Ciro Immobile’s Champions League Reawakening Sends Lazio Into The Knockouts

Forbes Business SportsMoney Ciro Immobile’s Champions League Reawakening Sends Lazio Into The Knockouts David Ferrini Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I’m an Italian football commentator specializing in UEFA competitions Following Click to save this article. You’ll be asked to sign into your Forbes account.

Got it Nov 29, 2023, 09:08pm EST Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin ROME, ITALY – NOVEMBER 28: Ciro Immobile of SS Lazio celebrates a second goal during the UEFA . . .

[+] Champions League match between SS Lazio and Celtic FC at Stadio Olimpico on November 28, 2023 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images) Getty Images Two goals in the final eight minutes from Ciro Immobile propelled Lazio into the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) as the Italian side overcame Celtic 2-0 on match day five at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico. The 33-year-old’s brace against the Scottish giants could be the spark required to reignite Lazio’s underwhelming Serie A campaign and thrust the former Italy striker back into calculations for Euro 2024.

With Lazio needing a win to pull away from third-placed Feyenoord in Group E, coach Maurizio Sarri turned to the club’s most decorated goalscorer, introducing Immobile off the bench in the second half. The Lazio captain delivered two outstanding strikes, the first requiring sharp reflexes, the second showcasing his composure to dribble out of tight spaces and pick out the bottom corner . “If you can dream it, you can do it,” Immobile told Sky Sport , a citation borrowed from Walt Disney, a fitting adaption considering the striker’s fairy-tale evening.

MORE FOR YOU The Best Post-Travel Tuesday Deals You Can Still Shop Today: Save On Airfare, Hotels And More The Real Reason Mark Cuban Is Exiting Shark Tank And Maybe The Mavericks Take A Surplus Anti-Sub Rocket-Launcher, Bolt It To A Truck And Brace It With Lumber—Voila, The Latest Russian Panic-Weapon Highs and Lows Named as the UEFA Player of the Match, Immobile scored four goals in four matches during November, three of which were struck in the Champions League. Immobile’s stunner against Feyenoord on match day four was his 200th goal in Lazio colours, a landmark tally in the club’s history. On Saturday, he became the first player to score 100 away goals in Serie A.

While November ends in celebration, the month began disappointingly for Immobile when he was left out of Italy’s squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers. Furthermore, the club captain was barely noticeable in the goalless draw with Roma . Lazio had also lost twice in Serie A to Bologna and bottom team Salernitana, leaving them languishing in 11th place.

In the days before the home victory over Celtic, pressure had mounted upon Sarri following his side’s 2-1 loss at the Stadio Arechi. With fresh ideas and fresh legs needed, Taty Castellanos was given a rare start in the hope that the Argentine could motivate the underperforming Biancoceleste frontline which had produced a paltry five goals during their previous four UCL group games. With Immobile left out, Lazio’s goalkeeper Ivan Provedel was the only player named in the starting XI to have ever scored a UEFA Champions League goal.

Throughout the first hour of the match, Castellanos looked lively but twice headed over the bar. Then, with millions of Euros on the line and a place in the knockout stage on offer, Immobile was substituted into the match, becoming the first Italian player to score 2 goals in the last 10 minutes of play in a UCL match since Luca Toni in 2009. “I didn’t think much about being left out because this is a difficult moment for the team.

I think putting personal interests before those of the squad will only make things tougher,” Immobile acknowledged minutes after sending Lazio provisionally top of Group E. Is Euro 2024 a pipe dream? Immobile’s super sub contribution will have piqued the interest of Italy manager Luciano Spalletti, who preferred Gianluca Scamacca and Giacomo Raspadori for the all-important Euro 2024 qualifiers against North Macedonia and Ukraine earlier in the month. With 17 goals, Immobile is Italy’s 16th-highest scorer in history.

That may sound impressive, but criticisms have frequently materialized over his inconsistency for La Nazionale. Immobile’s goals-per-match ratio of 0. 3 at international level is considerably less than peers Roberto Baggio (0.

48), Christian Vieri (0. 47) and Mario Balotelli (0. 39).

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 11: Lorenzo Insigne, Marco Verratti and Ciro Immobile of Italy celebrate with . . .

[+] The Henri Delaunay Trophy inside the dressing room following their team’s victory in the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Final between Italy and England at Wembley Stadium on July 11, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images) UEFA via Getty Images Many fans believe that Il Mago (the wizard) has been presented with enough opportunities already, 57 to be precise, and that it’s time to bring in new blood as Italy readies its Euros title defence in June. Aside from Scamacca and Raspadori, Juventus’ Moise Kean is the firm favourite to pinch the third striker role, with Monza’s Lorenzo Colombo a possibility.

Much depends on whether Immobile can dig deep enough to revive the form of 2021-22 where he won the Serie A Capocannoniere accolade (27 goals) and netted five times on the world stage. Time is at a premium but Immobile can take inspiration from Fabio Quagliarella, who, at 36 years of age, was able to resurrect his international career in 2018-19 with 26 goals for Sampdoria to prove that age is no longer the defining factor. The Challenge While Euro 2024 will remain an objective, and with over two months before Lazio contests the UCL knockouts, Immobile’s mission – if he chooses to accept it – will be to reinstate himself as Serie A’s highest-scoring Italian, an accomplishment realized in five of his past six seasons.

It all begins with reestablishing himself as Sarri’s most trusted goalscorer. Lazio splashed $16. 4M (€15M) to secure Castellanos following 13 goals for Girona last season, a clear sign that Lazio president Claudio Lotito is planning for the post-Immobile era.

Taty Castellanos of SS Lazio and Ciro Immobile of SS Lazio substitutes during the UEFA Champions . . .

[+] League match between Feyenoord and SS Lazio (Photo by Nesimages/Michael Bulder/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) DeFodi Images via Getty Images In the short term, there is healthy competition at Formello, at least in the eyes of Sarri and Lotito. For years, Immobile outshone Lazio’s backup strikers Joaquin Correa and Felipe Caicedo with ease and now the club is at a crossroads. Contracted until 2026 , and presuming the Middle East doesn’t make a tempting offer, Immobile could remain in the eternal city until the age of 36.

Immobile and Sarri can create history by becoming the first Lazio captain and coach to reach the UCL quarter-finals. With seven goals in all competitions so far in 2023-24, Immobile has built the foundations for another solid campaign. While Castellanos and Scamacca won’t hesitate to dethrone him for club and country, the 297-goal veteran must respond by putting footballs into goals.

Immobile’s brace against Celtic demonstrates that he still has the fire in the belly and the world-class touch to match. Ciro Il Grande is not done yet. Follow me on Twitter .

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