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The striker was on the sidelines for over a year when he suffered a serious knee injury, but came on as a substitute in today’s 3-1 win over Siena for his debut Atalanta goal.

“It is a goal dedicated to everyone, especially for Atalanta, as they believed in me. I am ready to get back to the top level of football,” said ‘Bobo’.

It wasn’t just any strike either, as he swung round for a fantastic half-volley from 40 metres that dipped mercilessly under the bar.

He had not netted in Serie A since a goal for Milan against Empoli on October 26, 2005, but this takes his career tally to 133.

“I saw the goalkeeper off his line, the ball bounced kindly for my left foot and so I gave it a go. Thankfully it went in.”

Vieri is working towards full fitness and hopes to be in particularly good shape when he faces his old club Inter on May 20.

There is a lot of bad blood between them, as he is suing the Nerazzurri for having detectives track his movements and tap his phone calls.

“After the second operation I started to feel better,” he explained. “Then two and a half months later I started running and had to wait another four months to be fit to play. The worst is over now, I just need to find my match fitness.”

Yet the minimum wage deal with Atalanta could be only a stopgap solution, as Vieri has hinted he’ll be moving on to bigger things this summer.