Goal-getters and title triumphs
In FIFA.com’s latest stats review, championships in Greece and the Netherlands feature alongside goalscoring achievements by Messrs Kane, Messi and Ronaldo, and a sad milestone for a legendary coach.
800
games as a coach in Italy was the landmark reached by Zdenek Zeman on Sunday, but with it came an end to his five-match stint in charge of Cagliari. The Czech-born 67-year-old resigned after his side lost 3-0 at home to Napoli and without having won a single match since returning to succeed Gianfranco Zola. Their visitors, meanwhile, ended a run of 303 minutes without scoring away from home while in the process racking up a third straight win in all competitions. Empoli also ended a drought on Sunday - 241 minutes in their case - when Massimo Maccarone scored on his 200th Serie A appearance: a 2-2 draw with Parma. And an even longer wait ended for the visitors' Ishak Belfodil, who secured a share of the spoils with his first Serie A strike in 45 games and 2,276 minutes of football.
400
Barcelona goals was the latest milestone chalked up by Lionel Messi on Sunday. The little Argentinian, who has scored 46 goals in as many club appearances this season – not to mention providing 24 assists – became just the seventh player to reach the 400-mark for a European club. Predictably, this latest Messi feat coincided with an equally impressive achievement by Cristiano Ronaldo. In the Real Madrid star’s case, it was scoring his 50th club goal of the season in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Malaga and, in doing so, reaching the half-century mark for the fifth season in succession. Ronaldo's goal ensured that Los Merengues maintained their record of having never lost in 34 home La Liga matches against Malaga.
42
Greek titles, and 17 in the last 19 seasons, are the statistics bringing smiles to the faces of Olympiacos fans this week. The Piraeus giants maintained their stranglehold on Sunday by sewing up their latest crown, furthering extending their historical advantage over 20-time champions Panathinaikos. The Athens outfit had handed their old rivals the title earlier on the Sunday by losing at Panthrakikos, meaning that Olympiacos’s 4-0 win over Levadiakos merely provided some sparkle to the celebrations. Vitor Pereira’s side crossed the finishing line with three games to spare, a 13-point lead at the top and a goal difference 37 better than second-placed PAOK.
30
goals have already been scored by Harry Kane this season, establishing him as the first Tottenham Hotspur player to reach this milestone in a single campaign since Gary Lineker in 1991/92. The young striker became only the eighth Englishman to hit the 30-mark since the advent of the Premier League when he rounded off Tottenham Hotspur's 3-1 win at Newcastle United on Sunday. Kane still has five games remaining, too, and has Lineker’s club record of 35 in all competitions firmly within his sights. The Spurs youngster’s latest strike was also his 20th league goal of 2014/15. Previously, only two players under the age of 21 – Robbie Fowler and Chris Sutton – had reached this landmark in a Premier League season.
6
years without an Eredivisie title – their longest wait in almost three decades – was the drought that came to an end for PSV Eindhoven on Saturday. This latest championship was PSV’s 22nd overall, narrowing the gap on record champions Ajax (33) and increasing their advantage over third-placed Feyenoord (9). It was won in some style too, with PSV crossing the line with three games to spare, having already become the first Eredivisie side since 2009/10 to accumulate 79 points. The man who masterminded the triumph, Phillip Cocu, also became just the third man – after Eric Gerets and Ronald Koeman – to win titles with PSV as both player and coach. Coincidentally, this championship success continued an impressive run for brothers Luuk and Siem de Jong, one or both of whom have won the Dutch championship in each of the last six seasons. And with 19 goals and eight assists, Luuk has been directly involved in more Eredivisie goals than any other player this season.