Who impressed enough in Round 23 to make it into the Football Italia Team of the Week?
Roberto Colombo [Bologna] Kept a clean sheet with significant deflections, parries and saves. In particular smothered an attempt by Huntelaar by bravely diving at his feet. Minutes later he pulled off a fabulous double save from Mancini and at the end stopped a powerful strike from Borriello. Busy.
Douglas Maicon [Inter] Another top-notch performance and had enough time and space to act as a winger for most of the game. Always a threat with a series of crosses, his accuracy was rewarded as he set up Samuel’s goal from a corner. Persistent.
Daniele Portanova [Bologna] The former Siena defender made several important defensive headers and clearances, kept the Milan forwards at bay and hardly put a foot wrong. He was everywhere, making especially crucial blocks on Borriello and one in particular from Abate. Organised.
Walter Samuel [Inter] Didn’t have much to do but was clean and efficient when he had to. He was superb at Maicon’s corner, when he out jumped Canini to head the ball past ‘keeper Agazzi into the top corner. Methodical.
Javier Zanetti [Inter] Always amazes with his energy and commitment. It was his dash down the field on a counter that saw the ball unexpectedly land at Pandev’s feet for him to convert for the first goal. Timeless.
Antonio Filippini [Livorno] The veteran midfielder may have been the smallest on the pitch but he leapt above Grosso to power home an excellent header. He never stopped running, fought for everything and almost scored a second. Insistent.
Javier Pastore [Palermo] Showed his full repertoire and was a continuous threat. Came close on several occasions as he weaved through the Parma defence. Combined well with Cavani and was part of the build up that saw him score. Tricky.
Jaime Valdes [Atalanta] The Chilean midfielder was always ready to exploit any mistakes and proved menacing on the counter attack. One right foot strike skimmed the post while another flew just over the bar. Aggressive.
Goran Pandev [Inter] The Macedonian played a little deeper without Sneijder and confused Cagliari by alternating as a pure striker. Wherever he played he was a menace, scoring the first goal and setting up Milito for Inter’s third. Virtuoso.
Antonio Di Natale [Udinese] The hat-trick hero showed utter confidence as he scored his first goal from a follow up to his missed penalty. His second was pure class, while his third from an angled strike certainly capped a match winning performance. Unstoppable.
Nicola Pozzi [Sampdoria] In only his third start he scored his second goal after exploiting Pratali’s mistake and then bypassing Curci with ease. With Cassano out he has stood up to the plate and could have had another. Resolute.
