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| | Spotlight: King Tot |
Monday 28 May, 2007
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| Football Italia rounds up the winners and the losers from Week 38 of the Serie A season |
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The winners…
Francesco Totti (Roma)
The Giallorossi captain scored a brace in the 4-3 win over Messina, bringing his Serie A tally to 26 goals and winning this season’s Capocannoniere title. The two goals also allowed him to remain in the race for the European Golden Boot and only Ruud Van Nistelrooy can now do better than the No 10, as Real Madrid still have two games to play.
Luis Figo (Inter)
The Portuguese winger waved goodbye to the Nerazzurri supporters after two seasons at the San Siro with an impressive performance, after confirming that he will probably move to the Middle East to see out his career with Arabain outfit Al-Ittihad. The former Sporting star converted a penalty scoring his second goal of the season in the 3-0 win over Torino and was given a standing ovation by the Inter fans when he was replaced by Santiago Solari 15 minutes before the final whistle.
Fausto Rossini (Catania)
The striker was sent on to replace Marco Biagianti 10 minutes into the second half of the match with Chievo and the Coach’s decision proved to be decisive, as the substitute scored his second goal of the season, sending the ball behind Lorenzo Squizzi with a header. The match ended with a 2-0 win, which allowed the Sicilian outfit to secure a historic second season in Serie A, while the Flying Donkeys were relegated to Serie B after a six-season spell in the First Division.
The losers…
Erjon Bogdani (Chievo)
The Chievo man failed to impress in the match with Catania, confirming his disappointing end to the season. The player was forced to leave the pitch with a muscular problem and saw his teammates lose against the Sicilians, a defeat which cost the Flying Donkeys their Serie A status.
Ronaldo (Milan)
The Rossonero made a surprise early comeback from a thigh strain and was hoping to end the season with his eighth goal since his January move in the match with Reggina, but was never dangerous and failed to help the San Siro outfit avoid the 2-0 defeat at the Stadio Granillo.
Pietro Accardi (Sampdoria)
The Blucerchiati suffered a humiliating 5-1 hammering by Fiorentina in the final match of the season and Accardi was one of the worst men at the Stadio Franchi. He was unable to control Adrian Mutu before the Romanian’s first goal five minutes into the match and could do nothing seconds before the final whistle, when Reginaldo completed his brace flicking the ball over the hapless defender.
The goals…
Amantino Mancini (Roma)
The Brazilian scored Roma’s second goal in the match against Messina, which ended with a 4-3 win for the Giallorossi. The midfielder’s strike was impressive, as he put just the right amount of strength under the ball to send a precise chip behind the helpless Alessandro Cesaretti, a real Totti-style goal.
Cristiano Lucarelli (Livorno)
The Amaranto captain was probably playing his last match at the Stadio Armando Picchi and bid farewell to his supporters with a brace against Atalanta. The striker broke the deadlock immediately before half-time, gathering a pass from Stefano Morrone and then smashing the ball into the top-right corner of the net after dribbling past his marker. Lucarelli also converted a penalty, bringing his personal tally to 20 Serie A goals this season.
Nicola Amoruso (Reggina)
The Amaranto scored his 17th goal of the season in the 2-0 win against Milan, which allowed the southerners to secure Serie A safety after an impressive campaign, coming back from an 11-point Calciopoli penalty. Amoruso broke the deadlock at the Stadio Granillo with a beautiful goal, starting with his back to the goal before flicking the ball up twice and firing it behind Zeljko Kalac.
The numbers…
Inter add new numbers
The Nerazzurri broke yet another record, ending the season with 97 points, the best result ever in one of Europe’s big Leagues, as Chelsea had stopped at 95 points in the 2004-05 Premiership campaign. The San Siro outfit scored 80 Serie A goals, the best total since 1951-52, when they scored 86 times, still far from the 107 all-time best totalled in the 1950-51 season.
Roma's season
Roma secured their 22nd win in the match with Messina, equalling their personal record which dated back to 1931. The Giallorossi were also the most prolific team this year, scoring 110 goals in 57 matches, the seventh best result ever. Totti, the first Romanista to win the title after Roberto Pruzzo in 1986, was crowned Capocannoniere with 26 goals, the third best total in the last 45 years after Luca Toni last year and Oliver Bierhoff in 1997-98.
Armor-plated Olimpico
Lazio conceded only nine goals in the 19 matches played at the Stadio Olimpico this season, four of which in the matches with Palermo and Inter, equalling the record set by Modena in 1947-48 and Juventus in 2005-06.
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| Words: Lara Mezzanotte |
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Past Spotlights
A unique review of each round of the 2006-07 Serie A campaign. More |
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