Serie A Team of the Week: Round 19 - Pirlo, Totti & Ibrahimovic shine in Italy's top flight

Goal.com picks the best performers from Italy's top flight as the three veteran stars led their teams to comprehensive victories over the course of the weekend

Jan 23, 2012 8:00:00 AM

More On :  AC Milan, Cagliari, Juventus, Palermo, Roma, Siena, Udinese
Serie A

Team Of The Week:

Round 19

Table/Results

GOALKEEPER

Gianluca PEGOLO
Siena
TOTW Apps: 1
The 30-year-old, stepping in for injury-enforced absentee Zeljko Brkic, did an excellent job to ensure the Robur came away with a point against Napoli. Pegolo denied two sensational efforts from Edinson Cavani before stopping the Uruguayan from the penalty spot. However, he could do nothing to stop Goran Pandev's looping header from going in towards the end of the match.
DEFENDERS

S. LICHTSTEINER
Juventus
TOTW Apps: 4
Thiago SILVA
AC Milan
TOTW Apps: 6
Giorgio CHIELLINI
 Juventus
  TOTW Apps: 1 


Pablo ARMERO
Udinese
TOTW Apps: 3
Juventus were dominant against Atalanta, and if not for some poor finishing could have won by a much greater margin than two goals. Lichtsteiner is in our Best XI for the second week in a row as it was he who broke the deadlock with a diving header to put the cherry on top of a superb performance at right-back, while Chiellini excelled back in the centre of defence, rarely losing a challenge against German Denis. It's hardly a surprise that when Milan win, Thiago Silva is amongst their best performers, and the Brazilian's classy display at Novara earned them a clean sheet. Udinese maintained their grip on third place with a win over Catania and wing-back Armero's pace caused all sorts of difficulties for the Sicilians as he gathered a fine goal and assisted Di Natale's powerful winner on the volley.

MIDFIELDERS

Radja NAINGGOLAN
Cagliari
TOTW Apps: 3
Andrea PIRLO
Juventus
TOTW Apps: 2
Miralem PJANIC
Roma
TOTW Apps: 2
The stock of Nainggolan continues to rise as the Belgian, who recently suggested he would move abroad if he were to leave Cagliari, was the best player on the pitch despite his side not being able to make the breakthrough against Fiorentina in a scoreless stalemate. A moment of magic from Pirlo allowed Juventus to find the breakthrough in Bergamo, the Italy international's pin-point raking pass behind the defence being converted by Lichtsteiner, but he also deserves praise for pressuring his opponents in the middle of the pitch. The final goal in the 5-1 rout of Cesena may not have been pretty, but it capped off an accomplished display from Pjanic, whose finesse and technique on the ball is proving crucial for coach Luis Enrique.

FORWARDS

Francesco TOTTI
Roma
TOTW Apps: 1
'Er Pupone' added to his legendary status with a brace in the first eight minutes of the victory over the Seahorses. Totti has now surpassed Gunnar Nordahl's record of goals with a single Serie A club, bagging his 211th for the Giallorossi on Saturday. One wonders: How many more he will add before his storied career comes to a close?

Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC
AC Milan
TOTW Apps: 5
Fabrizio MICCOLI
Palermo
TOTW Apps: 2
Ibrahimovic proved the difference in the 3-0 win over Novara, and it was his finish from Massimo Ambrosini's pass that finally opened the scoring in the second half, previous to his creative flick closing the match off as a contest, allowing him to reach 14 goals for the season thus far. Finally, Palermo ended their recent run of poor form by winning an eight-goal thriller over Genoa by a score of 5-3. Miccoli was the star of the show, the former Benfica player accounting for one goal and three assists for the Rosanero.


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