Posted on Thursday, 2nd February 2012 by Richard Hinman

are a side with some great young players. The likes of Rene Khrin, Gaston Ramirez, Federico Casarini and Frederik Sorensen all seem to have a bright future in the game but is it their captain fantastic who is still stealing the headlines.

Marco has played for some of the biggest teams in Europe. Such teams as Juventus, Valencia and Monaco have seen the Rome born striker pull on their kit. Yet he has found his home in the city of Bologna.

Although Bologna are the sixth most successful team in Italian league history with seven scudetti and the same amount of second place finishes they have not enjoyed any major success since winning the Coppa Italia in 1974.  Since then the Rossoblu have spent seasons in Serie B and Serie C1 and recently have not been able to establish themselves are as mid table team in Serie A.

Yet they managed to capture the signing of Di Vaio who despite him being a household name in Italian Football has not fulfilled his potential that was first seen when he played at Parma at the turn of the millennium. Di Vaio got his big money move to Juve in 2002 but failed to shine and with the arrival of Fabio Capello as manager, his days at Juve were over. After unsuccessful periods in Spain and France he returned to Italy. He spent two years at Genoa but he could not cement a starting place and moved to Bologna in the summer of 2008.

He has become a hero to the fans at the Dall’Ara and he is now a talisman for the Rossoblu. This is largely due to his goals contributing to just under half of the side’s overall tally in the league in his three full seasons there. Although he is 35 years old, he still managed 19 Serie A goals last season and 24 goals in the 2008-09 season.

Bologna started the season slowly and the form of Di Vaio was no better. However their form has picked up recently and Di Vaio has started to fire in the goals. Key goals in games against Atalanta, Siena and notably Milan have seen the club move away from the relegation zone. The goal against Milan was one of the best of the season so far showing that pace is not everything. He timed his run perfectly before having the presence of mind to lob the ball over the head of the onrushing Amelia.

This weekend he earned his team a vital point at the Stadio Olimpico against Roma again showing his worth to the side from Emila Romagna. Another cool finish from the one time Lazio player meant that the gap between Bologna and the relegation places is 5 points.

DI Vaio is coming to the end of his career and there seems to be a lack of goal scorers in the Bologna squad to fill the boots of Di Vaio. Robert Acquafresca is another Italian striker who has not fulfilled the promise he showed at a young age and looks unable to put a goal scoring run together in Serie A. Alessandro Diamanti is more of a creative player than a natural goal scorer like Di Vaio.

Therefore Bologna will be looking to replace Di Vaio will another goal scorer. There are many young Italian strikers who may be worth a gamble. The likes of Alberto Paloschi, Federico Macheda, Mattia Destro and Fabio Borini have all shown signs that they could become a proven goal scorer in Serie A if given a long run in a first team and should be the types of players that the Rossoblu should be looking to buy instead of journey man who fail to sustain great form over numerous seasons.

Marco Di Vaio seems set to remain the go to guy for Bologna in their quest to remain a top flight team however when he finally hangs up his boots can Bologna find the right replacement which will ensure their status in Serie A?

 

 

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Richard HinmanAuthor Richard Hinman  (11 Posts)

I have always followed Italian football since a young age, and in particular my team AS Roma and their great players like Totti and De Rossi . I also enjoy watching and writing about all aspects Italian football imparticular about the big issues like Ultras and Racism. You can follow me on twitter @RiccyHinman


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