Lukaku-Inter is back at the right time: should it be held now? – Corriere.it

MILAN The strength of a wise leader, to return to the G8 after twelve years. The importance of a totem in the heart of the area, around which to dance for a liberating goal and a (re) starting point. Sorry for the delay, but Romelu Lukaku is back: at the right time and in the right place, after a long, bumpy, expensive journey. But minc… I’m in shape he joked, (but not too much) Big Rom off the air in connection with Sky Wednesday night, looking at his own reflection.

With weight, which is always a factor for players with such an imposing structure, the Belgian is in line, while the overall condition can improve: the eighteen days that separate Inter from the Do Dragao challenge are ideal for further growth and aiming all about accessing the quarter-finals, knowing full well that Porto also fielded four players on Wednesday (Otavio, Galen, Uribe, Evanilson) who weren’t even expected on the pitch and who will therefore be stronger in mid-March, obviously apart from Otavio who been expelled.

I have to keep my head down and pedal, quarters must be our ambition. It won’t be easy, because Porto’s approach also gives you mental difficulties, explains Romelu with his excellent Italian, one of the seven languages ​​he handles naturally, from English to Flemish, from French to Spanish, passing through Portuguese and Congolese: one of the tools of the trade for a leader who doesn’t just speak the universal language of goal: a figure that Inter missed, despite an at times sumptuous performance by Dzeko, who together with a super Lautaro dragged the attack chariot for months. The Bosnian didn’t take well to the change with the Belgian but it was enough for me to see how he cheered on Lukaku’s goal to understand that he was all right explained Simone Inzaghi. After all, how can you want to hurt someone like Romelu? A driving force by example: with a smile, but also without it when needed, as he demonstrated in Genoa by venting to Barella who reproached him for too many inaccuracies.

Much has been said about Lukaku’s successful hunger, to fight real hunger. He himself recounted in detail the poverty in which he grew up, the desire to repay his mother for the sacrifices, the hostility of the parents of the other boys who wanted to see his identity card because they did not trust his age . But the extraordinary life of Romelu, one who for ten years hasn’t seen a Champions League match because he didn’t have pay TV and sometimes not even electricity, this year has experienced an obstacle never seen before, that of a thigh injury. with that scar on the muscle that has tormented him since the end of August, forcing him to appear in a World Cup.

Given the header on Barella’s cross and the reactivity after the rejection of the post, the path for the return of the real Lukaku, the one who left two years ago for London, is (almost) complete: Nothing like this has ever happened to me – admits the Belgian – but it gave me great strength and now I’m ready to help the team. It all depends on the coach, I’m available. In reality, a lot depends on him: on the pitch, where Inzaghi’s requests are a little different from Conte’s. And off the pitch, hunting for a loan renewal with Chelsea, because he doesn’t want to go back to England and has already shown that he gets what he wants. The heart is not enough, he had warned for the CEO. Marotta, before the match against Porto. And not even a single goal, however heavy.