He made the sign of the cross when he entered, in the 58th minute, in the company of Ilan Kebbal and Rudy Matondo, on the Moustoir lawn, replacing Vincent Marchetti. The debut with Paris FC of Ciro Immobile, who will celebrate his 36th birthday on February 20, legend of Italian and European football, was indeed the event of this round of 16 of the Coupe de France. The public at the Moustoir stadium was not mistaken in applauding the former Lazio Rome striker when his name was announced.
Ironically, Immobile made his appearance on the field just after his Italian compatriot, Diego Coppola, another Parisian recruit in this transfer window, made a big mistake by relaunching with a header in the axis on the opening score of Lorient de Cadiou (1-0, 55th).
As soon as he entered, his new teammates, like Ilan Kebbal, immediately sought to find him in the area. After a first part of the season where he was stopped by a strain on his right thigh (3 months off), Immobile started for the first time with Bologna on January 25 on the Genoa pitch (2-3).
“We are going to put him in the best possible position,” warned Stéphane Gilli. We’re not going to take any risks with him. Little by little, he will integrate and bring us his anger, his passion and his talent. When I spoke with him, I still felt the flame, a lot of desire. He told me that when he gets up in the morning, he still thinks about scoring goals. I’m looking forward to him scoring as many as possible with us. »
The best is yet to come
The four-time top scorer in the Italian championship (2014, 2018, 2020, 2022) and European Golden Shoe (2020) almost had a dream debut with Paris FC. On his first opportunity, from a tight angle, he delivered a powerful shot without control that was diverted with his fingertips by Kamara (73rd). Paris FC missed their chance.
On a counter, Soumano, on a ball diverted by Moustapha Mbow, offers qualification for the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France in Lorient (2-0, 83rd). Despite everything, Immobile, who only had two short training sessions with his new teammates, didn’t give up, like on this corner he caused (87th) or by continuing to make calls.
Off-center on the left, he stumbles again on Kamara (90th + 3). The best is certainly yet to come for the 2021 European champion with the Squadra Azzurra (57 caps, 17 goals), who will have to refine his automatisms with Kebbal and the others.
