After naming the best goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and winger, the Cult of Calcio’s end of the season awards have now reached its final installment, as it’s time to recognize the best striker in Serie A for the 2021/22 campaign.
With so many worthy candidates to choose from, this will arguably be the toughest call of the whole series. In fact, instead of five nominees as is our custom, we simply had to add a sixth, because it would have been unfair to leave out any of the forwards mentioned below.
So first, we’ll list the candidates based on alphabetic order while explaining their claims, before handing the final verdict and naming the ultimate winner.
Tammy Abraham (Roma)
When Tammy Abraham opted to embark on a new adventure in Rome, many on the English shores were left baffled by his unusual path. Nevertheless, the big forward managed to prove them wrong with every performance on the pitch.
Shortly after landing in the Eternal City, a love story has swiftly blossomed between the Giallorossi supporters and the Englishman who immediately embraced the warm atmosphere of the Italian capital.
In addition to his nine goals en route towards the inaugural Europa Conference League triumph, the former Chelsea striker scored 17 goals in Serie A including an early brace in the Derby della Capitale which undoubtedly lifted his status among his loving supporters.
Thanks to Tammy’s prowess, Edin Dzeko became a distant memory at the Stadio Olimpico.
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Ciro Immbile (Lazio)
While Roma fans are happy with their new idol, it’s their arch rivals who can still boast of having the top goal-scorer of the league.
While Azzurri fanatics lament Ciro Immobile’s lack of international goals, finding the back of the net has never been an issue for the 32-year-old while donning the Lazio jersey.
With his 27 Serie A goals, the Italian striker comfortably won the Capocannoniere award for the 4th time in his career (the third with the Biancocelesti) and is now one title away from equaling Gunnar Nordahl’s legendary record.
Perhaps it wasn’t his most prolific season, yet, it was still enough to cement his spot as the king of the mountain.
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Lautaro Martinez (Inter)
While the rest of the list is made up of classic center forwards with an eye for goal, this one is a different beast.
Even though Lautaro Martinez can indeed act as a target man, the number 10 on his back says it all. This man mainly operates as second striker lurking around the penalty box before surging the the scene at the right moment.
So despite the fact that he isn’t a traditional bomber, the Argentine is still deadly in front of goal as proven by his performances in the final stretch of the season when he managed to keep Inter in striking distance of Milan until the very last round of the campaign.
Victor Osimhen (Napoli)
While Lorenzo Insigne’s star was slowly fading, Napoli found themselves a new idol in Victor Osimhen.
At first glimpse, his tally of 14 Serie A goals isn’t exactly the most impressive, but it’s the manner in which the Nigerian striker lifts the whole team on his broad shoulders and drags them to victories which explains why he’s a part of the list.
Moreover, it was during his lengthy mid-season absence due to a facial injury that the southerners dropped the most points in the league. So perhaps his presence would have changed the whole outcome of the Serie A campaign.
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Giovanni Simeone (Verona)
After spending several campaigns in Italy wandering between Genoa, Fiorentina and Cagliari, Giovanni Simeone finally found his niche at Verona, where he formed a fabulous partnership with Gianluca Caprari and Antonin Barak.
Although he finishing touch abandoned him in the last stages of the campaign, his earlier splendid form was sufficient to warrant him a spot on the list.
It’s enough to recall his super hattrick against Lazio or his stunning brace versus Juventus to understand that we’re talking about one of the most clinical strikers on Italian soil.
Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina – Juventus)
Following an incredible start of the season, fans and observers expected Dusan Vlahovic to seal the Paolo Rossi Award in a blowout. The Serbian was simply unplayable, scoring 17 goals for Fiorentina before completing the most valuable switch in the last January transfer session.
But despite an encouraging start to life in Turin, the 22-year-old’s form regressed alongside the rest of the Juventus squad in the final stretch of the campaign, before succumbing to defeat in his personal race against Immobile.
Nevertheless. the young target man was a sight to behold for the majority of the Serie A campaign due to his physical and technical attributes. This man has all what it takes to become the best in the world, so let’s see if he’ll be able to prove his point starting next season.
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Verdict
As we mentioned above, this is arguably the toughest choice in the whole series. So let’s begin by chopping some of the candidates who fall short when compared to others.
Reminiscent to the rest of Napoli, Osimhen was unlucky to sustain an injury that kept him out for an extended period of time between late November and January. So even though his form was spectacular at times, his absence prevented him from assembling more than 14 goals, which is deemed insufficient to be recognized as the best striker of the season.
The cases of Abraham and Simeone aren’t too different. With the two attackers landing below the 20-goal mark, their respective cases remain incomplete.
Which leaves us with three solid options for the throne: Immobile, Lautaro and Vlahovic.
While the Serbian’s Fiorentina version would have undoubtedly earned the top spot, the young man loses points for his underwhelming performances at Juventus in the final rounds of the season, leaving the Lazio and Inter strikers to compete in the final duel.
On most occasions, it’s hard to go against the Capocannoniere winner. However, this season’s tally has been relatively low compared to previous terms, and without adding spot kicks, Immobile only found the back of the net on 20 occasions.
On the other hand, Martinez proved to be the complete package upfront, managing to deliver goals from all sort of angles with his venomous finishing touch and taking his game up a notch in spite of the departure of his favored partner in crime, Romelu Lukaku.
The Argentine managed to score a tally of 21 goals despite mostly playing as a second striker, and his stats would have surely improved had he been Inter’s designated penalty taker.
Therefore, Lautaro Martinez slightly edges Immobile for the top spot, and he is the best Serie A striker of the season, at least in our book.