Romelu Lukaku is currently plying his trade in the Italian top flight, Serie A, where he is enjoying a terrific start to the season. It is the third club he has joined in the country after spells at Inter Milan and AS Roma in the recent past, while it is for a second time that he is working under Antonio Conte, with whom he enjoyed a terrific couple of years while at Internazionale.
Lukaku was one of the Premier League’s most prodigious youngsters at one point in time. He was a deadly striker when playing for the likes of West Brom and Everton, but lucrative transfers to Chelsea and Manchester United did not exactly go the way he would have liked them to.
The Belgian international was the subject of widespread criticism from fans as well as pundits, some of which was perhaps unfair and certainly contributed detrimentally towards his form.
He recently opened up on Belgium-based Friends of Sports podcast regarding the flack he faced whilst in the Premier League and pointed out that his poor first touch was among the things he was lambasted for on a number of occasions.
One of the members present in the podcast, who was not on camera, blurted out the word “Timberland” when Lukaku mentioned his first touch.
For those wondering about the context behind the word, which several Twitter users took note of and had a laugh at, Lukaku was trolled for his first touch whilst in the Premier League with an analogy that he wore jeans and Timberland shoes while playing football.
Timberland is a brand that makes shoes usually for mountaineering, biking and trekking. Though trendy and fit for multiple purposes, playing football is the last thing one would be able to do wearing those shoes considering their rugged and thick finish. It would be a Herculean task to be able to play football in Timberlands, or specifically control the ball with a first touch, something Lukaku was trolled for.
From a footballing or technical perspective, criticism towards Lukaku is unfair and has visibly played a role in his confidence.
A player does not rise to prominence overnight by switching leagues and it is perhaps a fair conclusion if one says that tactical setups at Manchester United or Chelsea were not the most conducive for his success.
Under managers like Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Thomas Tuchel, teams would play solid defensively but offensively gameplay would be very fluid on the counter attack.
Lukaku did not struggle with pace, but his hold-up play was severely impacted and he had barely any time to make the most of the ball.
That has not been the case in Italy, where he has flourished for not one, not two but three different clubs, with coaches who have known to get the best out of him. The relatively slow pace of the game in Serie A has only helped the 31-year-old live up to his strengths and admittedly mitigating his weaknesses.
The Timberland reference started as a joke on social media but has been escalated to an untenable extent, further proof of which is a podcast host of all people trying to banter the forward.
Lukaku will remain as one of the most misunderstood footballers of all time and those who have watched him since his younger days will hope he enjoys all the success in the world in conditions best suited to him, like in Italy.
