Gazzetta: Napoli wait on returns, Hojlund shines, €50m well spent | OneFootball

Gazzetta – Napoli, while waiting for the returns, Hojlund takes charge: fifty million, holy and blessed

Sixty-three days of fasting and not feeling them, while, unfazed by the cold, Rasmus Hojlund lets his soul be caressed by that sense of happiness that fills him: “And how do you think I feel?” Fifty million, holy and blessed, because on this magical night, in which Napoli sweetly watches the world from above, the memory goes back to last scorching summer, psychologically devastated by the Lukaku incident and immediately put back together by calling Manchester, last year’s friends, to whom – imploring them and showering them with pounds – after getting McTominay, you have to ask for Hojlund. There are evenings when history settles inside the penalty area and asks to be welcomed with open arms: and after two months of total abstinence, broken by that “Lukakization” to launch Neres against Atalanta, Hojlund came out of the hut and displayed the best of his nature, the full and rounded figure of a striker who only needs to be asked to be himself. “I’m satisfied,” he said at the end of the match, “because I scored a brace and for a center forward the most important thing is the goal. But I’m happy for the victory, for everyone’s spirit of sacrifice.”

Seventh minute, there’s a ball wandering in those sixteen meters, it’s the gift David Neres wrapped up after slicing through Koopmeiners on the run: the center forwards of a timeless era know how to steal space, play ahead of the defense, disguise themselves as modern vultures, and Hojlund wanted nothing more than to step into that role. Seventy-eighth minute, the scene is similar yet different, because in that area of the pitch that is his, the prince of goals reappeared in all his glory, thanked McKennie for the gift and shook off any forced diet. “I’m grateful to the bench and that’s why, after scoring, I pointed to them: they were telling me to attack centrally, to exploit the space.” Hojlund 2, Juventus 1, to rewrite the standings, to clear up the confusion of six rather tough weeks. “I do other things too, like pressing, which I actually don’t mind at all. I keep the team high up the pitch. We’re enjoying this period, first place in the standings. And we’re waiting for our teammates to return.” In the meantime, Hojlund takes care of it.

Carlo Gioia

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