The operation is now closed, Undefeated. Once this season is over, Lorenzo Insigne, the current 10 of the Italian National Team, will play for Toronto FC, a Canadian club that competes in Major League Soccer in the United States.
With the tranquility after the closing of a bombing, Bill Manning, president of the North American entity, revealed how the operation started and developed. Believe it or not, it all started on a site specialized in the transfer market (surely Transfermarkt), which allowed him to see that the Napoli captain could negotiate as a free agent as of January 2022.
The Insigne idea started in September, after the European Cup of Nations, and was consummated just in the new year. He was presented with the project and, after negotiations, convinced him to become a Designated Player. In 2015, Sebastian Govinco. In 2022, Lorenzo Insigne.
Why Italian talents? Because the Italian community in Toronto is brutal and, in addition, this type of movement helps them advance in their search for international positioning.
THE STORY BEHIND THE BADGE TRANSFER TO TORONTO
“Watching the Euro, seeing the fervor in the Italian community in Toronto when Italy won, I went to see a transfer market website and went over the Italian team, checking which players were about to end their contract and Lorenzo was one of the few players. that he was ”.
“It was clear to me that with his credentials, the timing of his career, and his personality type, he was the right guy. This relationship was built on a vision. D’Amico (intermediary) told me that it was destiny from the beginning. When we had the first call with Lorenzo’s agent, Andrea (D’Amico) called me back and said, ‘Billy, it’s destiny. We will make this happen. ‘
They are already preparing the adaptation of Insigne: “We have experience with Italian players (laughs). We have a great Italian-Canadian community that will welcome you with open arms. We will have someone on staff as a liaison for him and his family, as well as other players that we are going to bring to the market, just to make sure they have everything they need during this transition. ”
“You want to keep things simple for any player that comes along and we are very good at doing that. We will make sure the transition is smooth. Lorenzo told me that he goes to training and then comes home to be home with his family, and those are the most important things in his life. We will see to it that Lorenzo, Jenny and their children have everything they need here. I think they will feel good at home, in their home away from home ”.
How did you finalize the signing? “We needed to make sure he knew that we were serious and that we were willing to make the kind of financial commitment for him and his family to come here (…) When we had the opportunity to contact him, we presented an amazing video that our team put together and I felt like it was the essence of Toronto, the essence of Toronto FC and the essence of MLS. There were times when I was a bit stressed because there was a lot of interest from other teams and other important offers, but I felt all the time that we were at stake, that we were, if not leading the race, we were there ”.
“We made a connection, we made a real connection. And I think great things are going to happen here with Lorenzo wearing the Toronto FC jersey. “
Undefeated data. Toronto FC recruited Sebastian Giovinco in 2015, when he was just 28 years old. Insigne will be put to play for them at age 31. TO The Atomic Ant They got him out of Juventus, and in MLS he broke it all. Considering the regular phase and playoffs, he added 73 goals and 43 assists in 125 games played in the United States League.
Did you know…? Lorenzo Insigne has spent his entire First Division career with Napoli. Exceed 100 annotations and 400 official matches. It will be a tough goodbye in the coming months.