CorSport – Napoli, Hojlund set for debut against Fiorentina | OneFootball

CorSport – Napoli, Hojlund is ready: debut against Fiorentina as a substitute

Eight hundred and seventy kilometers of football, present and future. On Monday night, Rasmus Hojlund was on the pitch at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Athens, fighting for World Cup qualification with Denmark against Greece, and yesterday afternoon he was already at the Castel Volturno training center, honoring his first training session with Napoli. Rasmus non-stop, from Piraeus to the Domitian coast, from scoring for his national team with the World Cup in sight to working with his club in less than twenty-four hours: roughly thirteen hours – plus one for the time difference – considering the time between the final whistle and the start of training. No breaks, no permissions, just the desire to dive headfirst into this new adventure: he wanted it, and yesterday he seized it, immediately immersing himself in the team’s atmosphere and the coach’s methods. Manna brought him in to fill the void left by Lukaku’s injury, together with Lucca, but the time available to start absorbing Conte’s concepts and principles is rather limited: on Friday they leave for Florence, Saturday is the Fiorentina match, and then on Wednesday, they’ll be off again. Destination: Champions League, city of Manchester, the City side of the Mersey river: it’ll feel like coming home after a short holiday in Italy, but the reality is quite different. And yesterday Hojlund already showed he knows it well.

Hoj the sprinter. The flying striker: a marathon to avoid missing even a single training session, after his time with Denmark, and to kick off his second Italian life. Pretty much the same routine Elmas followed on Monday, having played Sunday night with North Macedonia and then on the pitch with Napoli the next day. These are excellent signs: the last two signings are on point, just as Conte likes and as it should be, considering that Saturday is the league and Thursday, September 18, is a thrilling Champions League night. In due time. And so begins the long build-up to the clash with Fiorentina: Hojlund will start on the bench behind Lucca, ready to leap onto the moving train like a hawk. The evening at the Franchi, among other things, will mark quite a few significant moments: his first call-up and possibly his first minutes with Napoli, but also his return to Serie A after two seasons in the Premier League with United.

His last time in Italy was on June 4, 2023, with Atalanta against Monza: on Saturday, it will be 832 days. The final score: 5-2 for La Dea, Ras scored the third goal and then headed to Manchester. On Thursday, as mentioned, he’ll return to England and experience a sort of derby with City, on a night when the main protagonist will inevitably be De Bruyne, celebrating ten years as a Citizen. Fun fact: the last United-City clash took place at Old Trafford on April 6, and both Hojlund and Kevin started from the first minute. As opponents. But first, the third meeting of his career with Viola, after the two in the 2022-2023 league: one win and one draw, no goals for him. Numbers aside, the next few days will be all about full immersion: Rasmus, 22, will have to adapt to his teammates’ frantic and intense pace, but thanks to his build and physical qualities, he should absorb the impact with a certain nonchalance. Gasp’s school has certainly improved his man-marking and pressing, and by nature, he is a fast and quick fighter, very good at attacking the space. All that’s left is to break the goal drought and start his collection as soon as possible. Napoli asks for nothing more.

Carlo Gioia

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