Arsenal are rumoured to have a keen interest on Argentinian forward Mauro Icardi. The 23-year-old has been in terrific form for Inter Milan in the past couple of seasons and was named the captain of the Nerazzurri for the 2015-16 season and since then has scored 16 goals for the Italian club.
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The striker, who is very good in the air also has impeccable finishing ability. He was left out of the Argentina squad in the Copa America, owing to the plethora of attackers at their disposal. However, he is one for the future and Arsenal have put their eyes on the right man to lead their line for years to come.
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We take a look at five things you may not know about the young Argentinian:
#1. He was a part of Barcelona’s La Masia Academy
Mauro Icardi was born in Rosario, Argentina, the hometown of Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria before moving to Spain’s Canary Island at the age of six. He had scored over 500 goals in youth categories with local club Vecindario. In 2007, at the age of 15 Barcelona scouts spotted him as a striker with great potential.
He was previously offered contracts by the likes of Valencia, Sevilla, Liverpool and Arsenal. However, the Blaugrana won the race after a tussle with rivals Real Madrid for his signature and made him a part of the renowned La Masia Academy.
The buy paid dividends for the Catalan club as he was regularly on target for the junior sides of Barcelona. He was said to be one of the best headers of the ball at La Masia in his time there. However, it was soon realised that he did not tick all the boxes to become a top striker in the Barcelona first team. Therefore, he was moved out on loan to Sampdoria in 2011 which became a permanent deal a year later.
#2. He won the Serie A Golden Boot at the age of 22
In the 2014-15 season, the young Argentinian went past the likes of Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain to win the Seria A Capocannoniere, better known as the Serie A Golden Boot. At just 22, he shared the honours with 38-year-old Italy veteran Luca Toni who was playing for Verona then.
Mauro scored 22 goals in the league and was one of the few bright lights in the rapidly diminishing Inter Milan. Inter had won five Serie A titles in the row from 2006, culminating in a Champions League triumph in 2010. However, the Argentinian could not help his side qualify for the Champions League, the fourth time in a row that the Italian team could not qualify.
Icardi possesses the talent and skill required to be a top striker at a top club and his exploits with Inter Milan in the last two seasons have shown exactly that.
#3. He married his team-mate’s wife
The Argentinian is known as much for his off-field antics as on it. While playing for Sampdoria, young Icardi befriended fellow Argentinian Maxi Lopez, a former Barcelona player. They were not just a strike partnership at Sampdoria but buddies off the field too.
Therefore, when Icardi stabbed Lopez on the back after revealing that he was having an affair with his wife Wanda Nara, their friendship, obviously, fell apart. Lopez and Wanda, who were married since 2008 decided to break off the relationship owing to Icardi’s interference.
Nara and Lopez split in 2013 and she married Icardi a year later in 2014. In April 2014, Icardi, who now was an Inter player, was refused a handshake by Maxi Lopez when Inter played Sampdoria in a Serie A match. It was reminiscent of the John Terry-Wayne Bridge Saga in England. The press had even dubbed the match as the “Wanda Derby”, which was won by Inter 4-0 with Icardi scoring a brace.
#4. He clashed with Inter fans in 2015
In a Serie A away match against Sassuolo in 2015, Inter were handed a humiliating defeat by the minnows. Icardi was introduced as a second-half substitute with the Nerazzurri trailing by two goals. The Argentine scored one for Inter, but an 83rd-minute penalty by Sassuolo sealed the game.
After the match, many of Inter’s players went near the stands to thank the fans for their support. Icardi, among others, threw their jerseys into the crowd in the process. However, a number of shirts were thrown right back at the players by the disgruntled fans who had witnessed their side’s second successive defeat.
Icardi, in particular, was furious at the act and ranted at the fans in anger. He even had to be held back by captain Andrea Ranocchia as his head went over the boil. Inter boss Roberto Mancini criticised the Argentinian stating that he was wrong. However, he also played down the issue by saying: 'I told him he shouldn't have gone to the stands because it was only to be expected that the fans would be angry.”
#5. As a kid, he did not dream of becoming a footballer
The Argentinian, as a boy, wasn’t very interested in taking up football as a profession. In fact, it was his father who wanted him to play the game. Juan Icardi, Mauro’s father, had his career prematurely cut off and also passed away young. However, he wanted his son to achieve what he couldn’t. Mauro said, in an interview, "He told me many times: 'you must succeed where I failed."
According to his youth coaches, Icardi arrives very early in training and is said to have broken into training facilities because he reached early.
Icardi is a brilliant finisher, recording an impressive 14.5 touches per goal while playing for Sampdoria. Mauro is on his way up in football now with a potential of leading Argentina’s strike-force one day, something his father would definitely want him to be.
