Insigne: 'My heart beats for Napoli'

By Football Italia staff

Lorenzo Insigne hopes “to wear the Napoli jersey forever, as my heart beats for this club. We start the season on great foundations” and aren’t missing much for Scudetto.

The local lad is the only Neapolitan in the current squad and recently extended his contract to June 2022.

“I hope to wear this jersey forever, as it’s what I have always wished for,” he told the Corriere dello Sport.

“Then it doesn’t just depend on a player, but the club too. For now I’ve renewed my contract by five years, I’m happy at Napoli and just want to give my best. My desire is to stay for as long as possible at the club where I grew up and for whom my heart beats.

“I grew up and for now live in Frattamaggiore, on the outskirts of Naples. I’ve heard some players turn down a chance to come here because they are afraid the city is dangerous, but I want to tell them that they are wrong, because Naples is a city that gives you so much.

“It’s a beautiful city and needs to be experienced. I am still waiting to discover all of it.”

Insigne received praise from none other than Diego Armando Maradona this week.

“He was the greatest player of all time and I am proud of the fact he proved even part of his quality with this jersey on his back. He made us dream and win, so we’ll never stop thanking him, because Maradona filled our fans with joy. It was my childhood dream to meet Maradona and I achieved it.

“Maradona is my idol in football terms, because he took men on and worked with the team too. I always try to improve, even if I know that I can never reach his level – nobody can – and hard work pays off. A good player isn’t just talent, but also hard work.”

Napoli finished in third place last season, but the second half of their campaign was extraordinary. What more do they need to win the Scudetto?

“I don’t think there’s much missing, because this year we went close to a great achievement,” continued Insigne.

“It’s a shame really, as we had a great season, but still didn’t finish first or even second. The good thing is that we start this season building on already great foundations. The important issue is that so far nobody has left and I hope we’ll all remain for a great term.”

The Azzurri scored even more goals last season than in 2015-16, despite Gonzalo Higuain’s transfer to Juventus.

“We do hear from each other every now and then, but it’s not as if we had this great friendship beforehand. Being from Naples and therefore having friends and family here, I don’t really hang out with my teammates that much. We have a team dinner every now and then, but we don’t see each other every day off the training field.

“I live for football, so the summer is a struggle for me, as I always want to be playing. I don’t even want to think about the future… When age forces me to retire, I hope to continue being a part of this club, because Napoli is my home and I am happy here.”

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