured that Napoli do not fail in their commitment on the pitch “.

The city

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The city and its beauty known all over the world. “Naples, if you don’t live it, you don’t know it. I was born here, I could not do text, but I hear good things about Naples from all my companions in the locker room, those who have traveled the world so much, those who have come with their families. I could not say sensible things about Turin if I have never lived there. I think the same must be true for Napoli, which suffers from many prejudices, is often crushed by a certain hatred that exists among the fans. I feel bad when from the pitch I hear those chants against my land, I hope that one day things can change “.

The coaches

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Insigne then spoke of the coaches he had in his career. “Zeman was decisive, the first to believe in me. Benitez completed me: I had always thought that for me football was just attacking. Football with Sarri is joy: I had a lot of fun in three years, there is only the disappointment of not having won the Scudetto. On Ancelotti it is not true that we did not take it. We had different ideas, yes, on matters of the field. I owe a lot to Gattuso. After the years of Ancelotti so-so, he was good at making me come back on my steps and to motivate me. Spalletti is a strong personality: he gave us back awareness of our strength. “On the passion for football, the captain of the Azzurri concluded:” If I had to buy a ticket, I would do it for a Champions League final, whatever A team that I always like to watch is Manchester City. Guardiola’s football has been unmissable since his time in Barcelona. His perfect Champions League final would be against Liverpool. In the end, on TV, I don’t miss one “.

Canada

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At thirty Insigne decided to try his experience in Canada, but it doesn’t mean that he already wants a slower pace of football: “At age I don’t think. When I realize that I am not physically well, I will let it go. Seeing Ibra at forty, the desire comes. For Totti’s farewell I cried. I know that when he comes to me, I’ll be sick. I do not want to think about it”.