Serie A Striker is in his best form

Italian football has always been a great receiver of Argentine goal-scoring talent; Maradona, Caniggia, Batistuta, Crespo and Milito had their time, but now Dybala, Higuain and, above all, Mauro Icardi dance to the rhythm of Serie A.

The Inter striker is the undisputed star of the current season, and with 16 goals in 15 games, he has piqued the interest of Real Madrid.

Leaders of Serie A with 39 points, Inter face Juventus on Saturday night in what is undoubtedly the most difficult game of the season.

The Vecchia Signora will open their doors to receive the neroazzurri in a game known as Juventus-Inter because, with more than 200 official matches, it's the fixture that's been held the most times in the division,

Officially, it's the Italian classic; unofficially, on this occasion, it will be Mauro's.

Icardi knows how to hurt the 'Old Lady' scoring seven in nine games against them.

In love with Inter

"I'm fine in Milan, everyone knows, I love the city, I play, I score a lot of goals and I'm the captain of a great club," he said recently to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I want to win something with Inter.

"When I lived in the Canary Islands, some friends of the family visited Milan and brought us two caps: a rossonera and a neroazzurra.

"I chose the one from Inter and that's how I started being a supporter of the team."

To understand Icardi the player, you have to look at his history.

He was born in Rosario and his family moved to Spain when he was nine years old.

He began his football career at Union Deportiva Vecindario, where he scored more than 500 goals in the junior categories.

Then came Barcelona in 2011.

He didn't have the street-fighting characteristics of a pure Argentinian, evidencing that he grew up in Europe.

Great figures

To analyse his numbers, you have to stop for a moment and take a deep breath.

They are exceptional figures.

In Europe, only Cavani is ahead of him in the race for the Golden Shoe.

He's scored 48.48 percent of Inter's total goals this season -16 of 33 - and needs three more to reach 100 in Serie A (10 with Sampdoria and 87 with Inter).

Last season he managed to score 24 goals in 34 games and in this campaign, he already has 16 in 15.

Spalletti trusts him a lot and Icardi has exceeded expectations, so winning the Scudetto would be fair recognition.

The weight of being No.9

Icardi has a formidable killer instinct, the most lethal striker in Serie A.

He scores every 1.9 shots and every 82 minutes, and his objective is clear.

"Inter's aim is to qualify for the Champions League," he noted.

"I miss playing in Europe and you are not seeing the best Icardi because the best is yet to come."