#9 Luca Toni ~ Offered new contract

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I'll Return To Play In Italy, Says Luca Toni

Azzurri goal-machine Luca Toni has admitted his plans to finish his career in Italy, though Bayern Munich fans need not fret as his latest comments suggest that it will be some time yet before sets off into the Italian sunset.

The 30-year-old has exceeded even the highest expectations placed upon his broad shoulders since arriving at the Allianz Arena on a €11 m deal from Fiorentina in the summer, as with 36 goals to his cap he's on course to beat Gerd Müller's club record of 40 goals in a season.

This has inevitably led to rumours that he will be the subject of a high-profile switch in the summer, with Milan being the club most often brought into association with him.

"I do not think so," said Toni of the San Siro link, "although it is premature to talk about it.

"For now I see it as difficult, Milan has other interests and it is very difficult for me now to leave Germany," he added.

"When this adventure with Bayern Munich is over, I will return to play in Italy, even to reach 100 goals since I left on 91. I am very attached to Italy."

Goal.com - Bayern Munich - I'll Return To Play In Italy, Says Luca Toni

It doesn't worry me much really. I know he'll be in Munich for another 2-3 good years before he leaves.

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Toni To Pip Ronaldo To Ballon D’Or?

There are reports in Italy that Luca Toni could be in the running to beat Cristiano Ronaldo to the Ballon d’Or, if Italy win Euro 2008.

Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the red hot favourite to win the prestigious prize following a prolific season for Manchester United, during which he has scored 38 goals so far.

However there are reports in the Italian peninsula that Toni could win the prize if the Azzurri were to emerge victorious at Euro 2008.

The 30-year-old is having an equally stunning campaign for Bayern Munich, and is the top scorer in the Bundesliga and the UEFA Cup, and has hit 36 goals in all competitions.

The Italian has already won the German Cup, is on the verging of capturing the league, and is also in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup.

In the past it has often been big performances at the major international tournaments that has counted most in deciding who wins the European and World Footballer of the Year awards.

This proved decisive when the Brazilian Ronaldo won in 2002, and also when Fabio Cannavaro won in 2006 despite Ronaldinho being in the form of his life and winning La Liga and the Champions League with Barcelona.

The Italian media also argue that Cristiano Ronaldo has often failed to perform in the biggest games, meaning another failure in tonight’s Champions League clash with Barcelona, as well as in the Euros themselves, may see him miss out on the Golden Ball.

Ronaldo can lead Manchester United to Champions League glory and silence all the doubters, but if he fails to, he might have trouble convincing the voting body.

Goal.com - Bayern Munich - Toni To Pip Ronaldo To Ballon D’Or?

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First ! : He will not leave next season oki he wants to reach 100 gols in serie a!
but he want to stay with us and to play on the CL
Second: He Can Beat Ronaldo gols ... 4 games to bundesliga !! he can ...

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Toni Delighted With Excellent Season

Luca Toni was delighted after Bayern Munich clinched the Bundesliga yesterday, and he has hailed an excellent season both on a personal and team level.

Eyebrows were raised when Toni left Fiorentina last summer to move to Germany with Bayern.

However it has proved to be a wise decision, as he has slammed in 36 goals in all competitions, helping the side to the league championship and both the German Cup and DFL League Cup.

The perfect season was only denied when Bayern crashed out of the UEFA Cup last week at the semi final stage at the hands of Zenith St Petersburg.

"It has been an excellent season,” Toni told the Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I made the right choice to come abroad here. It was a winning bet. It’s a shame about not reaching the UEFA Cup final.

”Until yesterday I was very sad. Now it has passed.

"Maybe I did not think that I would reach these figures [36 goals] immediately, but the number of goals shows that it was a good year.”

Toni then looked ahead to next season, which will signal a return to the Champions League, and also see Jurgen Klinsmann replace Ottmar Hitzfeld as coach.

"Hitzfeld, a good person will leave, and Klinsmann will arrive with different methods and preparation. It will be an interesting change,” the 30-year-old stated.

"We must make investments though: the club will have to buy other players of quality, in order to improve the workforce and become competitive at the highest levels. The Champions League is no joke.”

Toni will be looking to continue his stunning form this summer for Italy at Euro 2008.

Goal.com - Bayern Munich - Toni Delighted With Excellent Season

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Goal compilation of Luca Toni's first half season for Bayern. All 17 goals are included:

TalkSoccer Media Player

Another Toni video:

TalkSoccer Media Player

[Poldi]

What a LEGEND! He has soring a lot of key goals ( VS Getafe, BVB in cup final...)

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Yes Toni Shows His World Class on important matches ... i didnt think that he is like that .. but he is amazing ....

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Toni: I’m Nothing Compared To Müller

Bayern Munich striker Luca Toni is proud to be compared to Gerd Muller, but he says that he is still “light years” away from the German legend.

Toni has had a stunning first season at the Allianz Arena since signing from Fiorentina last season, and has scored an incredible 36 goals in all competitions.

The 30-year-old is set to finish top-scorer of the German Bundesliga, whilst he also shared the Golden Boot prize with Zenit St Petersburg’s Pavel Pogrebnyak in the UEFA Cup, having hit the back of the net 10 times.

This prolific campaign has led to comparisons with the legendary Gerd Muller, who scored an incredible 398 goals in 453 games for Bayern between 1964 and 1979.

"An attacker thrives on goals,” Toni told Bild.

“I think we all love scoring goals, it is one of the most beautiful things that God gave us.

“The comparisons people make with Muller makes me proud, because he scored so many goals in his career. I am still light years away from him."

Toni will play his final game of the club season this weekend, as Bayern host Hertha Berlin in Bavaria.

Goal.com - Bayern Munich - Toni: I’m Nothing Compared To Muller

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Toni Praises 'Great' Ribery
Bayern Munich striker Luca Toni has praised team-mate Franck Ribery, and insists he is loving life in Germany…

The Italy hitman has tallied an incredible 36 goals during his first season in the Bundesliga after moving from Fiorentina last summer.

His contribution to Bayern this term has been paralleled by fellow first-seasoner Ribery, who has established himself among the very best wingers in the world since his ₤19.5 million transfer from Olympique Marseille.

Prior to their respective moves to the Allianz Arena, the duo’s only shared experience in Germany came during the 2006 World Cup, when the Azzurri and Les Bleus faced each other in the final in Berlin.

But while the pair may be foes at international level, they have formed a lethal understanding for Bayern, and Toni insists they could not be closer both on and off the pitch.

Team Effort

“I have to talk about Ribery because goals are always the product of a team effort,” the 30-year-old told Bild.

“I knew that Franck was a great player, but I didn’t imagine that we could get on so well in our professional and personal lives.

“We often go out to dinner together. He speaks good Italian, even if he speaks it with a funny accent.”

Italian Invasion?

Toni scored a competition-topping 10 goals during Bayern’s UEFA Cup run, which ended unexpectedly with a 5-1 aggregate mauling at the hands of eventual champions Zenit St. Petersburg.

And the former Palermo man believes the club needs to add depth over the summer, hinting that incoming boss Jurgen Klinsmann should look to Italy for transfer targets, amid rumours that AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso is on his way to Munich.

“We need a squad of 16 or 17 top players,” Toni said. “It’s obviously up to our new Coach Jurgen Klinsmann to make the moves in the market.

“Gattuso? I’d say that there are several Italian players who could reinforce us tactically and technically.”

Happy

Toni has been tipped as an outside chance to take the captain’s armband following veteran keeper Oliver Kahn’s retirement at the end of the season.

The ex-Brescia man admitted he would jump at the chance to captain Bayern, and insisted he is completely content with life in Munich.

“I’m happy here at Bayern,” Toni added. “The Germans are punctual, precise and effective, and I want to be a little more German.

“However, they need to learn how to celebrate from us and let themselves go a bit at the end of the season.

“There are other people at the club ahead of me in line to be captain, but if they asked me I wouldn’t think twice.”

[USBayernMunichFan]

Add three more goals for Luca, Toni!

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39 goals in total, what a fantastic season it has been for him.

To be honest, I did not expect him to score this much.

Danke Luca, you're crazy!

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Luca Toni is not simply a goal machine. According to the match stats from Saturday's final fixture of the domestic season at home to Hertha BSC Berlin, he finished level with Martin Demichelis and Zé Roberto for the highest percentage of tackles won. Less surprisingly, the Italian once again topped the match scoring chart with a hat-trick, taking his tally for the season to 24 and applying the icing on the cake of an outstanding first term in Germany. After the final whistle, Luca stepped up to receive the cannon-shaped trophy awarded annually to the leading scorer in the Bundesliga, the first time a player has secured the accolade in his debut season with Bayern.

Overall, Toni has made 46 competitive appearances this campaign and earned 51 scorer points with 39 goals and 12 assists. No player has ever scored as many goals in his first season at the club, not even the likes of Gerd Müller, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Jürgen Klinsmann, Giovane Elber, or Roy Makaay.

Likes an opener

The Italian World Cup winner, who has now collected his first-ever silverware at club level, has made a speciality of opening the scoring. Twenty-six of his scorer points derive from goals to make the score 1-0 to Bayern (16 goals, ten assists), taking him level with club record holder Gerd Müller on 16 opening goals in a season.

Comparisons with the legendary goal-getter were inevitable. "Il Bomber“, as Toni has become known in Italy, is also a classic penalty box goal-poacher. Only one of this season's 39 goals was struck from outside the opposition penalty area, in the German Cup second round against Borussia Mönchengladbach, while his 122 shots from within the box is the best tally in the Bundesliga.

Celebration time

"The way in which he takes his goals is pure quality,“ commented FCB consultant Paul Breitner. "He's pure class,“ Uli Hoeneß concisely summarised. And what of the player himself? "It's been a fantastic season, better than I expected. I'm totally satisfied,“ declared Toni, who also finished joint top scorer in the UEFA Cup along with Zenit St. Petersburg's Pawel Pogrebnjak on ten goals. And what will he be doing after such a terrific season? "We'll celebrate.“

Prolific 'Il Bomber' claims his cannon

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Wow 39 Gols In 46 Matches !! Thats Awsome
Danke Crazy Luca

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Toni Delighted With Debut Bayern Season

Bayern Munich striker Luca Toni has admitted he is satisfied with his first season with the Bavarian giants, which has seen him win the prestigious ‘Torschützenkanone’ for the league's leading goal scorer, as well as securing a league and Cup double.

The Italian forward bagged a hat trick on the final game of the season to take his tally to 24 goals in 31 league games and 39 in all competitions.

The 30 year old summer signing from Fiorentina has enjoyed an amazing first season in the Bundesliga which has seen him score more goals in a debut season than any other striker in the club’s history.

Neither Gerd Müller, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Giovane Elber or Roy Makaay hit more goals than “Il Bomber” in his debut season with the Bavarian giants.

Not only did the prolific marksman finish the Bundesliga’s leading scorer ahead of Mario Gomez, but he also finished as the joint top scorer in this season’s Uefa Cup alongside Zenit St Petersburg’s Pavel Pogrebnyak with ten goals.

After receiving the “Torschützenkanone” following the match with Hertha Berlin, Toni confessed to being very happy with his season’s work.

"It's been a fantastic season, better than I expected. I'm totally satisfied" he said.

The Italian was however quick to attribute a lot of his success this season to French winger Franck Ribéry admitting the friendship the pair had struck off the pitch had aided their on-field performance.

"I have to talk about Ribéry because goals are always the product of a team effort" he told Bild.

"I knew that Franck was a great player, but I didn't imagine that we could get on so well in our professional and personal lives."

Goal.com - Bayern Munich - Toni Delighted With Debut Bayern Season

[Mighty T.A.L.]