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From free agent to Champions League hero at 3-1 in Dortmund: the Franco-Ivorian midfielder from Lazio scored on his debut in the competition, like Simone Inzaghi 21 years earlier at 4-0 in Maribor. “I’ve dreamed of such a night since I was a child.” A life in Toulouse, then the move to Salernitana for free in February 2018. Drogba sent him: “He is an example to follow”
PERFECT LAZIO, DORTMUND ANNIENTATED: OBJECTIVES AND HIGHLIGHTS
The last footballer of the Lazio score on your debut in Champions League before him it was the coach who sent him to the field of play during the match against Borussia Dortmund. It was September 1999 and Simone inzaghi He put his signature at 4-0 against Maribor. 21 years later, Jean-Daniel Akpa Apro He rewrote history: in the 67th minute he took the place of Milinkovic-Savic and nine minutes later he responded to Immobile’s invitation, burning Guerreiro in time and beating Hitz with his left. Lazio ahead 3-1, close match and victory in the club’s return to competition 13 years after the last time. A joy shared on Instagram. Photo with arms in the sky and a simple thought so effective: “Special night, first game and first goal in the Champions League. A childhood dream come true“.
Goodbye to Toulouse and pass through Salerno
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That November 6, 2007, when the Lazio beat Werder Bremen 2-1 at the Olympics, Akpa Akpro was 15 years old and played in the youth academy of Toulouse. In the capital of Occitania, the French midfielder with an Ivorian passport played until 2017, collecting 121 games and five goals. He also becomes captain at 23, but a pelvis problem before and the pubalgia then they retain it the following year: just three appearances from March 2016 to June 2017, until the crossing three summers ago. Without a team and with a curriculum similar to that of many teammates, Jean-Daniel begins working with a personal trainer and writes a new chapter in his football history, starting from scratch. Even in Social: the first publication of your account Instagram It is a farewell message to Toulouse, in the 50 photos published on the web -except for rare excursions between personal affections- the ball and Salernitana’s grenade are the constants. February 2018, Serie B calls it: First Approved by the Salerno scored by Claudio Lotito. The first piece of the season in Italy ends with 5 appearances, but already in the second year in Serie B the role of mysterious object takes off, closing with 22 appearances. The 2019/20 season is that of the arrival of Gian Piero Ventura to the bench. Play 31 times, score 2 goals, provide 3 assists and the former coach has no doubts: “For me, he is a Serie A player“.
Lotito and Inzaghi’s trust
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From bet to fixed holder in Salerno. A path that Akpa Akpro dreams of repeating also in Lazio. Curiosity: it seems that among the reasons that fed the claws and the subsequent farewell between Lotito and Ventura was the replacement of Jean-Daniel 20 minutes before the final of the Salernitana-Spezia 1-2, the match on July 31 that closed the doors from the playoffs to Campania. The president of Lazio, sponsor of Akpa Akpro upon his arrival in Italy, believed in him: enough to bring him on Simone Inzaghi’s squad. Also in Rome, Akpa was greeted with slight skepticism. Chose the number 92, the one of his year of birth, and he responded in his own way: running, commitment and silence. “In France I played forward, central, everywhere, I am available“It had been his calling card. He had his chance and he took advantage of it. Inzaghi appreciated his qualities in retirement and made him the first alternative in the midfield to Milinkovic-Savic. In four league games he has entered three times during his career in course. “A boy who deserved only this shirt – the biaancoceleste ds defined him Tara of Igli -. The camp spoke for him. “
Ginevra and friend Drogba
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That the Champions League could be special for Akpa Akpro could be understood by one detail: the to draw of the Champions League groups in Geneva had seen the protagonist Didier Drogba, Jean-Daniel’s former partner in the Ivory Coast at the 2014 World Cup. The former Chelsea striker has never hidden his human esteem for the midfielder in Lazio today: “You are a role model – I had defined it – for those who think they have no chance, the courage, wisdom and faith that always lead to success. “A friendship born six years ago in Brazil:” I saw him at the World Cup, I spoke with him – the story of Akpa Akpro – and He said he was a real man because when I’m on the field I want to give everything for the team. From there we became friends ”. And the following year Akpa, with Gervinho, Kalou and Kolo Touré, also won the Africa Cup in Equatorial Guinea.
Football as a family business
The business card signed by Didier Drogba makes a resume for those, like Akpa Akpro, who come from a family where football is a constant presence. His older brothers Jean-Louis (35) and Jean-Jacques (32) they played in England and in the French lower leagues. Jean-Daniel has gone the furthest of all and does not want to stop his now travel, started from the outskirts of Toulouse, went through the Italian Serie B and reached the jingle of the club’s top European competition. From free agent to cup hero. Now he is no longer “just” a Serie A player.
