Ciro Immobile scores Lazio's first goal in their Champions League match against Feyenoord. Getty Images
Ciro Immobile scores Lazio's first goal in their Champions League match against Feyenoord. Getty Images
Ciro Immobile scores Lazio's first goal in their Champions League match against Feyenoord. Getty Images
Ciro Immobile scores Lazio's first goal in their Champions League match against Feyenoord. Getty Images

Immobile, Morata, and Giroud lead memorable European night for old-fashioned strikers


Ian Hawkey
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Ciro Immobile’s landmark goal set off a lengthy sprint towards the crowd. Because of the running track at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, there’s a significant distance between fans and goal-line. At times in Immobile’s career, that wide space has been a blessing, a wide buffer between the boos and their target.

But on Tuesday, he ran eagerly towards his loyalists. Immobile’s match-winning goal against Feyenoord was his 200th for Lazio, where he is mostly appreciated and the fact he reached that milestone in the Champions League and with it pushed the Rome club up into one of the qualifying positions for the knockout phases made it extra special.

Immobile is 33, and he divides opinion. He has had fabulous seasons as a centre-forward, above all 2019-20 where he won Europe’s Golden Shoe for the most prolific scorer across the continent’s domestic leagues.

He has had lean times, too, a move to Borussia Dortmund that worked out badly, a rejection by Juventus, where he started his top-flight career, and long spells with the national team where the goals dried up and the boos got louder.

In two separate, losing World Cup qualifying play-offs Immobile was leading the line for the goal-shy Azzurri.

Lately, though, Immobile has been wearing the captain’s armband for Italy and anticipates taking the senior striking role in the defence of their European championship title next summer.

Naturally, there will be sceptics, who, a little unfairly, characterise him as a limited centre-forward, glossing over his creative contributions outside the penalty box.

It is the burden of the central striker in an era of ‘false nines’ and fluid tactical experimentation that redraws the role of the orthodox target man.

Tuesday in club football’s elite competition was a very good night for strikers of old-fashioned virtues. Alvaro Morata, much-maligned through portions of his career – he reported threats towards his family after he missed chances for Spain during the last Euros – netted twice in Atletico Madrid’s 6-0 thrashing of Celtic, a result that puts them in pole position, just above Lazio, in Group E.

Morata’s first was expertly poached to finish a glorious move, his second a stylish volley that spoke of confidence and form. He has 12 club goals this season and no reason to look back with any regret at the illustrious stop-offs in a career where the highs have been leavened with some lows.

Juventus, where he spent two spells, are not in the Champions League. Nor are Chelsea, where Morata played between 2018 and 2020. He recently put Real Madrid, where he started his career, in their place with a brace of headed goals in Atletico’s 3-1 victory in the derby.

Atletico Madrid's Alvaro Morata after scoring his team's fifth goal against Celtic. AFP
Atletico Madrid's Alvaro Morata after scoring his team's fifth goal against Celtic. AFP

Headed goals are a Morata trademark, but there is also a temptation to stereotype him as a one-dimensional centre-forward, a target man who thinks too much in straight lines.

Yet, at 31, he appears to be at a peak of his powers. “He is calmer,” remarked Atletico manager Diego Simeone. “He knows he’s important to this club and to Spain. He’s someone who will always get chances but he’s more decisive about taking them.”

Shortly after Immobile and Morata had struck their decisive blows in Rome and Madrid, up in Milan, the doyen of thirty something target-men, Olivier Giroud was throwing Group F, the most intriguing of all the Champions League mini-leagues, wide open with AC Milan’s second goal in the 2-1 triumph over Paris Saint-Germain.

Giroud turned 37 six weeks ago, old enough to have weathered many years of compatriot French grumbling that, in spite of being his country’s record international scorer, he will never play with the speed and flair of the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele or Randal Kolo Muani, the France trio who made up the losing PSG front line at San Siro.

Nor will Niclas Fullkrug, 30, quickly shake off the idea that his late-career promotion to elite football is proof that, for all his strength and effectiveness, his qualities as a striker are more mallet than magic wand.

Borussia Dortmund's Niclas Fullkrug celebrates scoring against Newcastle United. Reuters
Borussia Dortmund's Niclas Fullkrug celebrates scoring against Newcastle United. Reuters

A scuffed finish off his left ankle registered Fullkrug’s first ever goal in European club competition, putting Borussia Dortmund ahead against Newcastle United in the 2-0 victory that elevates the German club to the top of Group F.

Dortmund, who signed Fullkrug from Werder Bremen in the summer, can be a wonderful step-up for centre-forwards – Robert Lewandowski; Erling Haaland – or an unfulfilling place for them – Immobile; Alexander Isak – and Fullkrug hopes it is the platform to continue a remarkable sudden rise.

He has played more of his senior football in the second and third divisions than the Bundesliga’s top flight. He only made his Germany debut last year.

The journeyman Fullkrug may not win prizes for elegance on the ball, but recognition of his instincts in the opposition penalty area grows and grows. He has scored nine times in his 11 caps. Like Giroud, Morata and Immobile, he’ll let critics scrutinise his limitations and have the numbers speak for themselves.

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

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Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.

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Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev

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Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

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To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:

  • September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
  • October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
  • October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
  • November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
  • December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
  • February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
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Torque: 1075Nm
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Price, as tested: Dh84,000

Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo

Transmission: Six-speed auto

Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm

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Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km

While you're here
Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding

Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.

Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.

Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.

For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae

 

Updated: November 08, 2023, 2:56 PM`