Already two-nil ahead against a highly fancied Napoli side, Sampdoria could’ve been forgiven for sitting back and attempting to see out the last 15 minutes of the match. After all, Carlo Ancelotti’s men had already seemingly made comebacks their speciality this season, letting Lazio take the lead on the opening day before fighting back to take a 2-1 victory, then allowing AC Milan a two-goal advantage before eventually winning 3-2 last weekend.
However, perhaps Samp had learned from those two performances and, rather than “shutting up shop” and protecting their lead, they instead pressed forward and looked to increase it. One attack yielded a free kick which Gaston Ramirez initially wasted by drilling a shot into the wall, the ball eventually worked its way out to the right flank where Bartosz Bereszynski was waiting.
A low cross from the Poland right-back seemed innocuous enough at first, only for Fabio Quagliarella to turn it into a goal with a moment of sheer, audacious brilliance. Jumping up just as the pass reached him, he allowed it to almost go past him before flicking it with the back of his right boot, a deliberate shot that looped beyond David Ospina and into the back of the net. He watched it all the way, knowing exactly what he meant to do, the former Arsenal goalkeeper powerless to prevent a magical effort from nestling in the bottom corner.
The home fans at Marassi erupted, their reaction a mixture of utter joy and complete disbelief at what they had witnessed, but the goal-scorer merely raised his hands in a half apology. A native of Naples who had played for and supported his hometown club, Quagliarella showed as much class in respecting his former side as he did in finishing such an unbelievable chance, allowing his current team-mates to celebrate the astonishing strike for him while retaining a dignified manner.
If it looked as if he’d been there before, it’s because he has. The 35-year-old has never been a prolific poacher, his current career tally sitting at 179 goals in 555 appearances following his Serie A debut back in May 2000. Since then he has changed teams ten times, never lasting more than four seasons in one place but carving out a reputation as the embodiment of an old footballing cliche.
The phrase “not a great goal scorer but a scorer of great goals” is often overused, but there has arguably never been a player it applied more to than Quagliarella. Indeed, while Sampdoria boss Marco Giampaolo (rightly) claimed on Radio RAI after the Napoli game that “if Cristiano Ronaldo had scored that goal, everyone would talk about it,” the man himself was, incredibly, far less impressed.
“When I saw the cross coming in, I only had a fraction of a second to decide,” Quagliarella told Sky Italia shortly after leaving the field. “I thought if I go with the inside of my boot I’m never getting that on target, so I had to go for the heel and hope for the best. It went well in the end.”
If that was something of an understatement, then his answer to being asked if it was his best ever goal went further still. “No,” he responded with a smile, “but it’s in the top three!” For any other striker that would seem like a ridiculous display of ostentatious braggadocio, but when it comes to Quagliarella it is, incredibly, most probably the truth.
The video above shows a top 20 compilation of his other-worldly efforts, including another superb back heeled effort from his time at Juventus, three goals from at least 40 meters out and no fewer than four overhead kicks. It did not feel the need to include this effort for Italy against Slovakia that was arguably the goal of the tournament at the 2010 World Cup, or any one of a number of others that regular Serie A watchers can probably pick out.
While he may still continue to support Napoli from afar, Quagliarella has seemingly found a new home in Genoa, recording the most prolific campaign of his career as he netted 19 goals last term for Sampdoria. That was six more than his previous high in the top flight, and his Coach has continually praised the intelligence his striker displays while appreciating the hardworking example he sets for the club’s younger players.
“Quagliarella should be celebrated because he always knows what to do and when,” Giampaolo said at a press conference last year. “He’s a superb footballer. It’s our job to help him to play at his best, which opens the way for these remarkable achievements for him and for us, while he’s always there to give helpful advice to his team-mates.”
His goal against Napoli was undoubtedly special, but as Giampaolo – and anyone else who has watched him regularly can tell you – that’s simply Fabio Quagliarella. It’s what he does.
