Marco Sommella, Ciro Immobile’s agent, backs the Lazio forward ahead of Italy’s meeting with Argentina in the Finalissima 2022 at Wembley Stadium.
In an exclusive interview with TuttoMercatoWeb, Sommella chose to lambast the intense criticism showered upon the striker for his shaky performances at the international level. He backed his client by labelling the player’s treatment by media personnel and fans as a “shame”.
He also highlighted that the player did not get the deserving plaudits for winning the fourth Capocannoniere of his career (the most won by a Lazio player to date) said,
“I can’t explain it, it’s a shame. When there is a need to point the finger at him, they are all ready to do so, while when there is a striking fact to point out, which is objective and visible to all, no one does it. It seems that he did it in a championship of excellence, with all respect. Perhaps many people are in bad faith.
“Ciro is a guy who should be put in a glass dome, he is one of the only real strikers we have. Just the other day I was asking some friends of mine to remind me of one who can boast the numbers of him: there isn’t. The chatter is zero, the numbers will remain forever. I told Ciro that the vast majority of fans, not Lazio obviously, will only realize what he has done in 7-8 years. It is already difficult to win the Serie A top scorers once, let alone four. But many go after those who score 3 goals in Serie B or score the first few times in Serie A.”
Sommella also went on to compare the accomplishments of the 32-year-old to those of Carlo Ancelotti, who has led Real Madrid to a La Liga and a Champions League at the age of 62 this season. He continued,
“The sensational thing is that when Italy won the European Championship the credit was given to everyone except him. While when he lost the only culprit was Ciro. I was also there in Palermo against Macedonia. The person responsible for the defeat is not only Immobile, as someone said and wrote, but also Immobile, together with the rest of the group. He never responded to the controversy but only made the pitch speak.
“We also never spoke but now is the time, because Ciro has been receiving shameful treatment for years. Scoring in all categories is difficult, it would take decency to recognize the merits and skill of Immobile. But on the other hand, we are in a country that considered Ancelotti boiled and believed that he still trained only to take the holidays. Instead, with Real he has shown that he is among the strongest coaches in the world.”
Immobile will Italy’s upcoming matches, including the Finalissima against Argentina, due to an injury.
