All of Europe’s major domestic football leagues have now
been completed. To the surprise of very few, Barcelona, Bayern Munich,
Manchester City, and Juventus came out on top in their respective countries.
The end of the league season also signalled the end of
the race for the European Golden Shoe. For the third season in a row and
record-extending sixth time in his legendary career, Leo Messi finished as
Europe’s leading goalscorer. The Argentine notched 36 league goals, three ahead
of runner-up Kylian Mbappé’s effort.
However, the most remarkable performance in this season’s
Golden Shoe chase, in my opinion, came from the player who finished third.
Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella scored 26 league
goals to finish third on the final leaderboard. Quagliarella scored almost half
of Sampdoria’s 60 league goals. He was a rare bright spot in what was otherwise
a forgettable, nondescript season for the Genoa club.
That was not the most impressive part about the
Campania-born player’s exploits this season, though.
How about the fact that this was his age-36 season?
At an age when the vast majority of players, especially
centre-forwards like him, have either retired or become a shell of what they
once were, Quagliarella seemingly discovered the fountain of youth to record by
far the best season of his career.
This might arguably be the greatest individual season by
a player of his age or older. Nevertheless, there have been equally incredible
seasons by older players in past years as well.
In the 2016-17 season, Zlatan Ibrahimović was Manchester
United’s ace at the age of 35. The Swede scored 17 league goals. This figure
was almost triple Juan Mata’s six; Mata was United’s second-highest goalscorer
that season. “Ibra” also helped United to triumphs in the EFL Cup and Europa
League. He was also shortlisted for the PFA Player of the Year award.
Another United player who had an outstanding season at an
advanced age was Edwin van der Sar. The then 38-year-old van der Sar had
perhaps the best season of his career in the 2008-09 season. The Dutchman was
an almost impenetrable wall in goal as he served as a key part of United’s
Premier League title-winning campaign and run to the Champions League final.
Shortlisted for PFA Player of the Year, van der Sar even managed an
unbelievable 11 league clean sheets in a row that season, setting an all-time
Premier League record.
Quagliarella is not the only Italian striker to have one
of the best seasons of his career at a late age. In the 2014-15 season,
38-year-old Verona striker Luca Toni scored 22 league goals, leading Serie A in
this statistic. He had not had such a successful goalscoring season since
2007-08, when he had 24 for Bayern Munich. In fact, Toni’s 42 league goals over
the two-season span of 2013-15 was more than what he scored over the previous
five seasons put together.
Arguably the greatest player to ever come out of Italy
was Paolo Maldini. The defender spent his entire 24-year career with AC Milan,
winning seven Serie A and five Champions League titles along the way.
Incredibly, perhaps his best season was the 2004-05 season, when he was 37
years old. The Rossoneri captain played a major role in their run to the
Champions League final. He was also vital to Milan’s second-place finish in
Serie A. For his efforts that season, Maldini was named to the FIFA FIFPro XI
and UEFA Team of the Year.
There is just something special about watching older
players dominating in this way. This is because of how unexpected such
excellent play is.
Just when most thought that these players were no longer
capable of playing an elite level, they went on to defy their age, their
critics, and the odds. They stunned everyone watching with many “turn-back-the-clock”
performances as despite their diminished physical abilities, they were able to
outplay players who were five, 10, or 15 years younger. What they lacked
physically, they compensated for through their in-game knowledge, experience,
and veteran guile. “Age is just a number” may be a cliché, but it certainly
applied in these cases.
Although Father Time remains undefeated, these players
certainly gave him a real run for his money.
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