CorSport – Napoli’s McTominay eyes goals as Torino lucky charm | OneFootball

CorSport – Napoli, McTominay is the lucky charm against Torino: he wants to find the goal again

And now, dear Scott McTominay, McFratm, and there’s no one like you, it’s not like we have to sing the nostalgic verses of the Scottish poet Robert Burns, the poet of days gone by, those were happy times, the days gone by when you arrived in the gulf from Manchester, just a year ago, and your story with us began, that first goal against Palermo, then against Como and at Inter’s stadium, and we discovered the big lad that you were, six-foot-three, a boyish face, long legs with which you glided across the field with the lightness of a cheetah, damn, how imperiously devastating you were and, as time went on, the flurry of goals that stitched the scudetto onto the blue shirts. It’s not like suddenly everything is over, the flame has gone out, the spell is broken. It can’t be, even after an unsatisfactory preseason due to a problem that made you miss the friendlies at Dimaro and the first one at Castel di Sangro, it can’t be that you’re wandering the pitch searching for yourself, for lost happiness, for the run that’s no longer free and brilliant, the light that’s gone out due to some spell, some witchcraft, some curse we don’t know about.

Your first thunderous header in Reggio Emilia against Sassuolo, on the opening day, right away, on the perfectly placed cross from Politano, Napoli’s first goal with the scudetto on their shirts, seemed like the announcement of a new harvest of goals after the fantastic acrobatics against Cagliari with which, again from a Politano cross, you had definitively snatched the scudetto from Inter, a memorable half-bicycle kick for Napoli’s fourth scudetto, it was May, May 23rd, a joyful Friday evening, overflowing with joy, a happy city. Three months after the scudetto, in Reggio Emilia, for the new adventure, a mid-evening match on a late August Saturday, Lukaku wasn’t there, we were waiting for Hojlund, Lucca was there, and Kevin Magic De Bruyne was painting football on the Emilian turf and you, McFratm, immediately on stage, a leap, a twist and the whip of a header to beat Stefano Turati, a crazed butterfly between the Emilian posts. You instantly became our irresistible goal scorer again, even a great right-footed shot, later, to rattle Sassuolo’s crossbar. A goal and a post. On the first day. You were still our McTominay, the infallible striker with the enchanting smile who charmed Cam Reading, your blonde partner. A lightning start for a thrilling future. And yet, after the flashes of Reggio Emilia, darkness, sudden dullness, the path to goal lost, the goal far away, the smile gone, the cheetah confused, disoriented, Scott McTominay, we struggle to see you on the field, a presence that no longer catches the eye or makes the heart beat, who knows if a witch has imprisoned your talent or sent it to the moon like Orlando’s wits. Damn, McFratm, you can’t be just an ordinary midfielder, an office worker in midfield, a reserve officer, a diligent handler of dull balls, that anonymous job in the opponent’s restart zone, a guard and sentinel.

You are Scott McTominay, flying Scotsman, predatory midfielder, a hawk and not a night dove. Come back, this heart is waiting for you. Return, cheetah, relentless raider, surprise goal scorer where the opponent doesn’t expect you, where you deceive him with your unexpected and lightning presence, come back McFratm who shakes the nets and blue hearts. Break the negative spell. There’s this match in Turin against the granata team. Just a year ago, Torino spurred you to an absolute feat, beating them twice. A decisive goal at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino (1-0). Kvaratskhelia was still there. On the Georgian’s assist, a left-footed touch to tame the pass and a blast with the same foot deceiving Milinkovic-Savic, two meters of goalkeeper curled up watching the ball go by. Two goals at Fuorigrotta (2-0), when Anguissa served you the ball for the lead and yet another cross from Politano invited you to double the score. Come back, dear ideal, to smile again. Come back, McFratm, to amaze us, to give us a jolt, to shake the nets. Does Torino mean anything to you?

Carlo Gioia

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.