While Mauro Icardi has always been a talented player, his professional life has from time to time been overshadowed by his personal life. Starting this season with a hat-trick against Sassuolo suggests that he might be ready to ‘break out’ and begin to realise his huge potential.
Five games is far too early to say anything for certain, though initial signs would suggest Inter need Icardi to make his coming-out given their slight goal-scoring issues (Sassuolo thrashing aside).
Last season’s Inter side were disappointing, and injury-hit Icardi made almost as many appearances from the bench as starts. While it wasn’t the start the Argentinian would have wanted in his first season with the club, he did come back and score nine times in his 22 appearances.
Last season was a low-point for Icardi. Most importantly, he missed a huge part of the season with injury. Secondly, his relationship with Wanda Nara hit not just the gossip pages but the back ones. Nara’s now ex-husband Maxi Lopez refused to shake the Argentinian’s hand when his Sampdoria side met Inter. Icardi and Nara were married in May this year, so perhaps the domestic stability he enjoys has allowed the striker a calmer approach to his play.
A couple of positive performances in Serie A have been matched with two very good results in the Europa League. Icelandic side Stjarnan might not send shivers down many spines, but to dispatch them 9-0 on aggregate was a statement. In all competitions, out of the 21 goals Inter have now notched, Icardi has six of them.
Of course, profiting as a flat-track bully is one thing. Scoring important goals in important games is another. Given that he scored twice in the aforementioned game against Sampdoria however, Icardi clearly has an eye for the big occasion.
This is the size of the task facing the young Argentine in the coming season. Eventually, in a player’s career, there is a time when they have to step up to the level they are expected to reach and prove that the faith put in them was not unfounded. It is a step that his strike partners Pablo Osvaldo and Rodrigo Palacio have never really taken.
In other words, Inter’s season may well live or die by the sword that is Icardi. If he can produce the best of himself, then the Nerazzurri have enough quality throughout their squad to make a real splash both at home and on the continent.
In Hernanes and Fredy Guarin, there is creative force in midfield that should ensure regular service to Icardi. Currently, that supply line is bearing fruit; the former Sampdoria striker has averaged more than three shots per game.
Meanwhile, playing ahead of a defence that has conceded just five in five games means that even if Inter don’t score the same seven as against Sassuolo, there’s enough potential for goals to lead them past most opposition. While Juventus and Roma have started the season looking imperious, there is a host of teams not quite firing on all cylinders behind the Nerazzurri.
Their flag-bearer is Mauro Icardi. This is his defining season. Score, and win now, and his career is set. Fail, and allow Inter to fail, and it may well be a long road back.
First the Boy Wonder then the boy with Wanda, Icardi has to stop being a sidekick and become a hero.
