Serie A Team of the Week: Round 29 - Buffon returns after Derby d'Italia heroics & Ibrahimovic closes in on decade of appearances

Serie A Team of the Week: Round 29 - Buffon returns after Derby d'Italia heroics & Ibrahimovic closes in on decade of appearances

Mar 26, 2012 9:00:00 AM

Goal.com picks the best performers from Italy's top flight as the goalkeeper performed a number of outstanding saves in the first half and the Rossoneri forward continues to excel

Serie A

Team Of The Week:

Round 29

Table/Results

GOALKEEPER

Gianluigi BUFFON
Juventus
TOTW Apps: 3

Juventus' Derby d'Italia win was not as easy as the 2-0 scoreline suggests as Inter created several chances in the first-half, but luckily for the hosts, Buffon was at his brilliant best. He stopped goal-bound efforts from Diego Milito, Diego Forlan and Dejan Stankovic, earning his first appearance in our Best XI since December.

DEFENDERS

Francesco ACERBI Chievo TOTW Apps: 1	Mobido DIAKITE Lazio TOTW Apps: 1	Philippe MEXES AC Milan TOTW Apps: 1
Chievo remain clear of the relegation battle and Acerbi has been one of the players that has grown in stature this season in Verona. In addition to his opening goal, he was near unbeatable at the back during the draw with Siena. Diakite was a surprise hero for Lazio, not only exceptional at the back helping them keep a clean sheet, but also scoring an 87th minute winner versus Cagliari to put the Biancocelesti ahead in the race for third place and final Champions League qualifying spot. Mexes haunted his former team Roma with a confident display at centre-back alongside Daniele Bonera. The Frenchman always looked comfortable and limited the impact of Fabio Borini and Pablo Daniel Osvaldo in the second half.

MIDFIELDERS

Martin CACERES Juventus TOTW Apps: 1	Arturo VIDAL Juventus TOTW Apps: 3	Luca CIGARINI Atalanta TOTW Apps: 1	Juan VARGAS Fiorentina TOTW Apps: 1
Juventus' Caceres played both at right-back and in midfield, charging forward with real purpose on the flank and scoring yet another crucial goal when he popped up to convert Andrea Pirlo's corner with a free header. Meanwhile, team-mate Vidal's tracking back in the centre of the pitch snuffed out several Inter attacks. The Chilean also set up Alessandro Del Piero's clinching goal with a sublime pass that cut through the Nerazzurri's defence. Atalanta handed Stefano Pioli's Bologna a rare loss and Cigarini's performance in midfield was a decisive factor. The former Parma man dictated the pace of the game in a Xavi-like display and also tested Jean-Francois Gillet from long range. Fiorentina's Vargas has been largely anonymous this season, but he was an influential presence on the wing as his angled drive was turned in by Riccardo Montolivo, while he also put in several telling crosses for Amauri in the Viola's 2-2 draw with Genoa.

FORWARDS

Fabrizio MICCOLI Palermo TOTW Apps: 4	Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC AC Milan TOTW Apps: 9	Goran PANDEV Napoli TOTW Apps: 1
Miccoli continues to be a consistent threat to Palermo's opponents, as he grabbed his 12th goal of the campaign with an accurate drive to beat Udinese goalkeeper Samir Handanovic. Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic remains the player who has featured most in our Serie A Team of the Week. The Milan star dragged his side to a 2-1 triumph over Roma, with his performance including an ingenius second goal when he flicked the ball over the goalkeeper before holding off centre-back Simon Kjaer and heading into the net. Finally, the entrance of Pandev off the bench sparked Napoli's tie against Catania into life. The Macedonian ignited the Partenopei attack as they took a two goal lead, and he also hit the post, though a late defensive collapse meant his team could only muster a 2-2 draw.

Serie A Team of the Week: Round 28 - Vucinic makes maiden appearance & Cavani features for third time after late heroics

Consigli

Manfredini - Legrottaglie - Heinze

Pinzi- Pirlo – Rigoni -Emanuelson

Vucinic – Pinilla - Cavani

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