Super Eagles striker Akor Adams is set to feature for Venezia in their clash against Atalanta tomorrow, but the club’s coach Giovanni Stroppa has hinted that the Nigerian could have a different role against La Dea.
Adams was involved in a disagreement with teammate John Yeboah over who should take a spot-kick during Venezia’s 2-0 loss to Lazio in September.
The former Sevilla striker was eager to take responsibility after Venezia were awarded a penalty, but Stroppa intervened and chose Yeboah, who missed the spot-kick.
As expected, the decision didn’t go down well, and it raised questions about where Akor Adams stands in the club’s penalty-taking hierarchy.
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Akor Adams: Stroppa speaks Venezia’s penalty-taking plans
Speaking ahead of Venezia’s trip to Bergamo, Stroppa clarified that Adams wasn’t the club’s first-choice penalty taker.
“The hierarchy would have been Busio first, followed by Yeboah and Akor Adams,” the Italian tactician said in quotes revealed by TuttoVenezia Sport.
However, the situation changed after what happened against Lazio last month, and Stroppa hinted that the club would take a more flexible approach when deciding who should take spot-kicks.
“Now, with Akor and John, who you saw score a penalty for his national team, although I would have preferred the opposite with the one taken against Lazio,” Stroppa said with a smile.
“They will decide on the pitch or, in any case, we will decide before the match, considering what happened previously.”
The coach’s comments suggest that Adams could have another opportunity to take penalties, although he stopped short of naming the Super Eagles forward as Venezia’s new first-choice taker.
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Stroppa looking forward to Venezia response
Despite Yeboah’s miss against Lazio, Stroppa insisted that the team’s response to the setback was a positive aspect of the performance.
The Venezia coach explained that his players did not lose their identity after the goalkeeper saved the penalty; instead, they created more chances to score a goal.
“Penalties can be missed when you take them,” the 58-year-old said.
“The good thing I think is important to emphasise is that, when Lazio’s goalkeeper made the save, the team did not lose its identity but, instead, created chances one after another,” the former Cremonese coach concluded.
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Akor Adams will be hoping he gets called on to take a spot kick if Venezia get a chance from the penalty spot at the New Balance Arena tomorrow.
The former Montpellier striker was amongst the goalscorers in Nigeria’s 3-3 draw against Russia last week, scoring a dramatic 94th-minute goal to pull the three-time African Champions level, thanks to a key pass from Abdullahi Umar.
He’ll be hoping the confidence from the goal translates into numbers at club level, where he’s struggled this season. Since becoming Venezia’s record signing, Adams has scored just one league goal for Venezia in 413 minutes.
