Insigne Wonder Goal Helps Napoli to Victory

A sensational strike from Lorenzo Insigne and a goal from captain Marek Hamsik cancelled out Fabio Quagliarella's penalty in a Serie A clash at the Stadio San Paolo.

Going well in Serie A, Napoli had the first good chance of the game, falling to Jose Callejon. Daniele Padelli got down well to stop the former Real Madrid player from breaking the deadlock. The home side were playing some fantastic one touch football in the opening stages and another long shot from Callejon had Padelli at full stretch.

Lorenzo Insigne opened the scoring as the game approached 15 minutes. One touch passing between Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon created space for Insigne, whose looping shot beat Padelli in nets. Napoli weren't letting their visitors have a moments rest, but the Turin side managed to force a fine save out of Pepe Reina when Fabio Quagliarella leaped highest after a cross from Cristian Molinaro.

Quagliarella's 11 game goal drought didn't last too long after that chance when he converted a dubious penalty awarded for a foul on Bruno Peres. It looked as if the ball was rolling harmlessly across the goal line while Faouzi Ghoulam lunged in. The tackle even looked like Peres had flopped over the defender's leg and fooled the referee. Credit must be given to Torino who risked everything by playing out from the back with Padelli dummying Insigne on the edge of his 6 yard box.

Torino's defence was poor for the majority of the opening half, and the match and they couldn't hold on until half time. Insigne found Marek Hamsik in between the centre backs and, despite the very narrow angle, found the back of the net via the legs of the Torino keeper. The dismay on the face of Torino coach, Giampiero Ventura, was a picture that summed up their half.

The second half started in a much slower tempo to the first with both sides not creating as many chances as the first half. 2-1 up, this didn't worry Napoli while Torino would have to throw more caution into the wind as the half progressed. Insigne had a great free kick that hit the cross bar and deflected over. It was a great strike and I don't think Padelli would have got to it had it been several inches lower.

Torino had their best chance of the half, when Maxi Lopez caught Kalidou Koulibaly napping at the back. The 31 year old Argentine surged into the box, but his squared ball was unable to find Afriyie Acquah. With 10 minutes left and still a goal down, Torino still looked unable to gain possession of the ball and therefore unable to throw men forward. Napoli were comfortable and it would be their own undoing if they were to throw their lead away. With exception to chances for substitutes Dries Mertens and Maxi Lopez, neither goal was significantly troubled in the closing moments of the game.

Bruno Peres continued his good form this match with him often beating his opposite number. The Brazilian has pace and trickery and I wouldn't be surprised if he moves to a club with a higher reputation in the future. Gonzalo Higuain had another good game in the sky blue of Napoli, and he will be key for Napoli if they are to win the Scudetto this season.

An excellent first half consisting of aesthetically pleasing football was succeeded by a second half of very patient and dull football. Napoli were content with the 2-1 victory while Torino didn't have the fire power to trouble their hosts.

Sleeping Giants

'A Sleeping Giant' is a term quite regularly used to describe a side that has an illustrious history or a period of dominance, but have tailed off in recent years and find themselves in a worse situation than they were. Everyone is aware of some of the sleeping giants in England such as Newcastle United, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest to name a few, but who would be some of the sleeping giants in the rest of Europe?

Benfica

Benfica still do enjoy domestic success, but they have somewhat tailed off on the European scene from the great sides of the 60s and 70s. Last year, they became the first Portuguese side to do the domestic treble (Primeira Liga, Taca de Portugal and Taca da Liga). The Portuguese club enjoyed significant dominance in the 60s when they won two European Cups as well as countless domestic honours.

Legends from the golden era include the late and great Eusebio who remains the clubs record goal scorer with 474 goals in 15 years with the club. Upon the hero's death, the Portuguese declared three national days of mourning for the Mozambique-born Portuguese star. Star striker from the 60s and 70s, Nene currently holds the record for the most appearances with 575. The 66 times capped Portuguese international won 10 league titles, 7 Taca de Portugal trophies as well as UEFA Cup runners up in 1982/83 towards the end of his illustrious career. Today, they have won the previous 2 league campaigns and seem to be recovering domestically after a spell of domination by rival Porto.

Hajduk Split

HNK Hajduk Split is a club with lots of history. It was formed by four university students in the early 1900s in the then Croatian city of Split which was under Austro-Hungarian rule. 'Hajduk' was an adopted title as it literally meant 'freedom fighters' referencing their struggle for an independent Croatia. Split dominated the Yugoslav league in the 70s winning four league titles and finishing runners up in another one, as well as winning the Yugoslav Cup five times.

Early in the Noughties however, the club faced bankruptcy after being severely mismanaged by the board. They survived in Croatia's top division but often lost out to their fierce rivals, Dinamo Zagreb. Since 2008, the club has been improving and managed to qualify for the Europa League, the first time they qualified for a European group stage since 1994. They are still waiting for their first league victory since 2005 and have finished the last 2 seasons in 3rd. They are slowly but surely climbing back to the top of Croatian football.

Torino

Juventus are the big team in Turin, however they also share the city with Torino, a nationalist club with tragic events that sent the club into a period of mediocrity. Torino were in their pomp in the 40s when they won 5 Scudetto titles. They were one of Italy’s heavyweights and almost certainly would have been a European contender if the competition had existed. On the 4^th May 1949, all but one of the Torino squad were killed when their plane crashed into the hills of Superga, on the outskirts of Turin. The team never recovered and has endured some very hard times since. After struggling to stay in the Italian top flight for almost a decade, the side was relegated in 1959. The death of influential Italian star, Gigi Meroni, further halted the progress of the Turin side, but 9 years later, the club won their 7^th and last Scudetto under the stewardship of Luigi Radice.

The club floated between Serie A and Serie B in the 80s and 90s, and in 2005 were embroiled in financial trouble. After finishing in the playoff spot for promotion that season, the side were expelled from the league after financial irregularities. The Lodo ‘Petrucci’ law allowed ‘a new team’ to be instated into the division below the previous one based on the sports merit of the old club. I use ‘new team’ loosely as it still absorbs all the history of the old club. Today, Torino have battled back from Serie B in 2012 where they have remained since. Torino finished the 2013-14 season excelling all expectations in 7^th which allowed them a chance of playing in the Europa League, much due to the prowess of Alessio Cerci and Ciro Immobile. Immobile netted 22 times that season before being sold to Borussia Dortmund, while Cerci exited to Atletico Madrid. They weren’t able to replicate their domestic exploits last season as they finished 9^th but did reach the Round of 16 in the Europa League. It’s small steps, but Torino are showing progress of banishing the dark days behind them.

Dynamo Dresden

Dynamo Dresden were once the dominant side of East Germany, but the fall of the Berlin Wall coupled with the amalgamation of East and West Germany, saw the club tumble down the Bundesliga ladder. Sports clubs were not for-profit businesses under communist rule but rather set up as a means of socialising for state entities: CSKA for the Army, Lokomotiv for the transportation ministry and Dynamo for the secret police. The East German powerhouses enjoyed great dominance in the 70s winning 5 league titles and 2 cups. Despite not meeting recently, Berliner FC Dynamo are considered their big rivals, due to them often pipping Dresden to the East German title. They regularly competed in Europe during their hay day and into the 80s, gaining impressive victories over FC Porto, Juventus and Benfica.

The first meeting between socialist Dynamo Dresden and a capitalist West German side was in the 1973-74 European Cup against Bayern Munich, losing 7-6 on aggregate but it is the clash against West German side Bayer Uerdingen which would be more memorable. Winning the first leg 2-0 and cruising 3-1 at half time, the first choice keeper received an injury to be replaced by debutant Jens Ramme who conceded 6 goals to lose 7-3. However it was the incident in which striker Frank Lippmann escaped to the west when playing the away leg in Krefeld. As communism fell, so did Dynamo Dresden. There four years in a restructured Bundesliga saw them constantly battling relegation and when the inevitable happened in 1995, they never returned. They reached the heights of 2.Bundesliga from 2004-06 and again in 2011-14 before being relegated to the 3^rd tier where they currently remain. Dynamo Dresden is a side steeped in history, both successful and sinister, but one that they don’t look like repeating anytime soon.

HSV Hamburg

On the 29^th September 1887 Der Hohenfelder Sportclub and Wandsbeck-Marienthaler Sportclub coalesced to form SC Germania, known today as HSV Hamburg. They enjoyed their golden era in the 70s and 80s, winning 3 league titles as well as finishing second in 5 seasons. 2 DFB-Pokals were added to the collection, not to mention a European Cup Winners’ Cup, UEFA Cup, and 2 UEFA Super Cups. However the cherry on top was the European Cup victory in 1983. They beat Dynamo Berlin, Olympiacos, Dynamo Kyiv and Real Sociedad enroute to a finale against Italian giants, Juventus. Former Fulham and Bayern Munich manager, Felix Magath scored an 8^th minute winner to secure their first European Cup in their history.

They are a club that is proud of its tradition of having played in every season of the Bundesliga since its conception in 1963 and in fact every top tier of the German league since World War 1. At the Imtech Arena/Volksparkstadion they display a clock that reads how long they have been in the Bundesliga. The clock almost stopped back in June when Karlsruhe came close to toppling the former German giant in the relegation playoff. After a 1-1 draw at home, a very late equaliser from Marcelo Diaz forced extra time before Nicolai Muller scored the winner with 5 minutes of extra time left. Seemingly down and out, Karlsruher were awarded a penalty right at the end of extra time, but Rene Adler saved to keep Hamburg in the division for at least another season. Hamburg aren't the German force they used to be and that proud record is clinging by a thread.

Parma

From UEFA Cup winners in 1999, financial problems have plunged the Italian side into chaos and now ply their trade in the amateur leagues of the Italian pyramid. Parma don’t have the same stature in terms of history and theirs happens much more recently. Their first appearance in Serie A was in 1990 and they enjoyed most of their success in this timeframe, most down to the global brand Parmalat and their CEO, Calisto Tanzi. Tanzi used the football to expand his company with more eastern Europeans featuring as Parmalat expanded. Parma had world class players at their disposal including the club’s record goal scorer, Hernan Crespo, World Cup winner, Fabio Cannavaro, former Juventus star Lillian Thuram who is the most capped French defender as well as Faustino Asprilla, a part of Colombia’s golden generation and Gianfranco Zola. They had cracking players, but a league title often eluded the side. During the 90s they won 3 Coppa Italia trophies, one Italian Super Cup, 2 UEFA Cups, a European Super Cup and a Cup winners Cup. They achieved just one 2^nd place finish in the league in 1996/97.

Admitted into administration in 2004 due to the collapse of their parent company, the club operated in controlled administration until January 2007, before returning to the top division several seasons later. Previous to last season, Parma actually performed quite well. Roberto Donadoni guided the side to sixth position in the Serie A and a third consecutive top ten finish. However, their Europa League place was rescinded due to the late payment of income tax on salaries as well as incurring docked points for the following season. The club changed ownership several times with each buyer, often breaking promises of money. With several games forfeited towards the end of last season, facilities seized and players remaining unpaid, Parma succumbed and finished rock bottom of Serie A and demoted to Serie D.

Sampdoria

The last side that I will focus on is Sampdoria. The Samps enjoyed most of their success in the 1980s after being bought by oil businessman Paolo Mantovani in 1979, while in Serie B. In 1982, Sampdoria were promoted to Serie A and won their first Coppa Italia 3 years later. Their success during the 80s largely consisted of Coppa Italia victories in 1985, 1988, 1989 as well as one in 1994. They recorded a Cup Winners Cup win in 1990 while losing out to Barcelona in extra time of the 1991/1992 edition of the European Cup. Some would say their defeat against Barca was cruel, particularly as Gianluca Vialli missed three glorious chances to win before Ronald Koeman won it for the Catalan side. At the end of that season, star performers such as Vialli, Vujadin Boskov, Toninho Cerezo and Fausto Pari left the club and signalled the beginning of the decline of Sampdoria. They succumbed to relegation as quickly as 1999.

Since their exploits 30 years ago, Sampdoria have struggled to get back to the big stage. While they have regularly been in Serie A, they have never challenged for titles or the domestic cups on offer. They returned to the top flight in 2003 and finished in 8^th position thanks to the goals from Fabio Bazzani and Francesco Flachi. Two seasons later, they were on track to return to the Champions League only to be pipped to the post by Udinese in the closing games of the season. However they featured in 2007/2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup as a result of Atalanta not being granted a UEFA licence. Since returning to the league in 2013, Sampdoria have been improving at a steady rate. Docked points in their returning season for their participation in the 2011-12 Italian football season, they ended in a 14^th place finish. The previous two seasons have seen Samp finish in 7^th and 12^th respectively, the former seeing them return to European football, only for them to crash out in the third qualifying round to Serbian side, Vojvodina. This season they find themselves 6pts outside the relegation zone just above arch rivals Genoa. It’s been a rollercoaster of a ride for one of Italy’s historic giants.

These are just a few of the clubs that many deem to follow under the 'sleeping giant' bracket. Feel free to leave your thoughts on the clubs mentioned, or other clubs that I have omitted.

Transfer Target #2 - Ciro Immobile

Another one of Torino's hotshots is striker, Ciro Immobile. At only 23 years of age, the Italian has a long and hopefully successful career ahead of him.

His career began in the ranks of the Juventus academy and made his first appearance for the Old Lady as a 90th minute substitute in a 4-1 victory against Bologna. Although that was his only appearance during the 2008/09 season he made a further 4 substitute appearances the following season.

For the first half of the 2010/11 season, Immobile spent it at Serie B team Siena. The striker never nailed himself a place in the first team and only made 5 appearances out of 11 possible matches. In those 5 appearances he netted 2 goals against Portsumagga and Lecce. After the spell at Siena he was loaned to Grosseto where he made 11 appearances, scoring 1 goal.

Ciro Immobile announced himself on the professional scene with a terrific loan spell at Pescara in 2011/2012 season. In 31 appearances, he bagged 30 goals, and failing to score in only 8 matches. With Pescara, he achieved the Serie B title, Serie B Player of the Year and Serie B Top Scorer. Genoa was the next destination for Immobile before Torino bought Genoa's rights for the player. As of this season, he has made 16 appearances scoring 9 goals. 

On the international stage, it could be only a matter of time before he makes his full international debut, but as of last summer, he travelled to the UEFA U21 championship with Italy. Throughout the tournament, he guided the Italians to the Final making 4 appearances in the process and scored their 4-2 defeat, to Spain.

Although no confirmed reports yet, a transfer away from Torino could produce opportunities for Immobile to play in Europe and bolster his chances of a call up for the approaching World Cup. He is definitely an Italian star for the future and could turn into one of the best attackers in the world.

Transfer Target #1 - Alessio Cerci

Right Winger, Alessio Cerci was touted as Italy's next rising superstar when he was handed his first team debut at AS Roma by Fabio Capello when he was just 16 years of age. Since then, his career has not been all plain sailing.

Currently playing at Torino, Alessio Cerci started his career in the Roma academy before making 13 appearances for the Roma first team between 2003 and 2010. During his spell at Roma, he was loaned out to several teams, including Pisa, Atlanta and Brescia. At these clubs, he made 59 appearances, scored 10 goals and assisted 7 times.

By the end of 2009, Capello felt that his young protege had not lived up to the expectations so was sold to Fiorentina for £3.5m. At Fiorentina, he made 47 appearances and scored 12 goals. His 47 appearances spanned 2 seasons and was sold at the start of the 2012/2013 season for €2.6m to Torino, where he currently resides.

Alessio made his international debut on the 26 March 2013 against Malta in a World Cup Qualifier. To date, he has represented Italy 10 times but is yet to score a goal. At youth level, he travelled to the UEFA U21 tournament in 2009, but was an unused substitute for the duration of the competition. 

This season has seen Cerci net 9 goals and assist 7 times in 17 appearances. He has proved instrumental in firing Torino to 7th position in the Serie A table at the close of 2013 and his recent performances has put himself in the shop window and could merit a place in Prandelli's Italian squad for the World Cup.

Cerci has been on the radar of various English clubs including Arsenal and Manchester United. He was reported to have said that he would relish the chance of playing in the Champions League and would be 'open' to a move to the Manchester club. If the transfer to United proceeds, it could spell the end for Nani or Ashley Young at the Theatre of Dreams. Over the Christmas period, he also revealed his desire to return to his boyhood club Roma. 

With nothing set in stone yet, Cerci is likely to be on the move in January, but clubs will need to act swiftly if they want to secure the signature of the 26 year old. The transfer situation could turn sticky as the Torino board have announced that he is not for sale.

Rumoured teams to be interested:

Arsenal (TalkSport) (Daily Star)

Liverpool (TalkSport) (Daily Star)

Tottenham (TalkSport) (Daily Star)

Manchester United (TalkSport) (International Business Times UK) (Daily Star) (The Sport Review)

Roma (Football Italia) (SportPulse)

Chelsea (Daily Star)