Mario Gomez named joint Coppa Italia capocannoniere

It may come as a surprise to find out that this season's Coppa Italia has finished with Fiorentina striker Mario Gomez achieving joint capocannoniere alongside veteran Udinese striker Antonio Di Natale, with both players netting 4 goals apiece in the competition. The German marksman hit a brace both in the round of sixteen against Atalanta and again against AS Roma at the quarter final stage, a performance that was arguably his finest match of the season. Although Gomez finds himself in good company through Viola history -  Adrian Mutu won the award in 09-10 and Gabriel Batistuta scored an incredible 8 goals in the competition in the Coppa Italia winning season of 95-96 - his cup goals will do little to raise his spirits, as "Marione" is increasingly likely to see out the remainder of the season on the bench for Fiorentina. Alberto Gilardino was preferred against Parma on Monday and confirmed his starting place with a hard working performance and a goal.

Although Mario Gomez is the current Fiorentina top scorer with 10 goals in all competitions, his haul this season is easily put into context if we take a look at the top four Viola goalscorers this season. Khouma Babacar is next on the list, still a "talent" at only 22 years old and in his first full season for the club, having spent the last three seasons out on loan. Babacar has scored 9 goals this season, a strong tally in a injury-troubled season that saw Baba only make 16 starts (Gomez made 28). Mohammed Salah, having only joined on loan from Chelsea in January, has scored 9 goals in 18 starts, a stat that becomes even more impressive when projected over a full season. It is, however, the man with most appearances this season for the viola that has arguably the most impressive goalscoring record. Gonzalo Rodríguez has scored eight goals from the center of defense - seven of them in Serie A - making him Fiorentina's joint top scorer in Serie A alongside Babacar.

In the absence of a 20 goal a season striker, it is fortunate that goals have arrived from so many players for Vincenzo Montella: 19 members of the squad have contributed with at least one goal this campaign. Despite being named joint Coppa Italia capocannoniere, whichever way you look at it the contribution from Mario Gomez has been somewhat disappointing, and his future will be heavily discussed in the weeks and months to come.