Napoli forward Giovane has revealed that he was surprised to learn he would replace Rasmus Hojlund in the win over AC Milan.
Napoli certainly had a turbulent build-up to the game against Milan as they lost Hojlund just hours before kick-off to a stomach bug. Meanwhile, Romelu Lukaku, David Neres, Antonio Vergara, Amir Rrahmani and Giovanni Di Lorenzo were already known as being absent for the game.
Giovane arrived as a winger but was used as a makeshift striker, though Matteo Politano would be the one to steal the headlines as he got the winner just over 10 minutes from time with a volley at the far post. The game would end 1-0, as Napoli jumped above Milan into second.
‘A great team like Milan’
Speaking after the full-time whistle, the Brazilian forward shed a bit of light on how the build-up to the game went for him, with his words relayed by our colleagues at Football Italia.
“When I arrived at the camp this morning, I couldn’t see Hojlund, because he wasn’t well. Everyone started telling me I ought to get ready, because I might have to play,” he said.
“I am a young guy, I know that I need to improve and learn, and this is a role I have played only a few times. I am happy it went well, I really needed a performance like this against a great team like Milan.
“I had only played there at youth level, but I was ready to help the team. The coach told me to do the counter-movements in the second half, and it did go better.
“I am rather reserved and don’t really like going out much, Juan Jesus tells me I am a weird Brazilian. What I’ve seen of the city is beautiful, it reminds me of Brazil, so I hope to see more of it.”
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