SAMPDORIA VETERAN FABIO Quagliarella had an unprecedented season at the age of 36, after much of his earlier career was blighted by a harrowing nightmare involving a stalker.
The striker finished the season as the Serie A top scorer with 26 goals, three better than Atlanta’s Duvan Zapata (23), Krzysztof Piatek, who bagged 22 goals for AC Milan and Genoa.
Last January, Quagliarella equalled Gabriel Batistuta’s mark of scoring in 11 straight games, achieved by the Argentine in 1994.
His bid to overtake the record ended with a 3-0 defeat at his former club Napoli, but his stunning form earned a recall to Roberto Mancini’s Italy after nine years out, becoming the oldest player to score for the national side in March.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s surprise arrival from Real Madrid for €100 million last summer was hailed as the final piece in the jigsaw to bring the Champions League title back to Turin.
The 34-year-old’s presence was not enough to finally end the team’s 23-year Champions League wait, but he played a key role in their run to the Scudetto with a record-equalling five games to spare, leading the way as the team’s top scorer with 21 league goals in 31 games, but missing out on the top scorer crown.
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