His first goal versus SPAL in the last match before the October International Break may have taken a fortunate deflection, but for a striker like Inter’s Mauro Icardi, they all count. The goals of the predatorial No. 9 would be crucial once again for his side, his captaincy more based on leading by example than any more traditional attributes normally associated with a football skipper.
If the first was fortunate, the second – a match-winning strike – showcased exactly why Icardi has been continuously linked with moves to the likes of Real Madrid. Receiving a pass on the edge of the box, the Nerazzurri striker outfoxed the entire SPAL defense, taking a mere second to execute a perfect turn and finish into the bottom corner of the net.
Such an exquisite effort marked the 103rd time Icardi has found the back of the net for Inter, equalling the total of Christian Vieri to move into joint seventh place in the club’s all-time top scorer list. That he has done so in just 165 matches is nothing short of remarkable, although his predecessor Vieri just beat him to it with his tally of 103 coming in just 143 games.
The former Italian international congratulated Icardi on social media after the latter had drawn level, but Vieri certainly had plenty to say about his fellow striker’s style of play when interviewed back in January 2016.
“Icardi doesn’t move much, he’s absent,” the man who wore number 32 but played like an old-fashioned English No. 9 told Corriere della Sera at the time. “He should play more with the team and not immediately go deep. At the same time, his teammates must learn to supply him quickly, otherwise he’s just spinning his wheels.”
Such criticism is without much basis as Icardi provides more than his share of the team’s success, his tally of 29 goals last season not only earning him the joint top scorer award but providing 44 percent of the side’s total strikes. Ivan Perisic has also fulfilled the role of provider with huge success, the Croatian offering no fewer than 16 assists since his arrival at the club in December 2015.
It took his first six league appearances in the 2018/19 campaign to reach that tally of 103, his stats proving that Icardi is justified on concentrating on scoring alone. In those opening matches, statistics via Opta proved that he scored three times from just 15 shots, giving him a 20-percent conversion rate and 50-percent shooting accuracy. Those goals came from just 27 total touches in the opposition box, perfectly demonstrating just how accurate he really is.
103 - Mauro #Icardi (103 goals) has equalled Christian Vieri as the seventh player with the most Serie A goals scored with @Inter. Sniper. pic.twitter.com/uZXrO2v7Rf
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) October 7, 2018
After being left out of Argentina’s World Cup squad last summer, the Inter captain has begun to receive call-ups, and the rumor mill keeps on turning with reports that Chelsea may come in with a January bid. Yet Icardi stands firm in his commitment to the Nerazzurri, their qualification for the Champions League ensuring that the striker made his debut in the elite competition in 2018/19.
“San Siro in a word... spectacular,” he told Inter TV following the record-equalling match. “I like it when the fans sing [Pazza Inter] Amala. All my children sing it and have it on their iPods, plus Francesca and Isabella have learned it through the phone.
“Playing there is always beautiful and even more so with all our fans,” he continued. “Inter have given me so much, they’ve let me grow as a person and player. I arrived when I was 20 years old and can only thank Milan [the city] and Inter for the life I have.”
Of course, even such professions of love can change in an instant should the right bid arrive; however, it certainly seems that Mauro Icardi is ready and willing to keep on moving up the Inter all-time scoring charts.
Chloe Beresford specializes in Serie A for a number of outlets and can be found on Twitter and on Facebook via her page CalcioByChloe.