3 players who could pip Ronaldo to the Serie A Golden Boot

Ronaldo made headlines last summer when he traded Spain for Italy, joining Juventus in a bumper deal which saw him become the highest paid player in Serie A history.

The 34-year-old is one of the greatest players in history and arguably the greatest goalscorer of all time, and Juventus have already started reaping dividends off the huge outlay to sign him, with his hattrick playing a crucial role in eliminating Atletico Madrid and continuing their quest for a first continental crown since 1997.

There were plenty who doubted Ronaldo's ability to perform, given that he turned 34 last February as there are not many 34-year-old's throughout history who have performed at an optimum this late in their career.

However, there is nothing ordinary about Ronaldo and he has so far silenced his critics with his displays in the Italian league.

Juventus' perennial dominance of the Serie A means that they do not necessarily need Ronaldo's expertise, but that has not stopped the Portuguese icon from banging in goals for fun to help the Bianconerri stroll their way to an 8th consecutive Scudetti.

With 19 goals, he is the club's highest goalscorer in the league and is firmly in the race to be crowned this season's Capocannoniere.

If he were to win the Serie A Golden Boot, Ronaldo would become the first man in history to do so in the English Premier League, Spanish LaLiga and Italian Serie A and knowing the former Manchester United man's penchant for setting records, we can be sure he has his eyes set on achieving the prize.

However, there lie some obstacles to Ronaldo attaining this feat in the form of some red-hot forwards who also have their eye on the prize. In this piece, we shall be taking a look at three players who could stop Ronaldo from winning the Serie A Golden Boot.

#3 Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)

Zapata is a 27-year-old striker currently plying his trade for Atalanta on loan from Sampdoria.

The Colombian international has been in red hot form this term and had earlier in the season scored four goals in a 5-0 win over Frosinone, making him the first Atalanta player since Hasse Jepson in 1952 to achieve that feat.

He also scored in eight consecutive Serie A matches to help Atalanta's cause in the chase for a European spot, while also playing a major part in eliminating a Ronaldo-led Juventus from the Coppa Italia quarterfinal with a brace in a 3-0 victory.

So far this season Zapata has scored 17 goals and registered five assists from 28 Serie A matches and with him breathing down Ronaldo's neck, the Portuguese international cannot afford to slip up.

#2 Krzysztof Piatek (AC Milan)

What a season this man has had. He signed for Genoa from the Polish league in the summer and given his low profile, not much was expected of him.

However, the 23-year-old defied expectations and shocked pundits and fans alike with his performances for Genoa, scoring goals for fun to power the club away from the relegation battle which many predicted at the start of the season.

He started his Serie A campaign very impressively, scoring five goals in his first four matches to become the first player since Andriy Shevchenko to have such a start.

The Polish international soon found himself top of the scorer's chart 10 games into the season, which was a rather impressive feat given that he had outscored more established superstars like Ronaldo, Icardi, Edin Dzeko and Ciro Immobile till that point.

Anybody who pegged his form down to beginner's luck was gravely mistaken, as his devastating run in front of goal continued such that he had scored 19 goals from is first 21 matches in all competitions for Genoa.

This kind of form understandably attracted attention and Piatek soon found himself on the radar of Europe's biggest clubs, with speculations indicating that Barcelona and Real Madrid were interested in him.

His next point of call was, however, AC Milan, as he joined the Rossoneri on loan to cover for the Chelsea-bound Gonzalo Higuaín and he took his scorer's boot with him to San Siro.

Piatek has scored six goals from eight Serie A matches for Milan to bring his total to 19 for the season (level with Ronaldo) and help sustain his side's quest for a top-four finish.

#1 Fabio Quagiarella (Sampdoria)

There is a saying that 'the older it is, the better it tastes' and while this is mostly applicable to vintage wine, a certain footballer in the Serie A seems to be applying this principle.

Fabio Quagliarella turned 36 on the 31st of January, but nothing in his game suggests that he has exactly two decades of professional football in his legs.

The Udinese man is defying all pre-conceived notions about 'old players' and is leaving an everlasting mark on the Italian game so late in his career.

Having started the season on lukewarm terms - scoring just two goals from his first nine matches, the former Napoli man sparked into life at the end of October, scoring in the 3-2 win over AC Milan which was to be the start of a spectacular run which saw him score in the next 11 matches consecutively.

This saw him tie the long-standing record of the legendary Gabriel Batistuta and got the press talking about Quagliarella.

Despite the run coming to an end in the 3-0 defeat to Napoli in February, Quagriarella did not let that deter him and he has continued his fine run of form, scoring five goals in his seven matches since then to sit top of the scorer's chart in Italy with 21 goals.

His form has been so impressive that it was difficult for Azzurri coach Roberto Mancini to ignore him despite his penchant for sticking with youth throughout his spell at the helm and as such he gave the Sampdoria man his first international call-up in over eight years.

In keeping with his goal run of late, Quagliarella scored a brace in Italy's 6-0 demolition of Liechtenstein to make him the county's oldest ever goalscorer.

Italy is famed for having a tradition of legendary players performing late into their career, from Paulo Maldini, Francesco Totti to Gigi Buffon and Fabio Quagrliarela is set to join this illustrious list.

Even though he might still have some way to go before getting the record as Serie A's oldest Golden Boot winner (that honour belongs to Luca Toni who scored 22 goals to win the award in 2015 at the age of 38), there is no taking away from the brilliant season Quagliarella has had.

Edited by Debjyoti Samanta