Ballon d’Or winner and Ousmane Dembele He was sidelined due to injury, french league I found a new hero.
Joaquín Panichelli, who was largely unknown before joining Strasbourg from Spain’s Deportivo Alavés this summer, has taken Ligue 1 by storm.
The 23-year-old centre-forward has been a vital part of Liam Rosenior’s young side and their strong start to the season. The athletic striker has scored seven goals in eight league games, helping Strasbourg to third place, two points behind leaders Marseille.
The 23-year-old centre-forward has been a vital part of Liam Rosenior’s young side and their strong start to the season. The athletic striker scored seven goals in eight league games and helped Strasbourg to third place, two points behind. The leader is Marseille.
Panichelli, the league’s top scorer, showed off his ability on Friday by scoring twice in a 3-3 draw with European champions Paris Saint-Germain. He had already scored twice in Strasbourg’s 5-0 win over Angers before the international break. Against PSG, he first equalized with a towering header off Ilya Zabarny, then doubled Strasbourg’s lead with a composed finish just after half-time.
“That header was one of the best headers I’ve ever seen live,” Rosenior said after the match. “His performance as a centre-forward tonight was one of the best centre-forward performances I’ve seen live. His goals and the way he scored them were outstanding and he led the line unbelievably.”
Panichelli had a huge impact on Strasbourg’s games, scoring at a rate of one goal every 89 minutes. He appeared in all eight of Strasbourg’s Ligue 1 games, starting seven times and coming on as a substitute once. Comfortable as a lone striker or alongside Emmanuel Emega, he became the first Strasbourg player since Casimir Koza in the 1962-63 season to score seven goals in his opening eight games.
“That doesn’t surprise me because what he does every day in training is to maximize himself,” Rosenior added. “He works very hard and is fun to work with.”
Panichelli joined Strasbourg as part of a major rebuild by Alsatian club Rosenior, who will be owned by Chelsea’s ownership group Bruco from 2023.
The son of a former footballer, Panichelli learned his trade in Argentina, but failed to impress at River Plate and moved to Alaves, where an anterior cruciate ligament injury stalled his development for a while. After recovering, he was loaned to Spanish second-division side Mirandes, where he showed clinical results, scoring over 20 goals and adding eight assists.
He made an immediate impact at Strasbourg, where his contract runs until 2030, scoring on his debut this season.
“He has an incredible mentality,” Rosenior said. “His father is a soccer player and understands what it takes to win. He brings a real winning mentality to this group.”
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