A prolific striker robbed of European Golden Shoe by the point system
Jonatan Soriano is a prolific striker whose career has been mainly in low football clubs. The Catalan boy has played for Salzburg Girona and Beijing Guoan.
In terms of performance, the player’s ability was unquestionable. His quality was like that of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Since the point system favors players who play in tougher European leagues, Soriano never won out any of the so-called top awards like the case of Messi and Cristiano.
In his six-year career in Austria, Jonatan scored 172 goals. His career began as a teenager at Espanyol before he was released in 2009. He joined Barcelona with the intention of playing in their third division reserve team.
He was a very talented player. He made his senior team debut as a substitute in Barcelona’s Copa del Ray match against Deportiva Leonesa, which Barcelona won 2-0.
Unfortunately, this debut was the only appearance for the senior team even though he was Spain’s Segunda Division B top scorer with 32 goals the following season.
Things got worse for him at 27 years when Barcelona refused to renew his contract. With the desire to make a point, he joined Austria side Red Bull Salzburg that same year. In the first season, he managed to score his team 5 goals in 15 games as he was just settling and adapting to his new club.
The second season was a breakthrough for the talented player. He amassed 26 goals in 32 league matches. He scored a hattrick in a 6-2win over Wolfsberger hours after spending the morning with her wife who had just given birth.
The 2013-2014 season saw the player net a staggering 48 goals in 43 matches. This season also saw him crowned the Europa League top scorer.
With 31 league goals that season, Soriano’s tally was at par with that of Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo. This put him in the European Golden Shoe contention which he lost. The Europen points system robbed him.
Soriano moved to the Chinese Super League where he scored 31 goals in 36 match appearances. He also won the Chinese FA Cup. He later moved to Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal FC as a free agent, but his performance was dismal.
Girona later signed him a year later on a short-term deal. Things however did not work as expected. He managed just 1 goal in 16 appearances for the team.
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