Vieri chase loses steam

By Luke Williams

Internazionale FC forward Christian Vieri's prolific form this season has caused many fans in Italy to speculate whether he might be the man to finally break one of Serie A's longest-standing records.

Angelillo landmark
With 23 league goals already under his belt, the 29-year-old Italy international is just ten short of Antonio Valentin Angelillo's record of 33 goals in a Serie A season - a benchmark the Buenos Aires-born striker set in 1958/59 while also wearing the black and blue of Inter.

Eight games left
At one stage this term, when he had registered 16 goals in just 13 matches, Vieri looked well on course for the history books. "If he continues like this he can reach it," Angelillo said. "And if he gets there, it would be a gift for me, because with 33 goals from Vieri, Inter will surely win the Scudetto." Since then, though, Vieri's goalscoring feats have slowed, with a blank at the weekend leaving him just eight games to garner the remaining ten goals he needs for a share of the record.

Nordahl marks
Given all the discussion of Vieri's record-chasing, it is interesting to note that Angelillo's 'record' actually falls short of the 35 goals scored in Serie A by AC Milan's Gunnar Nordahl in 1949/50, as well as the 34 goals plundered by the legendary Swede the following season. However, by virtue of the fact that Nordahl's achievements came in a 20-team Serie A, and Angelillo's in an 18-team division, as Serie A is today, Angelillo's landmark is seen in Italy as the one to emulate.

Defensive excellence
Unsurprisingly, given Italy's reputation for defensive excellence, the Serie A seasonal goalscoring record is considerably lower than in most other European leagues, as the table on this page illustrates. Even if Vieri was to score 30 goals it would be a considerable achievement, given that no one has done so in Serie A since Angelillo in 1959.

Grandest record
Many of the goalscoring records in Europe's major top-flight divisions are landmarks that were set several decades ago. The grandest of all is undoubtedly the English record established by Everton FC's William Ralph 'Dixie' Dean in England in 1927/28. In 39 league appearances Dean struck an astonishing 60 goals as Everton won the league championship.

Dramatic header
Equally amazing, Dean, who died in 1980, required a hat-trick in his final game against Arsenal FC to claim the overall English record from Middlesbrough FC's George Camsell, who had registered 59 goals the previous season in division two. Dean duly obliged, by heading the decisive goal in the final minute of the tie.

Immortal record
Dean's benchmark is one of the truly immortal sporting records - which only Aston Villa FC's Pongo Waring - 49 goals in 1930/31 - has even got close to equalling. Indeed, barring a radical transformation in the rules of football, or a rapid deterioration in the standard of defending, it will never be broken, as Dean himself once hinted: "People ask me if that 60-goal record will ever be beaten. I think it will. But there's only one man who'll do it. That's that fella who walks on the water. I think he's about the only one."

Italy

*Emmanuel Aznar of Marseille scored 45 goals in 1942/43 when the French league was regionalised.
**Record taken from the beginning of the Bundesliga in 1963
***Antonio Valentin Angelillo holds the record for an 18-team Serie A with 33 goals in 1958/59
****Record taken from the beginning of a nationwide Eredivisie in 1956