Sitting on a precarious 1-0 lead in a tightly contested quarter-final at Euro 2020 last summer, Italy was in need of another goal to give itself a bit of breathing room against top-ranked Belgium.
The Italians were looking for a moment of attacking inspiration, and it came just before halftime when Lorenzo Insigne set out on a majestic dribbling run that began inside his half, saw him cut in from the left and then curl a gorgeous shot from the edge of the penalty area into the far corner of the net that gave goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois no chance.
The Azzurri went on to defeat the Belgians, and Insigne’s thunderbolt strike stood out as one of the key goals in their march towards winning the European Championship. It was a moment of game-breaking genius from Insigne, but it was hardly a one-in-a-million type effort from the diminutive attacker. He had routinely scored such spectacular goals for hometown club Napoli in Serie A for over a decade that he earned the nickname Il Magnifico.
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Toronto FC is betting big on Insigne being able to wield similar magic on the pitch in MLS after announcing Saturday that it has signed the Italian attacker to a four-year contract. Financial terms of the deal were not released by the Canadian club, but according to sources TFC broke the bank to the tune of $15 million US per season in order to land the Italian. Insigne not only becomes the highest-paid player in MLS history, but he shatters the record previously held by Zlatan Ibrahimovic when he earned $7.2 million with the LA Galaxy in 2019.
To put Insigne’s wages into further context, consider the following: TFC is spending more money per year just on Insigne than 21 MLS teams spent on their entire rosters in 2021. Only six clubs — Atlanta United, Inter Miami, LAFC, LA Galaxy, New York City FC and Toronto — paid more than $15 million on overall player salaries last year.
After a disastrous 2021 campaign that saw the Reds finish in second-last place in the league standings, the club had to swing for the fences this off-season as it rebuilt its roster. The signing of Insigne to this landmark deal is a major signal of intent that the club is serious about winning and reestablishing itself among the elite sides in MLS.
Of course, this is not the first time that TFC has looked to an Italian to help them reverse their fortunes.
The Reds were in a somewhat similar situation seven years ago when they signed Sebastian Giovinco away from Juventus in what turned out to be a transformative transfer move. The Italian striker quickly established himself in MLS, plundering 73 goals in 125 regular season and playoff games over four seasons, winning league MVP honours in 2015. The Reds had never qualified for the playoffs in their eight previous seasons, but with Giovinco at the helm they instantly went from league laughingstock to powerhouse, as they won MLS Cup in 2017 and finished runners-up the previous year.
TFC is hoping that Insigne will have the same groundbreaking effect that Giovinco had in MLS, and while comparisons between the two Italians are inevitable, it’s not a stretch to suggest that Insigne is the better player and could have a more lasting impact.
Giovinco was 27 years old when he came to MLS, while Insigne will turn 31 in June, so he had more of his career ahead of him when he signed with TFC. But Giovinco wasn’t a regular starter for Juventus or the Italian national team at the time.
Insigne, on the other hand, is widely regarded as one of the best attacking players in Italy’s Serie A, if not in all of European club soccer. He debuted for Napoli in 2010 and later became captain, and has been a fixture for his hometown club for the past decade, scoring 114 goals in all competitions, with his best Serie A season coming in 2020-21 when he bagged 19 times in Italy’s topflight. He has also been a mainstay for the Italian national team, scoring 10 goals in 53 appearances for the Azzurri since his debut in 2012, and played a major role in helping Italy win last summer’s European Championship.
Fleet of foot and a wizard with the ball at his feet, Insigne is also a threat to score from set pieces and is renowned for being a dynamic attacker who can unlock even the tightest of defences. Although left wing is his preferred position, the Italian can play in a variety of attacking positions, including as a deep-lying playmaker.
This is not a “Hollywood signing” by TFC. While David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Didier Drogba had more name recognition than Insigne, they came to the league on the downside of their respective careers, looking to cash in for one final payday before they entered retirement, while their MLS clubs were looking to capitalize on their brand power.
Insigne has name value, although not as much as the aforementioned trio. But what he does have over them at this stage of his career is the ability to be hugely relevant both on and off the pitch in MLS.
In essence, what Toronto FC is getting in Lorenzo Insigne is a UEFA Champions League calibre player who is still in his prime with plenty of gas left in the tank – a top European star who looks poised to take Major League Soccer by storm.
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
