<p>While we’re all extremely focused on the race for the scudetto and fourth place, there’s another entertaining battle taking place in Italy, the race for the Golden Boot. It’s interesting to break down the top scorers in the Serie A, and see the way they influence their team’s table position.  Here are the current top 10 scorers of the Serie A:</p>
<div style="float: right;margin-left: 5px"><a href="http://view.picapp.com/default.aspx?term=Bari&amp;iid=7646981" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/6/f/7/2/FC_Bologna_vs_020d.jpg?adImageId=12794885&amp;imageId=7646981" border="0" alt="FC Bologna vs AS Bari" width="234" height="351"></figure></div></a></div>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th> Player</th>
<th> Team</th>
<th> Goals</th>
<th></th>
<th></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Di Natale</td>
<td>Udinese</td>
<td>26</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Milito</td>
<td>Inter</td>
<td>20</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Miccoli</td>
<td>Palermo</td>
<td>18</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Pazzini</td>
<td>Sampdoria</td>
<td>17</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Gilardino</td>
<td>Fiorentina</td>
<td>15</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Borriello</td>
<td>Milan</td>
<td>14</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Vucinic</td>
<td>Roma</td>
<td>13</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Matri</td>
<td>Cagliari</td>
<td>13</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Barreto</td>
<td>Bari</td>
<td>13</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hamšík</td>
<td>Napoli</td>
<td>12</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Let’s take a look at the 9th placed player, <strong>Barreto</strong> from Bari. The 24 year-old Brazilian is full of experience, a short quick striker who has played in prestigious tournaments like the UEFA Cup is making his mark on the Serie A. Helping keep Bari up and out of the relegation zone, he’s an expert penalty taker and a cool finisher. But what should interest you the most is that he’s actually on loan to Bari from Udinese who also hold the current top scorer in the Serie A, <strong>Di Natale</strong>. It’s interesting to see how Di Natale has dragged Udinese into mid-table mediocrity with an astounding total of 26 goals. The Italian striker has really bloomed now that Quagliarella has left, and if Udinese were to bring back Barreto into the squad for next season, we could see a devastating strike partnership.</p>
<p>In second we find <strong>Diego Milito</strong> with 20 goals, the Argentinean is well known for being a versatile and extremely prolific goal-scorer, wherever he goes. His least prolific season was his first, when he scored 12 goals in 20 appearances for Genoa in the 2003/2004 season, and that’s not bad at all. From then on he’s moved to score plenty of goals, and could break his record this season with another goal in any competition, which would put him at 27 in all competitions and 21 in the Serie A.</p>
<p>At the very bottom of the list we find a young Slovakian midfielder at 12 goals, more than anyone else at his club, Napoli. <strong>Marek Hamsik</strong>, similar to Di Natale, is dragging Napoli into a Europa League spot, and the second-highest scorer at Napoli is Fabio Quagliarella, currently at 9 goals. It’s astounding to see how Hamsik is supporting this team by scoring 25% of Napoli’s goals and assisting 5 more, it certainly looks like he’ll be snapped up by a bigger club this summer.</p>
<p>It’s truly interesting to see how the top scorers of the league carry and affect their team in so many different ways, as the race for the golden boot continues on.</p>


A look at the Golden Boot

A look at the Golden Boot - World Soccer Talk

<div id="attachment_1702" style="width: 330px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1702" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-1702 " src="/files/2009/10/mazzarri_donadoni-400x300.jpg" alt="New coach Walter Mazzarri (left), and ex coach Roberto Donadoni (right)" width="320" height="240"></figure></div><p id="caption-attachment-1702" class="wp-caption-text">New coach Walter Mazzarri (left), and ex coach Roberto Donadoni (right)</p></div>
<p>After Napoli’s disappointing start to the season, president Aurelio De Laurentis has decided to “dismiss” Roberto Donadoni as head coach, and has now hired Walter Mazzarri.</p>
<p>Napoli were looking forward to a successful season, with new signings such as Quagliarella, De Sanctis, and Cigarini. Napoli looked ready to shine with a team of young talent including Lavezzi, Santacroce, and Hamsik. Since the beginning of the Serie A Napoli has won two, drawn one, and lost four, leaving them tied for 14th place with Cagliari. Not only this, they also have not had a positive result away from home all season, every away game was a loss, showing the team’s dependance on the home ground.</p>
<p>After the departure of Napoli’s Sporting Director Pierpaolo Marino, Donadoni’s future looked in doubt, De Laurentis just needed to find the right replacement, and Mazzarri might be the right choice. Having already coached Reggina and Sampdoria, the Italian coach is probably best known for taking Sampdoria into the top tier of Italian football, and changing Antonio Cassano back into one of the world’s greatest players.</p>
<p>Back when Edoardo Reja was the coach at Napoli, they played with a successful and revolutionizing 3-5-2, bringing Napoli from Serie C1 up to Serie A. And during his five years at Napoli, Edoardo Reja was able to bring what was once a deteriorating squad into Europe. After Reja was kicked out and Donadoni was brought in, results did not improve. Donadoni tried to change playing style to a 4-3-3, then a 4-4-2, and after tried to go back to Reja’s 3-5-2, all he achieved was confusion between the players. Mazzarri at Sampdoria was able to play a tidy 3-5-2, maybe bringing back the original system in a clean and simple way, could be what this team needs to start popping in the goals.</p>
<p>So could Mazzarri change this team for the better? The talent is there, and the players are young and ready to learn, all they need is some guidance, guidance that Mazzarri could provide just like he did for Cassano. And if he were able to get this team to start playing beautiful football soon, the birth of some new stars could be imminent. Players like Lavezzi, the Argentinean often compared to Maradona and Messi, Hamsik, the Slovakian midfielder with a talent for running the midfield and scoring goals, and Santacroce, the Italian defender who seals up the back line, could all lead Napoli into a new era. Hopefully Mazzarri can revitalize this team, and bring back a powerful side in Italian football.</p>
<p><em>Do you think Mazzarri can lead Napoli succesfully? Comment below!</em></p>


Mazzarri takes on Napoli job

Mazzarri takes on Napoli job - World Soccer Talk

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A look at the Golden Boot

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Mazzarri takes on Napoli job