Serie A special: Capocannoniere candidate – Luca Toni
Luca Toni is an Italian World Cup winning striker currently playing for CFC Genoa. Unlike many, Toni was not lucky enough to have started his career with a top tier club. Indeed, he started his career from modest surroundings at Modena FC in 1994. The club
played in the Serie B back then.
The striker spent a majority of his time in Serie C1 and Serie B before playing for the first time in Serie A with Vicenza Calcio in the 2000/01 season. He moved to Brescia Calcio the next season where he paired up with legendary striker Roberto Baggio for
the next two seasons. The divine pony tails influence seemed to have rubbed off on the striker as Toni started banging in goals after that, much to the surprise fans and pundits alike.
Toni’s scoring form started off with Palermo with whom he managed to earn promotion to Serie A. In two seasons with Palermo, Toni scored 50 league goals in 80 appearances. The scintillating form earned him a move to Fiorentina in the next season. His departure
was taken as an act of betrayal by his fans for they had learned to adore the forward. Toni was the tormentor of every Serie A defence during his time in Florence. In only his first season there, Toni scored an astonishing 31 goals. The 30 league goal mark
was broken in the Serie A for the first time in five decades. Toni won the Capocannoniere award for the 2005/06 season with chasing pack left in his trail. In the two seasons in Florence, the ‘Bomber’, as fans had started calling him by now, scored 47 goals
in 67 appearances.
His form earned him a move to Continental giants Bayern Munich where he hit the ground running. Toni formed a stunning partnership with equally prolific Miroslav
Klose. Toni finished his first season in Germany with a fantastic tally of 24 goals. In the following season, he scored another 14 league goals but by this time, his frosty relationship with the club coach Louis Van Gaal had hit the bottom.
Toni was loaned out to AS Roma in the January of 2010. At Roma, he scored 5 vital goals during the club’s Scudetto fight. CFC Genoa singed the striker at the start of the current season, offering him 4 million Euros on an annual basis. Many think the striker’s
best years are history but such a glamorous wage offer begs to differ as the striker might still have some years of quality football left in him. From his 2003 season to date, the lanky forward has scored an astonishing 141 appearances in just 224 appearances.
The statistic means the Bomber has scored 2 league goals in every 3 matches for the past seven years, a breathtaking record indeed.
Following Genoa’s superb transfer campaign, the club has a wealth of quality assist makers at its disposal. Toni will relish the presence of Rafinha in particular who is often deadly with his crosses. Even on his rare off days, the beastly strength of Toni
makes him a constant thorn in the opposition defences. Playing as a centre forward in an attacking 3-4-3 formation, Toni will receive plenty of service.
Toni’s record in the Serie A speaks for itself and the forward has already opened his account for the season. His rise to stardom against all odds is one for the storybooks. It would be a folly betting against a goal scoring return of the forward. Provided
that he manages to stay fit for the entire season, Toni will be one of the top runners for the Capocannoniere award towards the end of the season.
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