How Lorenzo Insigne Brought Back the Spark to a Fading Napoli

For Lorenzo Insigne, this season has been something of a twisted roller-coaster ride.

It all started back in June 2014.

Italy were down and hurting, losing to Costa Rica 1-0. Seemingly out of desperation, coach Cesare Prandelli threw on the 23-year-old in a last-ditch effort. Insigne played for roughly 30 minutes but failed to make an impact and salvage the loss against the Ticos—who would later top the group.

And that was all of the World Cup Insigne would feature in, as the Azzurri later crashed out of the group stage for the second tournament in a row.

Coming back to his club, the Neapolitan native’s next hurdle was a Champions League play-off against Athletic Bilbao. It seems as though Napoli cannot catch a break in Europe’s finest club competition—the Partenopei featured in the group of death twice in the last three editions and last year failed to advance from the group yet tallying 12 points.

Once again Napoli were thrown against arguably the toughest opposition around. Fitness and poor form ultimately did his side in, and a season of Europa League football beckoned.

By this point, fans of the Vesuvian club had had enough of the current setup of the team, placing a majority of the blame on owner Aurelio De Laurentiis for failing to properly reinforce the squad.

Their lashings and frustration made their way back to their own son, Insigne, in the form of boorish whistles and jeers. It affected the player so much that he begged coach Rafael Benitez to be placed on the transfer list, a request the Spaniard swiftly denied.

Insigne’s wife took to Instagram (h/t ESPN FC) to announce her ill feelings toward Napoli’s most ardent supporters saying: "You don't deserve him in Naples. He gets it wrong today and you're ready to point the finger at him, and then he scores tomorrow and he's a Saint!"

Benitez also chipped in to the matter, telling Sky Sport Italia (h/t ESPN FC): "He's a lad who feels the pressure from the fans. Sometimes it's not easy for him in such big games to keep his emotions in check."

As the season progressed, the bad feeling surrounding the club grimly persisted, with consecutive defeats to Chievo and Udinese that even prompted a possible dismissal of Benitez himself.

Additionally, Insigne’s form continued to disappoint many. He was getting himself into good positions, but the end product was ultimately not there. The attacking midfielder harbours tremendous skill and potential for growth, but it appeared that the joy and confidence had drained out of him substantially from all the continuous pressure. 

But then everything changed.

It was October 5 and Napoli were hosting Torino. The club had acquired a measly seven points after five matches played. Down a goal, Juan Zuniga found the diminutive forward alone in the box and Insigne’s snapshot header found the corner of the net.

And then he wept for all to see. These were the unadulterated emotions of a tormented being who had overcome his long, hard-fought bout. Insigne would assist Jose Callejon for the winning goal later on in the match.

"It was like a weight off my shoulders. I feel free," Insigne told Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia) after the Torino match.

Indeed, free the player has been. The hometown hero has put in a string of dazzling performances since, troubling the defences of Inter, Verona, Atalanta and Roma in the process.

The key to Insigne is his evasive movements and feints as well as great vision and the ability to pick out a player in space. The attacker was a significant factor behind the recent dismantling of Roma, a match that could have ended 5-0. He also provided the tying assist to Gonzalo Higuain against Atalanta.

Benitez spoke of his player’s talents in a press conference (h/t Football Italia) before the Roma match, stating:

"

I don’t like to talk about the individual, but Lorenzo works hard for the team.

We saw this in Bergamo and for us, he can make the difference.

He has the ability to work in defensive phases and coolly get himself in front of a goalkeeper.

He also has the ability to play the ball with his teammates and dribble past opponents. For us, he is very important.

"

Furthermore, Insigne getting past his mental hump has coincided with other team-mates surpassing their psychological struggles as well, most notably Higuain.

The result? The intensity and hunger has returned for Napoli. The club has lost just once in 11 matches, and many are now recognizing that Benitez has finally got his squad playing up to the ability they were last year—which is quite scary.

The Partenopei have a strong chance of finishing third, prompting Champions League qualification—with second place not too far off either.

The Neapolitan recently put pen to paper and bonded himself to the city until 2019. He has also caught the eye of Italy coach Antonio Conte, who was expected to call up the 23-year-old shortly.

Just when things were on the rise for Insigne, disaster struck against Fiorentina.

In his leap over the sliding Josip Ilicic, Insigne landed awkwardly on his right leg and was immediately subbed off. Il Mattino (h/t Football Italia) reports that Insigne will be sidelined for up to six months due to a ruptured ACL in his right knee.

The perseverance embodied in Naples’ hardest-working son to overcome his personal struggles signifies that once recovered, Insigne will come back stronger than ever next year. With his city behind him, there are no limits.