Edin Dzeko: Inters big-game Mr Reliable who continues to defy time
The Guardian Edin Dzeko learned long ago not to worry about the dry spells. The Bosnian striker went 19 games without a goal for Internazionale this year, then interrupted that sequence with three in a week, scoring twice in a rout of Verona before grabbing the opener in the Champions League semi-final against Milan: a brilliant volley from a corner.
Sometimes you get in these difficult moments when the ball doesnt want to get in, he said at the time. But patience and work always pay off.
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They certainly have for Dzeko, preparing at 37 to play in his first Champions League final. Standing between him and the trophy are Manchester City, a team he scored 72 goals for between 2011 and 2015. My club, as he referred to them this week.
Dzeko uses similar framing when he talks about others he has played for: Wolfsburg, whom he fired to a first Bundesliga title when he was 23, or Roma, where he enjoyed his previous best Champions League run, reaching the semi-final after inspiring an epic three-goal comeback against Barcelona. They all have a piece of his heart. He has yearned, though, to revisit Manchester since he left.
