From new arrivals like Krstovic from Lecce to matured youngsters like Pinamonti: the penalty area is back… hunting reserve
They have woken up, and the defenses are shaking again. The signs from the first month of the championship are eloquent: the center forward is back. The one who transforms the penalty area into a hunting reserve, the player who – usually – has played with one goal since he was little: to score. Only on the last day did Dusan Vlahovic, Marcus Thuram, Andrea Pinamonti (with a brace), Nikola Krstovic, who proudly wear the number 9, score. Plus Mateo Retegui and Romelu Lukaku, who respectively have the number 19 and 90 on their shoulders but they don’t need a number on their back to explain who they are and what they do. And if you wanted you could also add Cheddira or Raspadori, who in Napoli against Genoa joined Osimhen in the final but who recently played right at the center of the attack against Italy. However, current events cannot forget what happened in the other three days, and so the group of center forwards thickens, confirming the trend. The scorers’ ranking is led with 5 goals by Lautaro, not a colossus but certainly a “puntero” with the physique du role. Then there are the eternal Giroud, Duvan Zapata, Zirkzee, Immobile, Gallo Belotti (at 2 after abstinence for the entire last season, further demonstration of the awakening of the 9), Scamacca. And, obviously, Victor Osimhen, at 3: the pale Napoli at the beginning of the season didn’t help him, but there is a lot, absolutely a lot, about him about the historic scudetto.
The classic center forward seemed like a role in danger of extinction, in reality it was just an evolutionary leap that needed some time to be assimilated. Modern attackers had to think not only about scoring, but also learning to become more “associative”, to play with the team. And so they often forgot about their main task, the primary need. But now that the evolution is almost complete, here they are, the 9 who play with and for the team and who score. As often happens, it is the examples at the top level that dictate the pace, and even if Guardiola returned to center forward with some success with Haaland (but so did Klopp, from Firmino as a maneuvering center forward to the striker Darwin Nunez), not to mention of Bayern’s investment in Kane, the others could only follow.
There are two additional factors, in addition to the evolution of the role. The first: Serie A has projected itself forward. It’s difficult to see speculative teams: “let’s go get them” is a mantra that has spread. 114 goals have already been scored compared to 94 last season: growth of 20%. Just four 0-0s (two by Cagliari, among other things). The invasion of the opponent’s half of the field with many elements distracts attention from the center forward, who has more help around him. You see Vlahovic who with a “higher” Juve sees the goal better. The second: quality elements have arrived (Thuram, Retegui, the return of Lukaku and Scamacca) and others have matured (Pinamonti, Zirkzee, even Lautaro who has risen to world class ranks).
It is more difficult to identify a more technical-tactical reason, given the heterogeneity of the teams to which they belong. In other words: Fiorentina creates a lot but their centre-forwards, Nzola and Beltran, are strangely still dry. There is the surprise Krstrovic, yet another sensational discovery from Corvino who D’Aversa knows how to use as a launching pad for the wingers but from whom he has also already collected 3 goals in 3 appearances. Osimhen is the one who plays the most balls in the penalty area: 51. But Thuram (39) and the 10 Lautaro (38) make it clear the firepower at Inzaghi’s disposal. And then you can see how the last sixteen meters are truly a hunting reserve: Osimhen kicked 17 out of 19 from inside the area, Thuram 11 out of 11, Vlahovic 11 out of 13 (but with goals – right-footed! – from outside against Lazio ), Krstovic 6 out of 7.
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