Miroslav Klose is Germany’s all-time top scorer without an elite club record to match, while Olivier Giroud, second in the French scorers table ahead of Michel Platini, struggled to find playing time regular at club level in recent years.
For Italy, this man is the metronome of midfielder Jorginho, a figure as key as anyone for the Azzurri as they look to win their second European Championship when they face England in the final of Sunday at Wembley.
At Chelsea, even his own fans have struggled to warm up to Jorginho since signing for Napoli in 2018, with many pointing to a possession style seen as laborious.
Even before the Champions League final in May, when Chelsea beat Manchester City with Jorginho in the middle of the midfield, former Blues winger Joe Cole questioned whether the Brazilian-born titular player should start a match of this magnitude, insisting that there are “holes in his game” “.
These criticisms have not gone unnoticed. In May, when asked if Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel’s system and his role within it were finally allowing people to see his true worth, Jorginho said: “I hope so! If they don’t do it now, they don’t understand football.
“The results, the numbers, are there. So whoever wants to say something different, they can have their opinion, but it won’t affect me. The criticism will always be there. It depends on how you take it. It’s just a motivation to work even harder. ”
Under Tuchel, Jorginho became so central that Chelsea fans warmed him up, but under former coach Frank Lampard the deep midfielder kept fan favorite N’Golo Kante out of the squad, and that didn’t not suitable for the Stamford Bridge of the masses.
Since Tuchel took over, however, the German has found a way to incorporate both Kante and Jorginho, with great success. Still, not everyone is convinced by the Italian’s willingness to keep the ball rather than attacking at the pace.
“He had a fantastic year at Chelsea and I’m proud to have him in our squad,” Italy striker Lorenzo Insigne said at Euro 2020.
“It’s not me who decides if he deserves the Ballon d’Or (award for the best player in the world), but I hope he will be preselected, he deserves it. I call him The Professor and we are all happy to play with him. ”
Italian media are also wowed and have backed this call for him to win a surprise Ballon d’Or if Italy beat England, highlighting how few can claim to win the Champions League at club level and play a decisive role. in the success of the European Championship in the same season.
With Nicolo Barella providing the flair and Marco Verratti providing the engine, Jorginho offers the perfect calming anchor for Roberto Mancini’s midfielder, while effectively protecting all four full-backs.
His eight interceptions against Spain were the most achieved by a player in a game in the last two European Championships. Statistics like this often go unnoticed, but that doesn’t make such a release any less impressive.
England coach Gareth Southgate has changed his system several times during this Euro but one element has remained constant throughout – two starting midfielders, who are important for both attack and defense.
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