Luca Toni, 37, is one game away from claiming the second Capocannoniere honour of his career. The veteran striker scored a brace against relegated Parma to take his tally for the season up to 21 goals.
Toni's brace meant that he overtook Juventus' Carlos Tevez and Inter Milan's Mauro Icardi, who have scored 20 goals apiece. Since joining Hellas Verona two seasons ago, Toni has never failed to score a minimum of 20 goals per season.
Incredibly, Toni's first Capocannoniere honour was presented to him in the 2005/06 season, whilst playing for Fiorentina. At the time, Toni was in the physical prime of his career at 29-years-old and scored 31 goals to fire the Viola into fourth place. Toni's efforts proved unfruitful, as Fiorentina were retrospectively punished for their involvement in Calciopoli and a points deduction saw them reduced to ninth place.
Nevertheless, Calciopoli failed to rob Toni of his glory in 2006, as he went on to lift the 2006 World Cup with Italy. Albeit, once again tainted with controversy following Zinedine Zidane's headbutt on Marco Materazzi. In turn, Toni was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team of 2006, yet his personal achievements for the season were continously overshadowed by controversy.
Fast forward nine seasons later and Toni is on the verge of winning the Capocannoniere again. Following the 2-2 draw against Parma, Toni told Football Italia: “I am relaxed and hoping to take my chances.
“Winning the Capocannoniere crown would be very satisfying for me and the team, because it is thanks to them that I have 21 goals.
“No Gialloblu player has ever been Capocannoniere in Serie A, so it’d be nice to become the first.”
Toni's dream could potentially be snatched away before his very eyes, as Verona host Juventus at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi in the last game of the season. Juve striker Tevez trails Toni by one goal and led the chase for the Capocannoniere crown for the majority of the season. Tevez will undoubtedly be vying for retribution by scoring as many as possible to help conclude an incredible season for Juve.
When the two sides met in January, Juve won 4-0 and Tevez scored a brace. A repeat performance would rob Italian football of a fairytale, whilst stamping Juve's dominance across Italy. However, Icardi may have altogether separate ideas of his own, as Serie A awaits the enthralling crowning of the Capocannoniere for the 2014/15 season.