Edin Dzeko surprised a lot of people when he turned down a lucrative offer from Premier League champion Chelsea in January to stay with Roma.
Pledging his allegiance for Roma then, Dzeko declared that he was determined to accomplish something important with the Italian club.
Consider his desire realized.
Dzeko's sheer will and brute force were the primary reasons behind Roma's shocking elimination of Barcelona in the Champions League quarterfinals.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina striker scored two goals and drew a penalty to set up another over the two legs as Roma clawed back from a three-goal deficit to advance to the semifinals.
"I stayed with Roma to experience matches like these. I'm happy to be with Roma and I think the club should be, too," Dzeko said after Roma's 3-0 win on Tuesday overturned a 4-1 first-leg defeat.
"I turned down a lot of money by not going to Chelsea but that's not what I'm interested in. If we play like this we can play with anyone. I've never seen Barcelona in so much difficulty."
Roma suffocated Barcelona with high pressure, prompting the Catalan giants and La Liga leaders to make a series of errant passes and turnovers. Barcelona had no answer for the aerial abilities of Dzeko and fellow forward Patrik Schick, who was the revelation of the night.