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NAPLES, ITALY – APRIL 06: Giovane of SSC Napoli battles for possession with Luka Modric of AC Milan during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and AC Milan at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on April 06, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
Giovane reveals his shock when discovering this morning he ‘might have to start’ in a new role for Napoli against Milan, as Rasmus Hojlund had a virus.
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This was a Scudetto showdown to see who would go into the final seven rounds as genuine challengers to leaders Inter.
It was a rough situation for the Partenopei, who lost Hojlund just hours before kick-off to a stomach bug, with Romelu Lukaku, David Neres, Antonio Vergara, Amir Rrahmani and Giovanni Di Lorenzo already injured.
Giovane was used as a makeshift centre-forward, but Politano came off the bench to meet the poor Koni De Winter header at the back post, scoring the winning goal.
Giovane had no time to prepare new role
Reports started to filter through in the afternoon that Hojlund was not in good shape, but it wasn’t much earlier that Napoli found out either.
“When I arrived at the camp this morning, I couldn’t see Hojlund, because he wasn’t well,” Giovane told DAZN Italia.
“Everyone started telling me I ought to get ready, because I might have to play. I am a young guy, I know that I need to improve and learn, and this is a role I have played only a few times.
“I am happy it went well, I really needed a performance like this against a great team like Milan.”
Giovane joined Napoli in January from Hellas Verona, but was always used as a winger and not a centre-forward.
“I had only played there at youth level, but I was ready to help the team. The coach told me to do the counter-movements in the second half, and it did go better.”
Having arrived a few months ago, the Brazilian is yet to fully discover the joys of living in Naples.
“I am rather reserved and don’t really like going out much, Juan Jesus tells me I am a weird Brazilian. What I’ve seen of the city is beautiful, it reminds me of Brazil, so I hope to see more of it.”
