Maybe it looks like sacrilege, but not a few people, seeing him Rafael Leao take the ball under the cross and break through his defense like a deionized ati Naples to give a ready goal to Olivier Giroud, they remembered that incredible goal of his Diego Maradona in Argentina’s historic game against England at the World Cup in Mexico in 1986. In the nearly 40 years since that magical moment in football history, rarely has a stage been born at such a high level that resembles Dieguito’s masterpiece and one starring the 24-year-old Portuguese winger is certainly one of them.
Le rush de Leao avant de faire la passe D a Giroud π€― pic.twitter.com/svcYQlPDb2
β πΆΞΞΎπΞ»π.B πΈπ³ (@ghoulamba1) April 18, 2023
This is not a carbon phase – there are many common elements and significant differences, always with the common denominator of the name Diego Maradona and for other reasons, not only because of the obvious similarities: it took place inside the stadium where Maradona was worshiped. like a god and bears his name, against the command of his heart, in front of the same crowd that loved him like no other, to the point that the Neapolitan fans threw their country’s national team in the semi-final of the World Cup in Italy in 1990 and passionately supported Argentina , in the power of the great Dieguito!
This touch of intrigue adds spice to this race with the brakes, in which Leao knocked the ball out of her zone. Milan and he carried him into the small parthenopean zone, beating three players (Edobele, Di Lorenzo, Rahmani) before handing him to Giroux in front of an empty net, with half of the Napoli team behind him chasing him and not reaching him!
Digital phase analysis showed that the Portuguese winger covered a distance of 78 meters, while the maximum value of his speed reached 34 km per hour, that in order for someone to be able to carry the ball at their feet for so long, they must have something in their blood that of Usain Bolt’s incredible DNA!
The key difference, which is easy to see, is that in his race, Maradona completed the stage alone and scored a historic goal, while Leao “smashed” the ball to Giroud, making him the goalscorer. This is indeed a significant difference, but – mind you – the difference is in favor of Leo, and not against him! It would have been relatively easy for his undeniable class where he arrived to beat the goalkeeper and score a goal, but his choice was to make sure of that by passing the ball to Giroud alone in front of an empty net.
The greatness of the moment is not in Leao’s altruism, in the sense that with his pass he secured a very important goal for the team, or in the fact that an assist makes two players happy, not one. Greatness is the absolute control that the Portuguese winger keeps in phase, with the irrefutable evidence of the photographic lens capturing him with a huge smile of happiness on his lips during the pass to Giroud, confirming this in the clearest possible way. that it worked with all his senses, not just the instinct of the moment.
Rafael Leao edged past the Napoli players and provided an assist to Giroud while smiling.
I love this guy πππ pic.twitter.com/ZkYgl5tLfd
β Jenty (@CFC_Janty) April 18, 2023
Itβs not easy to even think about it, let alone do it: to run a 78-meter course in a sharp Champions League quarter-final, overtaking three players in a row, chasing as many, and instead of arriving in a state of stress and anxiety at the end of the route he retains 100% control over movements and space, choosing in a unique style the most correct solution, providing a decisive goal and in many ways a golden qualification!
This attempt by LeΓ£o is in many ways reminiscent of Yorgos Donis’ crazy race in the 1996 Champions League semi-finals, when the opponents were Ajax and Panathinaikos. The “train” carried the ball about the same distance and at the same speed, a little closer to the axis and not so much to the side, with the difference that he himself was not in the shooting position in order to be able to finish the phase himself. and that he only needed one dribbling instead of three before making a pass that got ahead of Wazeha to score a goal.
Donis repaid that race with a legendary (for those times and Greek standards) contract with Blackburn, which he signed 2-3 months later, as soon as his contract with Panathinaikos was completed. Leao is waiting for a golden contract and he either decides to succumb to Milan’s choke pressure and extend their partnership beyond 2024, or he refuses and forces them to sell him to several teams waiting outside his door.
Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are the two richest of them all, both willing to offer more than β¬130m to make him theirs. This is a transfer story that has been going on since last year, long before Leao’s crazy run against Napoli, which brought “one of the most beautiful transfers I have seen in my life”, as an impressed Bastian Schweinsteiger stated, expressing many other people with rich performances on the football fields.
For a long time now, Leao has been making a splash in the Milan jersey and causing a lot of buzz around his name with an open window. Yes, it was revealed two weeks ago that he had reached a verbal agreement with the Rossoneri to extend his contract beyond 2024, with a spectacular increase in his salary to β¬6.5m from β¬1.5m a year, but until signatures do not fall. everything will be open.
The critical moment is his own decision, as the two people who directly influence him have completely different views on the question of renewing his contract. Jorge Mendez, his famous manager, believes he should be sold in the summer and is even moving towards Real Madrid, even if the Queen has Vinicius in the same position, while his lawyer Ted Dimbula insists that he stayed. in Milan, where he is the “king”, with much better financial conditions, of course.
The β¬35m the Rossoneri spent to buy him from Lille in the summer of 2019 as soon as he turned 20 seems small compared to his current market value, even if they had to add another β¬16.5m to the final bill for them to pay the amount the court awarded Rafa Leau as compensation to Sporting Lisbon for boarding the great getaway train.
Like many other Lions players, his contract ended after he was viciously attacked by angry fans at Sporting’s training ground, but despite only making three first team appearances before moving to Lille at the age of 19, his price has already skyrocketed. time for damages in court.
How far the dust will rise over the signing of Leao will soon become clear, depending on whether he signs a new contract with Milan or not. βI have reduced my salary in order to extend it. What does he want, should I give him my house too? I’ll give him that too if he stays,” famous striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic recently claimed to show how much the entire Milan organization wants him to stay!
Will Rafa Leao finally sign a new contract? And if the answer is yes, it is possible that in the summer his transfer streak will continue in a clearly larger number than the current ones. There are many who want, and there is a lot of money, they can seduce the Milanese. If not, it will soon go to another port. Milan won’t make him guard his legs in the final year of his contract and lose him in the blink of an eye. He will sell him for a starting price of 130 million euros to the point where Chelsea’s American owners finally decide to take him against the Paris Saint-Germain sheiks…
β News today
Subscribe to kathimerini.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at kathimerini.gr
Source: Kathimerini
David Jack is a sports author at 247 News Reel, known for his informative writing on sports topics. With extensive knowledge and experience, he provides readers with a deep understanding of the latest sports advancements and trends. David’s insightful articles have earned him a reputation as a skilled and reliable writer.