Lazio star Ciro Immobile reflected on his difficult spells with Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla, and predicted how many goals his fellow strikers would score this season.
The 32-year-old Italian forward has started the Serie A campaign well, scoring the winner against Bologna in the season opener to secure all three points for Maurizio Sarri’s side. Immobile is hoping for another high-flying season as he looks to break even more goalscoring records in Rome.
Speaking to DAZN (via LazioNews24), Immobile first commented on what elements make up a good goalscorer, referring to a specific example in the win over Bologna.
Definitely there is a lot of instinct, then, with time, you gain experience. I’ve scored a lot of goals, where in advance I know where the ball will go and where I want to put it.
I mean, I already imagine the goal before the action ends. For example, against Bologna, I had that opportunity in the first half. I had thought about chipping it in, because I was placed sideways.
But in the end, when I got in front of the goalkeeper, I couldn’t get my foot underneath it. Then Skorupski made a good save.
The 32-year-old Italian striker looked back on his Golden Boot winning season.
I suffered in the game against Brescia, because I was in a fight with Lewandowski. I couldn’t score goals, the ball wouldn’t go in.
However, my teammates insisted and I did it to win the Golden Boot. Then I played much more calmly.
The Lazio talisman commented on the special nature of the upcoming match against Simone Inzaghi’s Inter.
We’re talking about a very special challenge, given what has happened in recent years. Then it’s very nice to challenge Inzaghi. Some have extra motivation
Immobile looked back on his difficult spells with Dortmund and Sevilla, as well as giving his thoughts on his critics.
You know how I feel about this. There are various opinions that make me think. Sometimes they make me angry, sometimes I laugh.
However, all the people who love me tell me that when I stop playing, there will be a realisation of what I’ve done.
Past it? I probably needed more time in Dortmund, where I could’ve done something more. In Seville, I didn’t really get along with the coach.
Finally, Immobile assessed the strengths of the other top strikers in Serie A and he tried to predict how many goals each would score.
Lukaku I think will score between 20 and 25 goals, also because he has a lot of anger inside him. Lautaro? Well, either he’ll do one or the other, so I think between 13 and 18.
Vlahovic? He’ll exceed 20 goals. Milan? Between Giroud, Origi and Rebic they will hit 30. Jovic? In my opinion no more than 15.
Osimhen? I’m playing a specific number, 19 goals. I really like him as a striker. Zapata and Muriel? Between 25 and 30 together.
Abraham? If he can put up the same numbers as last year we should start talking about a great striker. He can be between 15 and 20.
