Strikers firing blanks

Alberto Gilardino, Adriano and Alessandro Del Piero have something in common... they are all going through a dark patch.

Scoring goals used to be a mere formality for these three strikers but, surely, not at this point in time. Their teams are desperate for goals to stay within range of pre-established targets. One question emerges - what are the reasons behind the goal droughts?

Gilardino, who has not scored in nine official appearances for Milan this season, was heralded by many as Andriy Shevchenko's ideal replacement when Milan splashed out millions of Euros to acquire his services from Parma back in the summer of 2005.

However, Gilardino's first stint with Milan was full of ups and downs. The former Piacenza and Verona hit-man never really convinced the sceptics, even though he scored 17 goals in 34 Serie A appearances. However, Marcello Lippi still selected Gilardino in Italy's squad for the World Cup.

Winning the world title in July must have represented a huge achievement for the 24-year-old Gilardino. It was thought that such an accomplishment would have instilled more self-confidence in the player.

Shevchenko left for Chelsea and Milan, instead of replacing the Ukrainian with a big name, decided to promote Gilardino as their main striker alongside Filippo Inzaghi.

That was a huge responsibility on Gilardino's shoulders but, at the same time, it was also an act of confidence in the player.

But, so far, Gilardino has fallen short of expectations. Much more was expected of him, particularly in terms of goals. In his aftermatch comments after Milan's 0-2 home defeat to Palermo, he admitted that Milan's playing system is completely different to the one of Parma.

Many think that in Gilardino's case, the player only needs to break the ice... the talent is all there.

Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is no novice to such circumstances. Back in 1996/97, while at Parma, he kept faith in Hernan Crespo despite the Argentine failing to score goals.

But, backed by the coach's confidence and the support of the team, he soon got going until establishing himself as one of the top marksman on the international scene.

Ancelotti opted to keep faith with Gilardino but Milan's city neighbours Inter have decided to give off-form Adriano a two-month rest and sent him on holiday in Brazil.

At such a premature stage, one cannot tell exactly what will be the outcome from such a risky move.

Inter coach Roberto Mancini defended his club's decision by saying that Adriano has to bear with a lot of pressure. So, for Mancini, it makes eminently good sense to send Adriano on vacation until he rediscovers his form.

There is also an ever-growing possibility that Adriano could be 'parked' somewhere else outside Italy, either in Spain or Brazil until May.

But, what is sure with Adriano is that the player is completely misfiring. He has gained in weight and therefore lost in acceleration. He is not as sharp as he used to be in front of goal and easily blotted out of the game by his direct markers.

Adriano seems unsettled in Milan mainly because he could be unhappy with Inter. To sum it up, he is no longer a trump card at the San Siro.

One feels that this unprecedented move represents Inter's last resort before a final decision is taken whether to part with the player completely or not.

On his part, Del Piero is finding life difficult in the Serie B. After a promising start, he simply cannot score his 200th goal in the Juve colours.

Moreover, Juve's new coach, and a former team-mate of Del Piero back in the late 1990s, Didier Deschamps, is following in his predecessor's footsteps and regularly substituting the Italy player.

Fabio Capello seldom used to play Del Piero as Italy coach Roberto Donadoni did recently against Georgia.

It seems that the more time passes by, the less decisive Del Piero is becoming for Juve and even less for the Azzurri. He was not a key figure behind Juve's successes of late and won the World Cup without playing regularly for Lippi's team.

He will increase his two-goal tally this season, for sure, but doubts will remain on his role in Juventus's bid for a quick return to the Serie A.

Statistics

0 wins for Livorno in three home league meetings with Siena. Last weekend, both sides had their moments. It was definitely a game that could have gone either way. Together with Inter and Milan, Siena are still unbeaten in their away fixtures. Daniele Arrigoni's Livorno are undefeated in their last six outings (three wins and three draws). For the second season running, Messina failed to beat Empoli at their San Filippo stadium. Last term, Empoli beat Messina by three clear goals but on Saturday Gigi Cagni's side had to come from behind twice to salvage a point. Thanks to Sunday's draw, Empoli succeeded in halting their negative run of two straight defeats.

1st win for Catania after five winless games in a row (two draws and three defeats) as the southerners interrupted Lazio's four-match positive streak. Catania were always in the driving seat and their 2-0 lead by the end of the first half testifies their dominance. This was Catania's first home win over Lazio since November 22, 1970 (3-1). UEFA Cup hopefuls Parma returned to winning ways as they edged fellow strugglers Ascoli thanks to a solitary Igor Budan goal. It was a must-win game for both sides but in the end the hosts' determination to interrupt their disappointing run of five straight defeats saw them through. Ascoli, Chievo and Cagliari are still in search of their first win.

2 penalties - both in favour of Atalanta - were awarded by referees last weekend. Cristiano Doni kept his cool and ably converted both spot-kicks to help Atalanta come from the dead and beat his former club Sampdoria by the odd goal in five. So far, Doni has scored three goals. Up to now, all top division sides, with the exception of Torino, Catania, Siena, Fiorentina and Ascoli, have had at least one penalty in favour. Udinese, Milan, Messina, Fiorentina and Lazio did not have a penalty against. Meanwhile, for the first time this season there were no red-carded players last weekend. Bruno Giordano's Messina registered the most marked improvement with respect to last season. As a matter of fact, the southerners have already collected six points more than they had after seven days in 2005/06. The other side of the coin is represented by Chievo... they have nine points less with respect to the same period last year.

3rd straight win for back-to-form Fiorentina who trounced Reggina 3-0 on Sunday. Fiorentina were definitely a cut above their opponents as their fifth success in as many home meetings with Reggina was never in jeopardy. With Sunday's defeat, Reggina confirmed their truly disappointing away record so far... one point in four fixtures. Palermo made history as they conquered Milan's Meazza stadium for the very first time in 20 Serie A visits. Not that Milan played badly, but they were let down yet again by their blunt attack. Eventually, Francesco Guidolin's high-flying Palermo hit twice in the space of 25 minutes to go level on points in first place with Inter.

5th successive draw for Cagliari as the Sardinians were blocked at home by Torino. After a slow-burning first half, Cagliari ventured forward in search of an opener. Cagliari had several chances to break the deadlock, only to be denied by Torino keeper Christian Abbiati. This was the first drawn result between these two sides in Serie A since October 2, 1999 (1-1). One has to go back to September 29, 1991 (1-0) to find Torino's most recent of four wins in 24 Serie A visits to the Sant'Elia stadium. Inter, too, could not go beyond a 0-0 result at Udinese. This was their third draw in their last five visits to the Friuli stadium. An Udinese home win over Inter has been missing since March 23, 2003 (2-1). Inter are the only top division outfit still unbeaten.

9 years had to pass for Atalanta to return to winning ways against Sampdoria at their Atleti Azzurri d'Italia stadium as the Bergamo side came from two goals down to interrupt the Blucerchiati's five-match positive run (one win and four draws). It was definitely the match of the week. Samp built a seemingly assuring lead as they scored twice inside the opening 11 minutes. But Atalanta battled back and succeeded in beating Samp to extend their positive streak to three games (one draw and two straight wins). Roma threw away the opportunity to go first together with Inter and Palermo as they could only settle for a 1-1 home draw with Chievo. For the latter, Luigi Del Neri, a former Roma coach, was making his much-talked-about return. The Verona team have only one win - 1-0 on January 12, 2003 - to show in their six Serie A visits to the capital.

21 goals were scored on the seventh day: 13 coming from the hosts and the remaining eight from the visitors, who managed only one victory. Foreigners contributed with six goals while there were 11 first-half goals. Total number of goals scored so far amount to 166. Neither own goals nor hat-tricks were recorded. Three players - Cristiano Doni (Atalanta), Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria) and Giuseppe Colucci (Catania) - grabbed a brace each. There were no goals by substitutes. Messina's seasoned striker Christian Riganò leads the scorers' list with five goals (one from penalty). Palermo have the most prolific attack with 16 goals in favour. On the other hand, Parma, having conceded 14 goals, have the worst defensive record. With only three goals in favour, struggling Ascoli have the poorest attacking record in the Serie A so far.