The 29-year-old attacking midfielder/forward’s three-goal effort against Torino FC in today’s Serie A action propelled Calcio Catania to the 3-2 victory. The well traveled Mascara has seen action at a host of Italian clubs over his career. Today’s hat-trick is surely one of his career achievements.
After Mascara’s second goal gave Catania a 2-1 lead late in the first half, the 18,000 supporters at the Stadio Angelo Massimino felt confident that three points would be secured.
Sadly, Torino equalized early in the second on a penalty goal from Nicola Amoruso. The match looked destined to end 2-2 until Mascara capped his Man-of-the-Match performance with his third goal in the 80th minute.
Catania now has 20 points out of 12 matches. A fine start for a squad who finished 17th last season in Serie A.
Is the club destined for European play next year? A closer look at Gli Elefanti follows:
1. Matías Agustín Silvestre: The 24-year-old Argentine on loan from Boca Juniors has keyed Catania’s defense. He has started all 12 matches.
2. Albano Bizarri: The 31-year-old Argentine goalkeeper has 60+ saves and 4 clean sheets on the early season.
3. Takayuki Morimoto: The 20-year-old Japanese forward has been with the club since 2006. He has seen only minimal action thus far, but is considered to have decent potential. Is he going to factor into Catania’s plans in 2009?
