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| | Week 29 Spotlight: Mickey taking | Monday 13 March, 2006 |
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 Player of the Week: Di Michele (Palermo)
There was never any chance of David Di Michele opting to quietly and respectfully celebrate scoring a goal against his former club on Sunday. So bitter was he with the way he was treated at Udinese that he relished every single second possible in the immediate aftermath of his impressive strike in Palermo’s 2-0 win over the crisis hit Bianconeri.
It’s been a season of two halves for the attacking sensation. He started it with great hopes given that Udinese handed him the platform to not only show his skills at the highest level in Italy, but also in Europe after their historic qualification for the Champions League.
The campaign certainly began brightly for the Stadio Friuli outfit but it didn’t take long for their dream to crumble. Rifts started to develop in the squad as boss Serse Cosmi found it increasingly problematic to keep some of his players happy, with Di Michele and Antonio Di Natale struggling to come to terms with the fact that they were not guaranteed a place in the starting line-up.
To make matters worse, Udinese had by now started their slide down the table and their hopes of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League were dashed in the closing minutes of their 2-0 defeat against Spanish giants Barcelona in their final group game.
Di Michele, who didn’t exactly see eye to eye with Cosmi, wanted out and the January transfer window gave him the opportunity to jump ship. Palermo, who were having problems of their own in attack after the summer departure of Luca Toni, stepped forward to net the player who had been on their wish list for some time.
The former Salernitana star, who has been tested at international level by Marcello Lippi, quickly adapted to life with the Rosanero. And his goal at the weekend, ironically coming after he netted a hat-trick for Udinese in the same fixture last term, interrupted a brief goal drought which had put the brakes on his rejuvenated season in the Sicilian air.
“This is not about revenge though,” insisted Di Michele after the game, one in which he also struck the post after 31 minutes. “I’d not scored for a while and this victory was a group effort. I was just happy to give my contribution to the three points.
“I thought the Udinese goal was cursed for a while because the post and then the goalkeeper kept denying me,” added the man who now has six Serie A goals this term. “However, in the end it all went well for me and the team. People can talk about revenge but I just did my job.”
Di Michele certainly seems to have made the right choice in joining Palermo. Although the win over Udinese was their first victory for three games, the Stadio Renzo Barbera outfit are certainly in better shape than the Friuliani. The latter are now just above the relegation zone given that they are 20 points shy of the tally they had at the same time last season.
Add to that the fact that Palermo chief Maurizio Zamparini only this morning promised to build a team “that will be good enough to fight for the top places” in the League next season and Di Michele’s Udine nightmare may well have been a blessing in disguise.
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Goal of the Week: Di Canio (Lazio)
What goes on in Paolo Di Canio’s head may sometimes be questionable, but give him a ball at his feet and you have to applaud him. The gem of a goal he scored against Reggina on Sunday was class personified as he chipped past Ivan Pelizzoli with a quite delightful touch with the outside of his right foot. What a shame that the majority of his fans, given their protest against President Claudio Lotito, missed it… |
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Number of the Week: 14
Empoli attacker Francesco Tavano scored his 14th goal of the season in Week 29 which equalled two club records. He joins Carmine Esposito for scoring the most goals in one Serie A season, while also matching Antonio Di Natale for netting 18 top-flight goals for the outfit in total. |
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| Words: Antonio Labbate |
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