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| | Week 9 Spotlight: The Brazilian touch | Thursday 27 October, 2005 |
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 Player of the Week: Emerson (Juventus)
You could be forgiven for ignoring the importance of Emerson to the present Juventus jigsaw. After all, he has become something of a forgotten man by a few followers given the inspirational form of midfield colleague Patrick Vieira. But the Brazilian underlined exactly how vital he is to Fabio Capello in the 2-0 win over Sampdoria on Wednesday.
Unable to again field Vieira because of injury, Emerson eventually took control of the midfield proceedings against a spirited Sampdoria side - who were looking for a repeat of last season’s win at the Stadio Delle Alpi. And without the spotlight on the Frenchman, the South American reminded everyone why is one of the world’s best.
Emerson, who was allowed to play in a slightly more advanced role by Capello in the absence of the former Arsenal man, gave his side the balance they needed to complete a record breaking ninth consecutive League win since the start of the campaign. He broke up play with his well timed tackles, but also exhibited his undisputed technical ability in a midfield that did get crowded at times.
There is no question that the capture of Emerson from Roma just over a year ago was one of the club’s most astute pieces of business in recent history. He may not always get the headlines that he deserves, but the former Bayer Leverkusen player has a massive impact of the way this Juventus machine notches up results.
He’s a major factor behind why the Old Lady of Italian football have conceded just two goals in nine League matches – despite being forced to use the uncertain Christian Abbiati and Antonio Chimenti in goal so far this term. The 29-year-old provides the perfect filter for a Juventus rearguard, a back-line which has also been without French internationals Jonathan Zebina and Lilian Thuram at times.
It’s little wonder that Capello rates his partnership with Vieira as the top central midfield pairing in world football. And Juve will need Emo at his best on Saturday for the trip to Milan in a game that could effectively already decide the Scudetto by Week 10. To make matters worse for the Rossoneri, guess who is expected to be back alongside him? That’s right, big Pat!
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 Goal of the Week: Francesco Totti (Roma)
Give Francesco Totti a football and watch a genius at work. Love him or hate him, the Roma captain illuminated the San Siro last night with a goal that he can add to his growing collection of great Serie A strikes.
Having picked up the ball around the half-way line, he converged on goal by riding two tackles in the process. With the edge of the box now reached, he had the briefest of glimpses towards the net before cheekily lobbing a surprised Julio Cesar in the 3-2 win.
There was nothing unique about that goal though. Totti has a reputation for perfectly executing such a chip shot. After having the nerve to do it in the Euro 2000 semi-final shoot-out against Holland, he scored in similar fashion against both Lazio and Empoli a few years ago.
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 Number of the Week: 735
The goal that Vincenzo Montella scored for Roma last night, his debut strike of the campaign, was the first Inter have conceded at the San Siro for 735 minutes. The loss was also the club’s third in nine games, remarkable when you consider that Roberto Mancini’s outfit lost just twice in 38 top-flight ties last term. |
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| Words: Antonio Labbate |
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