Quagliarella's scoring streak ends at 11 consecutive appearances

It was fun while it lasted.

Fan favorite Fabio Quagliarella's scoring streak ended at 11 consecutive appearances after a fruitless 90 minutes against Napoli on Saturday. Though the 36-year-old tied Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta for the longest run in Serie A history, a lack of service prevented Quagliarella from doing one better at the San Paolo, where Sampdoria crumbled to a 3-0 defeat.

Quagliarella threatened to break the record - set in 1994 - with goals against AC Milan, Torino, Genoa, Bologna, Lazio, Parma, Empoli, Chievo, Juventus, Fiorentina, and Udinese.

The beloved striker still leads all of Serie A with 16 goals in 21 league appearances.

The opportunity to make history in Naples, near Quagliarella's birthplace, was too good to be true. He played for the Partenopei for a single season in 2009-10, a dream that ended when a stalker forced the hometown hero into a move to bitter rivals Juventus.

However, thanks to his inspiring form, Quagliarella was welcomed back to the Italian national team on Friday. He last represented the Azzurri at the 2010 World Cup.