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| | Week 26 Spotlight: Simple Simone | Monday 20 February, 2006 |
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 Player of the Week: Perrotta (Roma)
Slowly but surely he is beginning to get noticed again and, as with his goal against Empoli on Sunday, it looks as though Simone Perrotta has timed his run to perfection.
There is no question that the ankle injury suffered by Francesco Totti is a devastating blow that has overshadowed yesterday’s historic win for Roma, but while the Giallorossi captain’s World Cup prospects hang in the balance, Perrotta is looking increasingly likely to be on the plane to Germany with Marcello Lippi’s Azzurri squad in June.
Perrotta’s goal on Sunday was straightforward enough and largely a result of a bad error by Empoli goalkeeper Cristian Cejas - who gave him the ball six yards out - but the fact that he was in the right place at the right time will not have been lost on Lippi.
The Italy boss knows the importance of a having an in-form defensive midfielder in tournament football, and Perrotta provides the added incentive of having played at the European Championships in 2004.
The 28-year-old is one of Roma’s unsung heroes. While Totti and Amantino Mancini have been receiving all the plaudits for their silky skills and attacking prowess - and rightly so - Perrotta has been doing much of the thankless dirty work, helping shield a Giallorossi defence that has kept seven clean sheets during their 10-match sequence of victories.
He keeps the game simple, tackling, passing and running relentlessly. Moreover, the combative midfielder, who has played in 24 of Roma’s 26 Serie A matches this season, has also begun to weigh in with his share of goals. An ever-present in his side’s winning run, he has scored three goals in four matches, as he begins to reap the rewards of Coach Luciano Spalletti’s policy of pushing him forward in support of counter-attacks.
Without the talismanic Totti in the side for the Rome derby on Sunday, Spalletti will be relying on Perrotta’s leadership qualities to help the Giallorossi to an unrivalled 11 straight Serie A wins. No doubt Lippi will also be monitoring events closely. Don’t be surprised if Simone simply scores again.
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Goal of the Week: Bojinov (Fiorentina)
Unfortunately for Valeri Bojinov and his Fiorentina side, the goal he scored eight minutes after coming on wasn't enough to prevent only their second home defeat of the season, however, it was one of the goals of the season. Luca Toni guided Manuel Pasqual's long ball into his path and the Bulgarian unleashed an unstoppable right-foot volley from distance into the top corner, leaving Angelo Peruzzi absolutely helpless. |
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Number of the Week: 10
The number of consecutive Serie A matches won by Roma. The Giallorossi equalled the record last set by Bologna in the 1963-64 season and also shared by the Juventus side of 1931-32 and the 1950-51 Milan outfit. On Sunday they will be bidding to make the record their own with 11 straight League wins. |
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| Words: Richard Aikman |
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