MILAN – It was a little under 12 months ago that Mauro Icardi scored a memorable goal against Chievo at San Siro.
Not that his ninth league strike of the campaign was anything spectacular – a toe-poked effort from three yards out – but that goal on 3 February 2016 was important because it earned the Nerazzurri a 1-0 victory and their first three points in a month.
It was also significant because it was Icardi's 50th goal in Serie A, a few weeks shy of his 23rd birthday – confirmation, if ever any were needed, of his phenomenal ability for finding the back of the net.
A few years earlier he had announced himself on the Serie A stage with a goal in the Genoa derby, but his goalscorer's touch developed long before then, and much further away, in Argentina.
Mauro was born in Rosario, the same city as Leo Messi, and supported Newell's Old Boys, just like the Barcelona star.
Like Messi, he moved to Spain at a young age, but while his compatriot went straight to Catalonia, Mauro went via the Canary Islands as his family fled the economic crisis sweeping Argentina.
In Gran Canaria he played for Union Deportiva Vecindario and racked up 384 goals in six years – enough to convince Barcelona to take him into their academy.
In two seasons at La Masia, and despite the fierce competition, he scored 38 goals. There, under Pep Guardiola, Icardi learnt to move about the pitch more but he realised he needed to move on, to a club where his goalscoring talents were better appreciated.
So he joined Sampdoria, where of course he plundered yet more goals, finishing his first term as Primavera topscorer with 19 goals to his name.
He made his first-team debut at the end of the same season, scoring on his first appearance after coming off the bench – a match-winning strike that earned Samp a place in the Serie B play-offs, which they would go on to win.
And so, at the age of 19, and not by chance, Mauro found himself in Serie A.
In Serie A goals are harder to come by of course, but they count for more. And some more than others. After breaking his duck in the derby he went and scored two against Juventus in Turin, his brace sealing a 2-1 victory.
He was only just warming up.
In the reverse fixture he netted again as Samp did the double over the Bianconeri. Clearly it was his destiny.
Inter was also his destiny as the Nerazzurri beat off the competition to obtain his signature. He opened his Inter account in his second league game against none other than Juventus again – his fourth against them in less than a year. After firing past Gigi Buffon at the near post, he stopped to cup his hands to his ears, taking in the roar of the Meazza – a sound he would hear time and again.
He finished the 2014/15 campaign as Serie A topscorer with 22 goals and the following year, convinced by his precocious talent and desire to fight for the shirt, Inter named him captain – a tremendous honour for a 22-year-old.
Now the leader of a club whose history demands results, Maurito knows his goals will be needed more than ever if he is to guide the team to success. Lots and lots of goals.
And if you need a goalscorer, Icardi's your man.
Alessandro Bai
