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| | Week 25 Spotlight: Class act Kaka | Monday 13 February, 2006 |
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 Player of the Week: Kaka (Milan)
Filippo Inzaghi grabbed the headlines for his hat-trick against Reggina on Sunday, but it is largely thanks to the sublime skill of Kaka that Superpippo took his Serie A goal tally to seven for the season.
Despite the absence of the experienced Clarence Seedorf alongside him in midfield - not to mention a central spine devoid of Andriy Shevchenko and Alessandro Nesta – Kaka took on the responsibility of taking the game to Reggina with a maturity beyond his years.
Milan’s case was not helped by the Amaranto taking an early lead in a game Carlo Ancelotti had described beforehand as a ‘must-win match’. But Kaka responded in style by taking the ball past three players before setting up Inzaghi to equalise just three minutes later.
After Gilardino had made it 2-1, the youngster began a delightful counter-attack on the stroke of half-time which culminated in Inzaghi scoring again, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.
Reggina simply had no answer to the silky South American, who was central to almost every Milan move, and six minutes after the restart his weaving run and cut-back gifted Inzaghi his second.
By now the former Juventus marksman should have already had a hat-trick and the irrepressible Kaka set him up again, after evading a challenge and picking him out at the far post, only to find the one-time Italy regular marginally too slow to make the crucial contact.
The Samba star gave an equally sumptuous display in midweek when the Rossoneri trounced Treviso 5-0 and it is becoming evermore apparent that for Ancelotti’s men to play well, their brilliant Brazilian needs to be on form.
His slump early in the New Year coincided with Milan’s failure to find the net and a particularly poor display in his side’s 1-0 defeat to Roma found the attacking midfielder the subject of heavy criticism for his showing.
It is easy to forget, though, that Kaka is still only 23, given that he is already a World Cup winner and has been a virtual ever-present since arriving from Sao Paulo for just under £5m three seasons ago.
The precocious talent made an immediate impact on Serie A, quickly establishing his place in the first team with his combination of sublime skill, great vision and selfless running, which helped his side to Scudetto success in his first year.
Milan have since fallen behind Fabio Capello’s relentless and more pragmatic Juventus side but, as the 3-1 win over the Bianconeri at the San Siro showed this term, when Kaka is playing both he and his side are irresistible.
“Kaka interprets his role in the hole in his own unique way. He is very dynamic and quick, he covers runs into the area very well,” said Ancelotti last week.
Carletto will be hugely relieved at hearing that his young inspiration wants to remain at Milan for the rest of his career.
“I want to stay with the Rossoneri for my whole life. This is the top club in the world, so to go anywhere else would be a step backwards. I don’t ever want to leave.” |
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Goal of the Week: De Rossi (Roma)
Daniele De Rossi sent Roma on their way to a remarkable ninth League win in a row by breaking the deadlock against Siena in spectacular fashion. Picking the ball up some 30 metres out, he unleashed a speculative long-range stoombanger past Marco Fontin with 20 minutes of the match left. |
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Number of the Week: 120
The number of League goals scored by Filippo Inzaghi. Superpippo is only two behind Milan's Andriy Shevchenko in terms of the number scored in the Italian top flight. Although he has been plying his trade for three seasons more than his Rossoneri teammate, he has spent most of the last two campaigns out with a career-threatening injury. He is the sixth-highest scorer of those players currently serving in Serie A. |
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| Words: Richard Aikman |
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