In Roma’s 3-2 win over Genoa on Sunday, a match that will forever be remembered as Francesco Totti’s final game for the Serie A giants, striker Edin Dzeko netted his 29th goal of the season, becoming the first Roma player to reach the figure since Rodolfo Volk in the 1930/31 campaign. It also guaranteed Dzeko won the Capoconnoniere this term as the Bosnian enjoyed his most prolific season to date.
Having netted just eight league goals last term, Dzeko was a man on a mission under Luciano Spalletti this time round as Roma netted 90 goals this season. His goalscoring exploits earned him a WhoScored.com rating of 7.85 and a place in our European team of season as he spearheaded the Giallorossi attack with ruthless efficiency.
The capital side were unfortunate not to earn domestic success as they were pipped to the title by Juventus by just four points, but that isn’t to take away anything from Dzeko’s performances. The 31-year-old won the third most WhoScored.com man of the match awards (11) in Europe’s top five leagues this term and mustered the most shots on target (81) on the continent.
An on target conversion rate of 35.8% was indeed a respectable return for the former Manchester City striker. On top of that, Dzeko proved to be the ideal target man for Roma as he won 139 aerial duels over the course of the campaign, the 23rd best return in Europe, as the experienced frontman provided the necessary direct attacking threat when required.
With nine assists to his name also, Dzeko was an all-round striking sensation in Italy having faced a barage of criticism in his debut campaign in the capital. Roma are in a comfortable position to enable them to retain his services also, so interest in his signature is unlikely to be high over the summer, which is a boost ahead of another summer of rebuilding.
After such an astounding season at the Stadio Olimpico, the next Roma manager would be wise to build his attack around Dzeko, much like Spalletti. If his goal return and performances this season were anything to go by, then Roma stand a much better chance of upsetting the odds in Serie A if the striker has the ideal support in the right setup.
