With just eight minutes left away at the San Siro and Hellas Verona 2-1 down to Inter, coach Andrea Mandorlini brought on the 21-year-old Uruguayan striker Nico Lopez for Artur Ionita. And eight minutes later the same Uruguayan got on to the end of a beautiful Javier Saviola flick and smashed the ball past Samir Handanovic at the near post to save a point for the Gialloblu.
“The Rabbit”, as Lopez is sometimes known, seems to have been around for a while in the world of calcio. He left his first club Nacional of Montevideo for Roma in 2012 but soon moved on to Udinese where he made an impressive 21 appearances during the 2013-14 Serie A season. But he scored only twice so now he’s looking to make his mark on loan at Verona.
Three clubs in two years may sound like a slightly bleak start in the nomadic existence of a South American journeyman, but Lopez has shown real promise and now looks like he could be a hidden gem in Italian football.
Verona is the place to prove it.
Although Lopez is yet to shift talisman striker Luca Toni from his starting spot in the Hellas line-up, he has already displayed his ability as an impact sub. After a limp Mastini outfit found themselves 3-0 down at home to AC Milan on October 19. Lopez took to the field with just 19 minutes left, galvanised the entire side and got a goal back that almost led to an unlikely comeback.
It took him a little while to get going but he always looked dangerous and made his mark when he cut inside and fired past Christian Abbiati. The young striker put in a convincing display that epitomised his ability to beat a man at pace before getting a shot away and he was deservedly voted “Mastino del Bentegodi’ or best home player by the assembled fans and journalists.
It was a similar story during the Scaligeri’s 6-2 away loss at Napoli. The Uruguayan netted to bring the scores level at 2-2 in the second half before sloppy defending allowed the Partenopei to coast to a comfortable win. The 21-year-old’s goal at the San Paolo was a beautiful example of his ability on the ball after he left two defenders for dead before firing in at the near post.
All three of his Serie A goals this season have been rather similar and show Lopez’s instinctive technical ability and talent for finding space before any defender can react. The true mark of a forward’s quality may be his ability to consistently score all types of goals and that requires a level of composure that the youthful Lopez has not yet reached.
And it is also true that all of his goals have come from the bench and coach Andrea Mandorlini’s decision to use him sparingly has been justified by some less impressive performances as a starter.
However, the coach clearly has enough faith in him to bring him on when the Scaligeri are chasing a game and the coach is protective of his young striker and is managing him carefully so he isn’t spoiled by excessive pressure.
After Verona’s recent 1-1 home draw with Lazio, Lopez announced that he was happy at the club. He said that he enjoys the faith his coach and teammates have put in him, which contrasts with his experience at Udinese where there was too much competition for places and at Roma where he wasn’t given enough of a chance.
So how will the Uruguayan’s career develop?
Lopez still has some improvements to make as his composure isn’t always the best and he’s been less effective when chosen to start. But he’s shown enough promise to suggest that these skills will develop with time. His future is unwritten; he is still technically an Udinese player and his status as a loanee in Verona means he could end up anywhere next season depending on how well he performs.
After the Lazio game, Lopez was asked if he is looking to follow Juan Manuel Iturbe’s example and truly establish himself as a key man in the Verona team. The Uruguayan insisted that he is own man and has his own destiny to follow, but there are few better clubs than Hellas for a player to hone his skills and develop from one of Italy’s hidden gems into a real star in the making. He already has the technical and pace to trouble defenders. Now is his time to really make the most of his potential and reveal himself to the world.
