Lorenzo Insigne

At 33 years old, Lorenzo Insigne has this physical status:

Lorenzo Insigne (born 4 June 1991) is an Italian professional footballer who plays for Napoli, for which he is captain, and the Italy national team. Insigne started his playing career with Napoli in 2009, but was later sent on season loan spells to Cavese, Foggia, and Pescara, before returning to Napoli in 2012.

Insigne is able to play on either flank or across the center, but is usually deployed as a left winger.

Insigne has starred on the Italy national under-21 team, winning a runner-up medal at the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, mainly for his imagination, speed, and technical skills, as well as his precision from free-kicks.

He made his senior debut in September 2012 and has represented Italy at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016.

Personal life

Lorenzo Insigne has three brothers, two of whom are footballers, Roberto and Marco Marquez, as well as Marco and Antonio. Lorenzo married Genovefa "Jenny" Darone on December 31, 2012; they have two children together: Carmine, born on April 4, 2013, and Christian, born on March 13, 2015.

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Club career

In 2006, Insigne was signed by Napoli from Olimpia Sant'Arpino for €1,500. He made his Primavera debut in 2008, scoring 15 goals in the 2009–10 season. He was first called up to the first team under Roberto Donadoni, while playing some friendlies in the summer of 2009 before getting his first Serie A debut under Walter Mazzarri on January 24, 2010. He spent the remainder of the season on loan at Cavese in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, where he made ten appearances.

Insigne was loaned to Foggia in Lega Pro Prima Divisione during the following season. In the Coppa Italia Lega Pro match against L'Aquila on August 14, he scored his first career goal, while in a 2–3 home loss to Lucchese on August 29, he scored his first league goal. In comparison to seven goals scored in Coppa Italia Lega Pro, Zden Zeman as the league's head coach, he scored 19 goals in the league.

He was loaned to Pescara in Serie B, now run by Zeman on August 8, 2011. On August 26, 2011, he made his first appearance in the Italian second division against Hellas Verona, and Pescara's first goal against Modena was scored on September 4th. Insigne scored 18 goals on the season, making him the second top scorer of the season behind teammate Ciro Immobile and 14 assists. Insigne was subsequently named the "Best Player" of the Serie B season, along with teammates Immobile and Marco Verratti, one of Pescara's main protagonists.

Insigne returned to Napoli at the end of the season, opting for the number 24 jersey. He scored his first goal in Serie A on September 16, 2012, after arriving as a replacement for Edinson Cavani in a 3-1 home victory over Parma. In the UEFA Europa League, he made his debut in UEFA club competitions, leading to a 4–0 victory over Swedish side AIK Fotboll.

Insigne struggled to win a string of games in a row throughout the season, but Napoli, who finished in second place in Serie A this season, finished in second place. He made 43 appearances in the season, scoring five goals and providing seven assists. Insigne regularly started games on the replacements' bench because of the competition for players like Edinson Cavani, Goran Pandev, Eduardo Vargas, and Omar El Kaddouri.

Insigne's debut in the UEFA Champions League came on September 18, 2013 after defeating Borussia Dortmund, the previous season's champions, in 2–1 home victory. With a goal from a free kick, Insigne marked his debut in the tournament. In the first half of the Coppa Italia tournament, Insigne scored twice in the first half, defeating Fiorentina 3–1.

Insigne sustained the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee in a match against Fiorentina during the 2014-15 season. After a five-month absence, he returned to the field on April 4th, as a replacement in a 1–0 away loss to Roma. He scored a goal in a 4–2 home victory over Sampdoria on April 26, as well as wearing the captain's armband during the game in the absence of teammates Marek Hamk, Christian Maggio, and Gökhan Inler.

Insigne opened the 2015-16 Serie A season by scoring in a 2–2 draw against Empoli on September 13, 2015. In a 5–0 victory over Lazio on September 20, he scored again, as well as setting up Allan's goal. Insigne's 100th Serie A appearance in Napoli on September 26th and scored his third goal of the season; the club later reported the injury was not serious. In the following match, he continued his goalscoring streak, scoring twice and setting up Allan's goal in a 4–0 away victory over Milan, taking his total number to five goals in seven games to five. Insigne's prolific appearances led to comparisons with former Napoli star Diego Maradona, which Insigne denied.

In April 2017, Insigne scored his third brace in four appearances for Napoli, bringing his total number for the Serie A season to 14 goals, beating his previous personal record for a single campaign.

In a 1–0 away victory over Roma in Serie A on October 14, Insigne scored his 100th career goal.

Insigne was appointed the official captain of Napoli following Marek Hamk's departure from the club in February 2019. In a 4-3 victory over Fiorentina on August 24th, Insigne scored twice and set up two more goals in the first game of the 2019-20 Serie A season.

Insigne scored Dries Mertens' equalizing goal in a 1-1 home draw against Inter Milan in the second leg of 2019-20 Coppa Italia's second leg of the tournament, with the Belgian defeating Ham k to become Napoli's outright all-time top goalscorer with 122 goals, despite Napoli's progress to the Coppa Italia final on June 13th. In the final on Friday, Insigne scored Napoli's first spot-kick in a 4–0 draw against Juventus following a 0–0 draw after regulation time; Insigne went on to lift the trophy as the club's captain.

Insigne signed a pre-contract to join Toronto FC as a designated player on a free transfer and four-year deal, making him the highest paid player in MLS on January 8th. In a 4–0 home win over Charlotte FC on July 23, he made his debut for the club on July 23rd, but only in the first half, but he was involved in the match's second goal with a back-heel pass. In a 4–3 away victory over Nashville SC, Insigne scored his first goal for the club on August 6th, taking a shot from outside the box for the game-winning goal.

International career

Insigne, a regular member of Italy's under-21 team, made 15 appearances for the "Azzurrini," scoring seven goals. In a European qualifying match against Liechtenstein on October 6, 2011, he made his debut with the under-21 team, scoring two goals and two assists.

He was a member of the Under-21 team of the United European Under-21 Championship, 2013 Under new manager Devis Mangia, and was instrumental in Italy's tournament success. In Italy's 1–0 opening victory on June 5, he made his tournament debut against England, scoring a goal from a free kick. In Italy's second match against hosts Israel, Insigne launched the game on June 9th, leading to Italy's first goal of the game, which was scored by Riccardo Saponara. He injured himself later in the game and was forced to leave early, but Italy won the match 4–0, though. Insigne was able to recover in time for the semi-final match against the Netherlands, and he helped set up Fabio Borini's champion, who then advanced to the final. Italy was defeated 4–2 by Spain in the final on June 18th, but Insigne was able to score Italy's second goal of the game, which was scored by Borini.

Insigne was called up by coach Cesare Prandelli for Italy's 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Malta for the first time for the Italy senior team in September 2012. In Modena's World Cup qualifier match against Malta, he made his senior debut on September 11th, 2012, arriving as a replacement for Alessandro Diamanti. Insigne scored his first goal in a friendly against Argentina that resulted in a 2–1 loss at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on August 14th.

Insigne was named in Cesare Prandelli's 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 World Cup and was eventually selected in the final 23-man squad. In Italy's last warm-up game against Fluminense in Brazil, Insigne and his teammate Ciro Immobile scored five goals, with Insigne scoring two goals and Insigne scoring two goals.

Insigne made his debut in the World Cup in Italy's second group match against Costa Rica on June 20, 2014, overtaking Antonio Candreva in the second half of the 1–0 loss. However, this was Insigne's first appearance in the tournament, as Italy was disqualified in the group stage.

Insigne was drafted into Antonio Conte's 23-man Italy squad for UEFA Euro 2016 on May 31. On June 22nd, he made his first appearance of the tournament, starting off the bench in Italy's final group match, which resulted in a 1–0 loss to the Republic of Ireland, striking the post and later receiving a yellow card in injury time. He came off the bench once more in the round of 16, at the Stade de France in Paris, to help set up Graziano Pellè's 91st minute volley to give the Azzurri a 2–0 victory over defending champions Spain. He appeared in a second substitute appearance in the quarter-finals against Germany on July 2nd and scored Italy's first goal in the resulting shoot-out, resulting in a 6–5 loss to the reigning World Cup champions.

Insigne's manager Roberto Mancini called him into Italy's squad for UEFA Euro 2020 in June 2021. In a 3–0 win over Turkey in the tournament's first round, he scored Italy's last goal. In a 2–1 win over Belgium in the quarter-finals of the season, he scored Italy's second goal of the season, behind only Mehdi Taremi's overhead kick goal against Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals on July 2nd. Insigne beat England 3–2 penalty shoot-out at Wembley Stadium in the final on July 11, after a 1–1 draw in extra time; Insigne began the game but was replaced by Andrea Belotti late in the second half of regulation time. Insigne also made more solo runs into the penalty area (16) than any other player during the tournament.

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