Thu Apr 28, 2016 2:51 pm
The brilliant but controversial Sheffield Wednesday FC striker that Cardiff City need to stop on Saturday
Thursday 28th Apr 2016
BY PHIL SMITH
With fifteen goals, Fernando Forestieri has lit up the Championship, but he has also fallen foul of referees for perceived diving offences
Sheffield Wednesday finished last season in 13th place, 18 points short of Ipswich Town in 6th.
A year down the line, they are well set to take that final play-off spot for themselves.
So what's been the difference?
Plenty of factors have contributed, including the attacking football introduced by coach Carlos Carvalhal.
One of they key differences, however, has been the dazzling form of Italian striker Fernando Forestieri.
He is the man Cardiff City need to stop if they are to keep their play-off dream alive, and Russell Slade's generally impressive defence will know the scale of the challenge.
In the return fixture last December, the Bluebirds' were 2-0 up and coasting when Forestieri intervened.
Picking the ball up on the edge of the D but with his back to goal, he spun away from Craig Noone, turned him inside, and rattled a strike into the bottom corner.
The Owls', of course, nicked a point.
Still, it has been far from plain sailing for the former Watford man this season, making headlines after repeatedly being booked for diving.
Before last week's game with Derby County, Forestieri turned up in a t-shirt teasing referees for their decisions.
In every sense of the phrase, he is a player you just can't take your eyes off.
This is the story of his colourful season....
The goals...
Forestieri has registered 15 strikes so far this season, comfortably his best campaign yet.
That puts him in the division's top 10 most prolific players, an impressive achievement in itself.
But equally impressive is the range of goals he has scored.
Top scorers
Derby - Chris Martin
Chris Martin
15
Sheff Wed - Fernando Forestieri
Forestieri
15
There have been the excellent individual efforts, from that strike against Cardiff to the astonishing effort against Birmingham, driving from inside his own half to score a curling effort.
Many of his goals, however, have been altogether more scruffy efforts, coming from being alive to the second ball in the box.
In that sense, he has not been unlike the Bluebirds' Lex Immers.
It makes him a tough player to mark, as he can come deep to collect the ball and dribble, or ghost into space in the box.
He is the jewel in the Owls' crown, and will be the main goal scoring threat on Saturday.
With six assists and 36 chances created over the course of the season, he will also plenty of creative threat to support his other attacking team-mates.
The diving controversy...
The goals have continued to flow in 2016, but there has also been a fair amount of debate over a sequence of supposed diving offences.
Sheffield Wednesday fans have been incredulous over the state of affairs, criticising officials for victimising Forestieri.
For example, when Gareth Bale went down in the box during Tuesday night's Champions League semi-final, Owls' fans were tweeting..
And when Dele Alli was charged by the FA...
But have the yellow cards been justified? They have seemed harsh, with Forestieri's reputation seemingly going before him.
It is worth noting, too, that he is one of the most fouled players in the division.