Immobile has Found His Home at Lazio
Ciro Immobile burst onto the scene as a 21 year old while playing for Italian second division side Pescara during the 2011-12 season. Immobile was there on loan from Juventus as he gained valuable playing time and experience under the tutelage of the ultra attack minded Czech Zednek Zeman. Immobile blossomed in Zeman's attacking system next to other budding Italian talents; Lorenzo Insigne and Marco Verratti. With the ultra talented trio leading the way, Pescara cruised to the Serie B title and Immobile became a household name in Italy after scoring 28 goals in 37 matches while winning the Serie B goal scoring title. You can check out all of his Pescara goals below.
After his breakout season Immobile earned a move to Serie A side Genoa who owned half of his rights with Juventus as part of a co-ownership deal. The season on the Ligurian coast was not all that kind to Immobile as he only scored 5 goals in 33 matches for the Grifoni and was subsequently sold to Torino by Juventus for the 2013-2014 season after they resolved the co-ownership with Genoa.
In Turin, Immobile found himself playing alongside a talented strike partner in Alessio Cerci much like in Perscara where he had Insigne. Playing alongside Cerci, Immobile again had himself an outstanding season. That season in Serie A Immobile scored an impressive 22 goals in 33 matches on his way to winning the capocannoniere (leading scorer) crown just two seasons after winning it in Serie B. Immobile also earned his first senior team call ups for Italy during the latter part of the 13-14 season. It looked like the mediocre season in Genoa was just a hiccup sandwiched between the two capocannoniere seasons in Pescara and Torino. You can see all of the goals from his capocannoniere in Torino below.
When a young player like Immobile has a season like he did playing for Torino the big boys usually come calling and this is exactly what happened with Ciro. Following his capocannoniere season Torino cashed in on Immobile and sent him to German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund for 19.4 million euros. Immobile got his Dortmund career off to a quick start scoring against Arsenal in the Champions League and Stuttgart in the Bundesliga in September. However, the season didn't quite pan out for Immobile as he scored only 3 goals in 24 league appearances as he struggled to adapt to a new league and culture. Despite scoring 4 goals in 6 Champions League appearances, and 3 goals in 3 German Cup matches, the overall numbers didn't impress those in charge in Dortmund.
After the unimpressive season in the Bundesliga, Dortmund decided to cut ties with Immobile sending him to Sevilla in La Liga. However, Ciro lasted only a half season in Spain scoring 2 goals in 8 La Liga appearances and 4 goals in 15 total appearances. It looked like Immobile's star which had been so bright just 18 months earlier had begun to dim.
In an effort to revive his career Immobile moved back to a familiar place in Torino for the second half of the 2015-16 season. While there he scored 5 goals in 14 matches and begin to find his feet again. It was enough to catch the eye of Lazio who bought him outright from Sevilla prior to the 2016-17 season.
Last season in the Italian capital Immobile revived his career under the tutelage of Simone Inzaghi, a former Lazio striker and brother of Milan legend Filippo. This is just what the doctor ordered for Immobile as he stormed back onto the Serie A scene and found himself again with a role on the Italian National team which had recently been taken over by his former Torino boss Gianpiero Ventura. Immobile surpassed his previous career high of 22 Serie A goals by scoring 23 and finishing sixth in the capocannoniere race. It was an impressive bounce back season that has carried over to the current season. You can see all 23 goals below.
As impressive as Immobile has been in previous seasons with Pescara, Torino, and Lazio, nothing he has done has been more impressive than what he has done to open the current season with Lazio. Never before has he played with the same team in back-to-back years before now and it seems that this familiarity has allowed him to elevate his game to an even higher level.
Immobile started the season with a bang by scoring a double against defending Serie A champions and Champions League runner-up Juventus in the Supercoppa Italia. Immobile's impressive performance allowed Lazio to pull the upset in dramatic fashion 3-2. Since that impressive first match of 2017-18 Ciro hasn't looked back.
To add to his Supercoppa success Immobile has already scored an impressive 6 goals in 4 Serie A matches and only Paulo Dybala of Juve has scored more with 8 goals. Most impressive was his hat trick against big boys AC Milan who feature probably the best defender in the league; Leo Bonucci. This season Immobile has begun to show a knack for stepping up the biggest games.
Immobile's success with Lazio has gone hand-in-hand with a greater scoring rate for Italy as well. Since joining Lazio last season, Ciro has scored six goals in 11 matches for the Azurri. Prior to that Immobile had only scored one goal in 15 previous appearances. This shows that Immobile's recent success isn't limited to Serie A or Lazio.
It seems as if Immobile has entered his prime years (he was 26 when he joined Lazio) he has matured as a goalscorer and found the consistency that eluded him on previous stops in his career. All of the goals that he has scored over the last 13 months with the Biancoceleste has allowed him to gain important confidence that he brings to the National team as well. In all competitions for Lazio Immobile has scored 35 goals in 47 matches plus the 5 goals for Italy in 11 matches in that same timeframe. That is a scoring rate that almost any striker in the world would love to have.
It looks like now that Immobile has a found a permanent home and a comfortable setting that he is finally developing into the player that many in Italy thought he could be. If he can continue scoring at a consistent rate over the course of the season he may have the potential to keep Lazio competing for a top 4 finish and a Champions League spot up until the very end. Also, if he can continue to perform well, Italy will look to him to lead the line in their upcoming World Cup qualifying playoff. It looks like the real Ciro Immobile has finally arrived and is keen on making past inconsistencies nothing but a distant memory. Only time will tell how far he can carry Lazio and Italy with his goal scoring prowess.
Be sure to follow this blog on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/coachstevescorner/ or Twitter https://twitter.com/StevenSciavillo.
After his breakout season Immobile earned a move to Serie A side Genoa who owned half of his rights with Juventus as part of a co-ownership deal. The season on the Ligurian coast was not all that kind to Immobile as he only scored 5 goals in 33 matches for the Grifoni and was subsequently sold to Torino by Juventus for the 2013-2014 season after they resolved the co-ownership with Genoa.
In Turin, Immobile found himself playing alongside a talented strike partner in Alessio Cerci much like in Perscara where he had Insigne. Playing alongside Cerci, Immobile again had himself an outstanding season. That season in Serie A Immobile scored an impressive 22 goals in 33 matches on his way to winning the capocannoniere (leading scorer) crown just two seasons after winning it in Serie B. Immobile also earned his first senior team call ups for Italy during the latter part of the 13-14 season. It looked like the mediocre season in Genoa was just a hiccup sandwiched between the two capocannoniere seasons in Pescara and Torino. You can see all of the goals from his capocannoniere in Torino below.
When a young player like Immobile has a season like he did playing for Torino the big boys usually come calling and this is exactly what happened with Ciro. Following his capocannoniere season Torino cashed in on Immobile and sent him to German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund for 19.4 million euros. Immobile got his Dortmund career off to a quick start scoring against Arsenal in the Champions League and Stuttgart in the Bundesliga in September. However, the season didn't quite pan out for Immobile as he scored only 3 goals in 24 league appearances as he struggled to adapt to a new league and culture. Despite scoring 4 goals in 6 Champions League appearances, and 3 goals in 3 German Cup matches, the overall numbers didn't impress those in charge in Dortmund.
After the unimpressive season in the Bundesliga, Dortmund decided to cut ties with Immobile sending him to Sevilla in La Liga. However, Ciro lasted only a half season in Spain scoring 2 goals in 8 La Liga appearances and 4 goals in 15 total appearances. It looked like Immobile's star which had been so bright just 18 months earlier had begun to dim.
In an effort to revive his career Immobile moved back to a familiar place in Torino for the second half of the 2015-16 season. While there he scored 5 goals in 14 matches and begin to find his feet again. It was enough to catch the eye of Lazio who bought him outright from Sevilla prior to the 2016-17 season.
Last season in the Italian capital Immobile revived his career under the tutelage of Simone Inzaghi, a former Lazio striker and brother of Milan legend Filippo. This is just what the doctor ordered for Immobile as he stormed back onto the Serie A scene and found himself again with a role on the Italian National team which had recently been taken over by his former Torino boss Gianpiero Ventura. Immobile surpassed his previous career high of 22 Serie A goals by scoring 23 and finishing sixth in the capocannoniere race. It was an impressive bounce back season that has carried over to the current season. You can see all 23 goals below.
As impressive as Immobile has been in previous seasons with Pescara, Torino, and Lazio, nothing he has done has been more impressive than what he has done to open the current season with Lazio. Never before has he played with the same team in back-to-back years before now and it seems that this familiarity has allowed him to elevate his game to an even higher level.
Immobile started the season with a bang by scoring a double against defending Serie A champions and Champions League runner-up Juventus in the Supercoppa Italia. Immobile's impressive performance allowed Lazio to pull the upset in dramatic fashion 3-2. Since that impressive first match of 2017-18 Ciro hasn't looked back.
To add to his Supercoppa success Immobile has already scored an impressive 6 goals in 4 Serie A matches and only Paulo Dybala of Juve has scored more with 8 goals. Most impressive was his hat trick against big boys AC Milan who feature probably the best defender in the league; Leo Bonucci. This season Immobile has begun to show a knack for stepping up the biggest games.
Immobile's success with Lazio has gone hand-in-hand with a greater scoring rate for Italy as well. Since joining Lazio last season, Ciro has scored six goals in 11 matches for the Azurri. Prior to that Immobile had only scored one goal in 15 previous appearances. This shows that Immobile's recent success isn't limited to Serie A or Lazio.
It seems as if Immobile has entered his prime years (he was 26 when he joined Lazio) he has matured as a goalscorer and found the consistency that eluded him on previous stops in his career. All of the goals that he has scored over the last 13 months with the Biancoceleste has allowed him to gain important confidence that he brings to the National team as well. In all competitions for Lazio Immobile has scored 35 goals in 47 matches plus the 5 goals for Italy in 11 matches in that same timeframe. That is a scoring rate that almost any striker in the world would love to have.
It looks like now that Immobile has a found a permanent home and a comfortable setting that he is finally developing into the player that many in Italy thought he could be. If he can continue scoring at a consistent rate over the course of the season he may have the potential to keep Lazio competing for a top 4 finish and a Champions League spot up until the very end. Also, if he can continue to perform well, Italy will look to him to lead the line in their upcoming World Cup qualifying playoff. It looks like the real Ciro Immobile has finally arrived and is keen on making past inconsistencies nothing but a distant memory. Only time will tell how far he can carry Lazio and Italy with his goal scoring prowess.
Be sure to follow this blog on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/coachstevescorner/ or Twitter https://twitter.com/StevenSciavillo.
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