Manolo Gabbiadini's rapturous welcome at Napoli seemed a world away on Monday as the hapless forward contemplated a suspension to add to his recent woes after his red card in the 2-1 win at Crotone.
Largely confined to a substitutes' role last season when he scored nine goals in all competitions, Gabbiadini was handed an unexpected chance for a starting place when first choice forward Arkadiusz Milik suffered a knee injury while playing for Poland.
But it has all gone wrong for the 24-year-old, who was greeted by hundreds of fans amid chaotic scenes at Naples airport when he arrived from Sampdoria in January 2015 for a fee of 12 million euros ($13.06 million).
Gabbiadini, who has won six caps for Italy, has had three attempts in the last week to stake his claim for a place in the team.
The first ended amid jeers when he was hauled off after an hour following a lame display in the 3-1 defeat by AS Roma.
He was agonisingly close to redemption against Besiktas last Wednesday when, having equalised with a penalty, he had the ball in the net with an overhead kick, only to see his celebration cruelly cut short by the linesman's flag.
Besiktas added insult to injury by grabbing a late goal for a 3-2 win.
On Sunday, his frustration boiled over during what should have been a routine match at basement club Crotone.
With half an hour gone and Napoli leading 1-0, Gabbiadini was fouled by Gian Marco Ferrari and aimed at wild kick at his opponent, earning a straight red card.
"I was afraid he could have hurt me with that tackle. I'm sorry, I lost my head," said Gabbiadini
He must now sit out Wednesday's home game against Empoli and could also miss the match at Juventus on Saturday if the disciplinary committee opt for more than the automatic one-match ban.
Coach Maurizio Sarri said that Gabbiadini just needed to clear his head and control his nerves.
"Manolo is a little introverted and likes to keep himself to himself and it doesn't help when he's the centre of attention," he said after the win which kept Napoli in fourth place, four points behind leaders Juventus.
"I'm always being asked questions about Gabbiadini, some of which have no basis as all.
"Manolo just needs to keep his cool and concentrate on his game, he is a strong player and he is just being rotated like everyone else.
"We consider him to be an excellent player and step by step he will get the rewards that he and we deserve," he added. "If I get another question about Gabbiadini I will not answer, as much for his peace of mind as anything else."
"He made a mistake and we all paid the consequences."
Inter Milan coach Frank de Boer does not know if he will still be in charge when they face Torino on Wednesday, he said after his team suffered their third league defeat in a row by losing 2-1 at Atalanta on Sunday.
The Dutchman, who has no previous experience of either playing or coaching in Italy, was appointed two weeks before the start of the season to replace Roberto Mancini who left the club by mutual consent.
Inter have won four and lost six of their 12 competitive matches in Serie A and the Europa League under his leadership and have slipped to 14th in Serie A.
"I don't know if I will still be here on Wednesday, all I can do is work hard," said De Boer, who is Inter's eighth coach since Jose Mourinho left after winning a Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League treble in 2010.
"It's always difficult when you lose three matches in a row but I know that we can improve a lot and we saw that in the second half.
"It's a difficult time for everyone, and for me in particular, but the only thing I can do is to continue to work hard," he added. "I still feel that the club has faith in me."
Inter, enduring their fifth season without Champions League football, were sunk by an 88th-minute penalty converted by Mauricio Pinilla, although Mauro Icardi had a goal disallowed in stoppage time for a foul on Atalanta goalkeeper Etrit Berisha.
"When things are going against you, you don't get any luck with the referees either. I saw from the bench that Icardi did not commit the foul, he was pushed by the Atalanta defender," added De Boer.
"It's always difficult to win here in Bergamo but we gifted them the first half. It wasn't my Inter."
Chinese electronics retailer Suning Commerce Group Co Ltd bought nearly 70 percent of Inter for 270 million euros ($293.81 million) in June, less than three years after the club had been sold to a consortium led by Indonesian business tycoon Erick Thohir.
Inter have said that Thohir will remain as president.
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