‘El Toro’ Lautaro leads Inter Milan’s bull run Premium

Lautaro Martinez, Inter's star forward, excels both on and off the field, displaying exceptional concentration and goal-scoring prowess.

When Lautaro Martinez arrived at the famous Racing Club in Avellaneda, a port city in the Buenos Aires province, he was a homesick teenager. He missed his family back in Bahia Blanca, where he had grown up next to the Villa Mitre stadium, and wanted to return home. 

But his determination to succeed was evident even back then — Racing’s psychologist Cecilia Contarino found that young Lautaro performed exceptionally well in the psychological evaluation, topping the football club’s entire roster in the concentration tests. 

“Usually boys start well and then drop off or vice versa but Lautaro maintained his concentration perfectly,” Contarino told Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo. “I asked him things and he replied as if nothing disturbed him. He got 98 out of 100. The normal score is between 50 and 70. Over time I got to know Lautaro... He is a brilliant boy. He is orderly, intelligent and professional.”

These traits are in evidence all these years later in a different continent, with the “brilliant boy” finding a second home in Milan and lighting up the black-and-blue section of the global city. Since moving to Internazionale, Lautaro has been one of the world’s leading forwards: he has scored at least 20 goals in four of his six seasons at the club (all competitions), with 19 in another.

Lautaro has been especially lethal since winning the World Cup with Argentina in December 2022. This season, the 26-year-old has already scored 18 goals in 18 Serie A appearances, leading the Capocannoniere race by a large distance; the next best is Olivier Giroud’s 10.

Lautaro’s goal-rich form and talent for associative attacking play have powered Inter to the top of Serie A in 2023-24. He scored a brace in the convincing 5-1 win at neighbouring Monza in last weekend’s fixture, ensuring the Nerazzurri stayed well clear of second-placed Juventus. 

Inter is the favourite at the season’s half-way mark to reclaim a league crown last won in 2021 which many fans believe should have been retained in 2022 when it took AC Milan to the final day of the season. After that battle of Italy’s economic capital and Napoli’s heartwarming triumph in 2023, Inter is currently challenged by Juventus, traditionally its fiercest rival.