31 May 2006, by Sean Gillen

Pauleta 2005/06 season review

Goal-machine Pauleta goes from strength to strength

Pauleta is like a good bottle of Port wine. He gets even better with age. A superb return of 29 goals from 41 matches speaks for itself.

Another hugely successful personal campaign for the Azorean striker was once more let down by the poor showing from the rest of his Paris Saint Germain team.

The Portuguese striker scored a brace in his side’s first home game of the season in a 2-0 win over Toulouse, and hit seven goals in PSG’s first nine games.

But despite captain Pauleta’s goals, the team were under performing so coach Laurent Fournier was sacked in December, replaced by former Sochaux boss Guy Lacombe.

Rallying call

Pauleta attempted to rally the troops on Lacombe’s arrival, insisting he “doesn’t want any more excuses,” but Lacombe failed to turn things around, and the side went on an 8-game winless run in February and March.

In the middle of this run came a season low point as bitter-rivals Marseille, fielding an inexperienced reserve side after disagreements between the clubs over security, held PSG to a 0-0 draw at the Parc Des Princes.

Pauleta still managed two goals in this eight-game period, and was inevitably on target as PSG hammered Auxerre 4-1 to end the run.

A hat-trick from the skipper in the 3-1 win against Bordeaux at the beginning of April was to be PSG’s last win of the season, with three losses and two draws in their last five games.

Top scorer in France

Despite Pauleta’s 21 goals, which saw him top the Ligue 1 goalscoring charts, the Parisians slumped to a disappointing 9th place finish in Le Championnat.

The saving grace for the club’s season was their French Cup win in April, in which Pauleta was a key figure in the run to the final. A brace in the win over Lyon-La-Duchere in the third round was followed by another strike in the 2-1 quarter-final win over Lille and an 85th-minute winner against Nantes in the semis.

PSG won the cup with a win over arch-rivals Marseille. Vikash Dhoraso and Bonaventure Kalou netted the goals in a 2-1 win to ensure European football for next season.

It was this guarantee of European football that may have convinced Pauleta to stay at the Parc Des Prince, as Lyon approached the 33-year-old at the end of the season.

With the 5-times champions offering the forward a lucrative contract, and PSG not standing in his way, it was expected that Pauleta would move on and join a team capable of matching his ambitions.

But Portugal’s all-time record goalscorer proved his loyalty and signed a new deal at the Parc Des Prince, before joining up with the Portugal squad for this summer’s World Cup as his country’s first-choice striker.

Season Highlight

Portugal 3-0 Latvia - 13/10/05

Pauleta’s brace against Latvia in Portugal’s final World Cup qualifying match saw the Azorean become his country’s all-time record goalscorer, usurping the legendary Eusebio. Pauleta also finished as top scorer in the European qualification section, with 11 goals in 12 matches.

                                       Season stats

* League appearances only