Ever since Helenio Herrera introduced the idea of Catennacio to Italian football back in the 1960’s, the resultant miserly defending means to judge the merits of any Serie A forward purely on their goals-per-game ratio would be nothing more than an act of folly. For to do so would tarnish too many a reputation, thoroughly dismissing a host of world-class quality players who have plied their trade in Italy’s top division over the last few years.
Take, for instance, Dennis Bergkamp: the Dutch master managed a mere one goal every five games over a couple of seasons at the San Siro with Inter Milan. Statistically, his future Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry was even poorer in comparison; a goal for every six outings in the black and white of Juventus was all the Frenchman could muster before Arsene Wenger came to the rescue. Nor is this problem exclusively the domain of pricy foreign imports to the Italian game; one of the most obvious cases for us Premiership followers would be West Ham legend Paolo Di Canio. Before landing on these shores, the temperamental genius turned out for a total of four Serie A clubs, and over a playing period of eight seasons, plundered one goal every seven games.
Suffice to say then, that with a scoring record of eight goals in fifty six Serie A appearances, the Hammer’s latest acquisition, Luis Jimenez is in good company. Like Di Canio, the Chilean -having been on the books at Fiorentina, Lazio and Inter- comes with a résumé that can’t fail to impress and, at the age of twenty five, arrives in England with a wealth of experience behind him, having played in Italy’s top two leagues since the age of eighteen.
Although the six-foot attacking midfielder has been on the West Ham radar long before Gianfranco Zola’s tenure began, it was a personal phone call from the little Italian this pre-season that convinced him of a move to West London:
“He will give us something extra, especially in the last thirty metres…He is one of those players that has the qualities West Ham supporters like and I think he will fit very well into our team,” Zola says of the man dubbed ‘The Wizard’. “We are trying to spot what our weaknesses are. Certainly we need to improve up front and that is the majority of the job. I am sure he will settle well into the Premier League and we will do our best to welcome him and make him feel at home.”
With such a glowing commendation, it’s apparent that the Chilean is not here as a bench-warmer; certainly, Zola’s first-hand experience of top-flight football both in England and Italy suggests there is no-one better placed to judge the player’s adaptability.
Despite finishing ninth in last season’s Premiership, more firepower up front is an absolute pre-requisite at Upton Park this coming campaign; for as much as Zola and assistant Steve Clarke brought about a pleasing change to West Ham’s style of football, the Hammers averaged just one goal per league game under the guidance of the two ex-Chelsea stars. If the club’s recent friendlies are anything to go by, however, Jimenez, who is more than capable with both feet, will be chief free-kick and corner-kick taker this season, meaning his chances of assists will be perhaps greater than any in claret and blue as the team look to find the net more frequently.
With the top eight Premiership places pretty much pre-ordained this year in most people’s eyes -the only real question being the finishing order- a repeat of last year’s finish would see West Ham being the best of the rest, as it were. Bearing that in mind, Jimenez (at 5.0 in the FPL game, 4.1m in the Telegraph) must be worth consideration for us fantasy footy managers. Despite featuring wide right of a front three in a couple of pre-season fixtures, he is expected to play in the hole behind a lone front man (at present, this would be Carlton Cole) come the start of the new season. Indeed, one only need look at Cole’s improvement under Zola as an indication of how the little Italian can bring the best out of his forward players.
On loan this season with an option for the club to buy, Jimenez will be eager to justify the manager’s undoubted faith in his ability and seal a move to The Hammers on a permanent basis. Perhaps to follow in the footsteps of Di Canio (whose stats improved to one goal every three games over here) is too big an ask, but if The Wizard’s on-the-pitch performances are as unforgettable as his, ahem, calendar photo-shoots, one thing’s for certain: expect a season to remember, folks.