A gifted footballer weighed down by the chip on his shoulder.
Nobody has ever doubted his talents but on a revealing night in the Sao Paulo stadium, Lorenzo Insigne’s shortcomings as a footballer looked clearer than ever.
And it’s nothing to do with his abilities.
For the last few years, many have wondered why this explosive gem with all the skills in the game hasn’t kicked on with either Napoli or with Italy but on a trippy Thursday night against Arsenal, those wonders were answered.
It’s often said that the day a player thinks they’re someone is the day they begin to throw it all away and the little 5 ft 4 in Napoli attacker already looks fairly preoccupied.
“The fact of the matter with him is, he’s a talented individual, he scores goals. Someone out there will think ‘I’ll be able to manage him, I’ll be able to nurture him. For me personally, I don’t like seeing this type of thing. I think it’s poor,” said Keith Andrews on Virgin Media Sport’s coverage of Napoli Arsenal.
On a night when things weren’t going Insigne’s or Napoli’s way, rather than leading by example and in a performance very unbecoming of his status as club captain, the 27-year-old dropped the head and started blaming everybody else around.
His body language left a lot to be desired for the hour lasted on the pitch and it all came to a head on 60 minutes when Carlo Ancelotti had seen enough.
Insigne sarcastically clapped Ancelotti on the back before ambling down the side of the dugout, kicking water-bottles out of his way.
"I don't know what the craic is with this fella?"
Keith Andrews on Lorenzo Insigne's strop tonight. 😂#UEL #VMSport pic.twitter.com/LyjK6lfusK
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) April 18, 2019
It was a show of uncontrolled petulance and Keith Andrews let him have it.
“I’m not quite sure what the craic is with this fella,” said Andrews.
“Even the arm around the shoulder of the manager, I find that quite disrespectful. What is the craic here? I don’t know what he’s doing.”
Neither did anybody else.
