Familiar celebratory action, familiar red shirt, is Luca Toni, the Italian goalscorer who played for Fiorentina, Bayern Munich and Juventus, a generation of late bloomers, stepping into the green again? It turned out that Freiburg midfielder Vincenzo Grifo (Vincenzo Grifo) scored a Panenka-style penalty (spoon penalty) after beating Werder Bremen 2-0 at home in this round of the league, surpassing Luca Tony's 38 goals with 39 goals, becoming the most scored Italian player in Bundesliga history, and then made the signature ear "screw" celebratory gesture to pay tribute, and even joked after the game to "apologize" to the idol.
"So few Italian players have played in the Bundesliga?" This is the editor's first reaction after seeing the record, in fact, those who have left their footprints in the Bundesliga are Wolfsburg 2008/09 champion André Barzagli, the goalkeeper Chiro Immobile who has been in trouble for Dortmund for a short season, and Bayern Munich striker Ruggiero Rizzitelli in the 90s. Or expand the filter to players who have Italian passports or qualify to represent Italy, alongside Claudio Pizarro (197 goals in 490 games) and Diego Ribas (57 goals in 161 games).
"Luca Tony is a great goalscorer, player and role model, and I have watched him play with the national team and Bayern in the past and am honoured to exceed his record. In terms of position and team strength, Luca Tony's goalscoring efficiency (38 goals in 60 games) is undoubtedly far superior to Vincenzo Griffo (39 goals in 185 games), but it is more often to show this is particularly meaningful in Italy. (On the pitch it became "Did you see my performance?") "Obviously it took me more years to reach this milestone, but he played for Bayern, which is kind of an advantage (laughs). ”
Born in Pforzheim, Germany, Vincenzo Griffo of Italian parents has always played best in his career with Hoffenheim and Borussia Mönchengladbach in two spells, and since returning to the nest in 2019, he has established himself as a set-piece specialist and a left-wing or shadow striker, scoring twice in six international appearances. Although this season's "Bundesliga" is temporarily focused on Berlin United, in fact, Freiburg continues to play steadily, temporarily ranked third in the league and won four consecutive games in Group G of the Europa League, at least to lock a play-off place, and this season after the arrival of Matthias Ginter, Michael Gregoric, Don Anru, etc., the third-line strength is more even, maybe the end of the season is the team that goes further.