Alberto Gilardino

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Alberto Gilardino
Personal information
Full name Alberto Gilardino
Date of birth July 5, 1982 (1982-07-05) (age 27)
Place of birth    Biella, Italy
Height 1.84 m (6 ft +1⁄2 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Fiorentina
Number 11
Youth career
Piacenza
Senior career1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1999–2000
2000–2002
2002–2005
2005–2008
2008–		 Piacenza
Verona
Parma
Milan
Fiorentina		 017 0(3)
039 0(5)
096 (50)
094 (36)
035 (19)   
National team2
2000–2004
2004–		 Italy U-21
Italy		 030 (19)
034 (12)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 31 May 2009.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 21 June 2009.
* Appearances (Goals)

Alberto Gilardino, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI[1][2] (born 5 July 1982 in Biella, Piedmont) is an Italian footballer who currently plays as a striker for Italian Serie A club Fiorentina.

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] Early years

Gilardino started his career at Piacenza, playing his first match in Serie A in the 1999-2000 season. That first season he made 17 league appearances and scored 3 goals.

"Gila", as he is often nicknamed, was sold to Verona in 2000, scoring only five goals in his two seasons at the club where he made 39 league appearances.

[edit] Parma

His career was launched on the international stage in 2002, after he transferred to Parma on the explicit request of former Verona coach Cesare Prandelli. Gilardino scored five goals in his first season, and netted 23 times in his second season. That total in the 2003-04 campaign made him the second-most prolific Serie A scorer. The success in club level and U-21 level earned him a contract extension until June 2007.[3] He repeated this feat in 2004-05, scoring another 23 goals and finishing as the second-best scorer in Serie A once again. He scored 50 goals for Parma in only 96 appearances in Serie A.

[edit] Milan

He made an estimated €24 million transfer to AC Milan on 17 July 2005.[4] Though he scored 17 domestic goals for Milan, he failed to find his offensive form in Milan's 2005-06 Champions League campaign, going goal-less in all 12 matches.[5] Gilardino's European offensive output the next season was equally disappointing, with only two goals. One of his two goals, though, helped Milan seal a decisive 3-0 win over Manchester United in the second leg of the semi-finals on 3 May 2007, which put them back into the Champions League final and set up a rematch with Liverpool. He played only two minutes as a substitute for Filippo Inzaghi in Milan's 2-1 victory. Gilardino led Milan in 2006-07 Serie A scoring with 12 goals; no other Milan player hit double figures.

Gilardino contributed a brace in Milan's 5-1 defeat of Lazio on 7 October 2007 (which marked his first domestic goal following a double in Milan's 5-2 victory over Ascoli on 18 April), and likewise for his first Champions League scores of the season in a 4-1 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk on 24 October.

[edit] Fiorentina

Gilardino during a 3-0 loss to Lazio on September 24, 2008.

On 25 May 2008, Fiorentina sporting director Pantaleo Corvino confirmed that a deal to sign Gilardino from Milan had been completed.[1] On 28 May 2008, the deal was confirmed; Gilardino moved for €15 million and signed a five-year deal. Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli previously guided Gilardino when the pair were with Parma. His first goal with the Violas arrived in the first leg of the third qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League 2008–09 against Slavia Prague, where he scored the second goal of the match. On 31 August, Gilardino scored on his Serie A debut against Juventus in the 89th minute to tie the game at 1–1. In the successive league match, he supplied an assist to Adrian Mutu to open the score in the match against Napoli, but Fiorentina still finished on the losing side by suffering a 1–2 defeat at the Stadio San Paolo. In the first match from the Champions League group stages against the French of Olympique Lyonnais, he scored two goals in the first half to give Fiorentina a two-goal cushion, only to be cancelled by two second-half goals from Frédéric Piquionne and Karim Benzema. Gilardino finished the 2008-09 season with 19 Seria A goals and was instantly beloved by the Viola faithful. Among the highlights of his season was a double against Roma and an astonishing tight angle shot against Genoa while being marked by three defenders. [6]

[edit] International career

Gilardino played with Italy in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, winning the bronze medal. He also led Italy's Under 21 team to victory in the 2004 European Under-21 Football Championship.

Gilardino is currently the all-time top scorer for the Italy National Under-21 team.

He was a member of the Italy squad that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He played in the first two matches, scoring a goal against the United States with a diving header, then coming on as a substitute in the semifinal match against Germany, hitting the post in extra time and providing the pass for Alessandro Del Piero's stoppage-time goal that sealed the Azzurri's 2-0 victory.

On 17 October 2007, Gilardino assumed the team captaincy for the first time in his international career after Daniele De Rossi was substituted during Italy's 2-0 friendly win over South Africa. He returned to the national team on 20 August, 2008 and scored the first of Italy's two goals in an international friendly against Austria, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

In June 2009, Marcello Lippi called Gilardino up for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. Gilardino played a friendly match against New Zealand in Pretoria, South Africa days before Italy's first match, netting two goals and displaying a wonderful performance.

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  Italy
Men's Football
Bronze 2004 Athens Team Competition

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

[edit] National team

[edit] Individual

[edit] Career statistics

Correct as of May 17, 2009.
Club Season Domestic
League		 Domestic
Cup		 European
Competition1		 Other
Tournaments2		 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Piacenza 1999-00 17 3 - - - - - - 17 3
2000 - - 3 2 - - - - 3 2
Total 17 3 3 2 - - - - 20 5
Verona 2000-01 22 3 - - - - - - 22 3
2001-02 17 2 2 1 - - - - 19 3
Total 39 5 2 1 - - - - 41 6
Parma 2002-03 24 4 2 1 2 0 - - 26 5
2003-04 34 23 2 0 4 3 - - 40 26
2004-05 38 23 1 0 8 1 - - 47 24
Total 96 50 5 1 14 4 - - 115 55
Milan 2005-06 34 17 3 2 10 0 - - 47 19
2006-07 30 12 4 2 11 2 - - 45 16
2007-08 30 7 1 0 8 2 1 0 40 9
Total 94 36 8 4 29 4 1 0 132 44
Fiorentina 2008-09 33 19 1 0 10 5 - - 44 25
Total 33 19 1 0 10 6 - - 44 25
Career Totals 279 113 19 8 53 14 1 0 352 135

1European Competitions include the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup.
2Other Tournaments include the FIFA Club World Cup.

[edit] International goals

Updated to games played June 10, 2009. [7]

Alberto Gilardino: International goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. October 13, 2004 Parma, Italy  Belarus 4–3 Win FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualification
2. February 9, 2005 Cagliari, Italy  Russia 2–0 Win Friendly
3. August 17, 2005 Dublin, Ireland  Republic of Ireland 1–2 Win Friendly
4. October 12, 2005 Lecce, Italy  Moldova 2–1 Win FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualification
5. November 12, 2005 Amsterdam, Netherlands  Netherlands 1–3 Win Friendly
6. March 1, 2006 Florence, Italy  Germany 4–1 Win Friendly
7. April 31, 2006 Geneva, Switzerland  Switzerland 1–1 Draw Friendly
8. June 17, 2006 Kaiserslautern, Germany  United States 1–1 Draw FIFA World Cup 2006
9. September 6, 2006 Saint-Denis, France  France 1–3 Loss UEFA Euro 2008 Qualification
10. August 20, 2008 Nice, France  Austria 2–2 Draw Friendly
11. June 10, 2009 Pretoria, South Africa  New Zealand 4–3 Win 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
12. June 10, 2009 Pretoria, South Africa  New Zealand 4–3 Win 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

[edit] Trivia

  • When he scores, he often celebrates "playing the violin" – he gets down on his knees and imitates a violinist.
  • Gilardino is close friends with former Milan teammate Daniele Bonera; they were also teammates at Parma. Gilardino once dedicated one of his goals to Daniele's baby daughter Talitha.
  • Gilardino became engaged to Alice Bregoli on 31 March 2006[8] and had their first baby, a girl Ginevra, on 2 March 2008.
  • He was born the day of Italy’s 3-2 group stage victory over Brazil in the 1982 World Cup, which was ultimately won by Italy.
  • While still a teenager and going to football school, he shared the same room as Antonio Cassano, another notable Italian football player.
  • Gilardino was featured on an episode of the hit Italian show Scherzi a Parte, which has a similar premise to the American show Punk'd.

[edit] References

  1. ^ FIFA.com
  2. ^ AscotSportal.com
  3. ^ "Gilardino staying at Parma". UEFA.com. 2004-08-11. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/uefacup/news/kind=1/newsid=214929.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-03. 
  4. ^ "Gilardino 'honoured' to join Milan". UEFA.com. 2005-07-18. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/news/kind=1/newsid=317789.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-03. 
  5. ^ "Gilardino gives Milan another year". UEFA.com. 2006-10-02. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/news/kind=1/newsid=463290.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-03. 
  6. ^ Pier Luigi, Todisco (2008-09-17). "[http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/SerieA/Squadre/Fiorentina/Primo_Piano/2008/09/17/lioneviola.shtml Viola di rabbia a Lione Doppio Gilardino e poi pari]". Gazzetta.it. http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/SerieA/Squadre/Fiorentina/Primo_Piano/2008/09/17/lioneviola.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-09-18. 
  7. ^ F.I.G.C. Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio
  8. ^ alice.it

[edit] External links

v • d • e
ACF Fiorentina – current squad

1 Frey · 2 Krøldrup · 3 Dainelli · 4 Donadel · 5 Gamberini · 6 Vargas · 7 Semioli · 8 Jovetić · 10 Mutu · 11 Gilardino · 12 Storari · 18 Montolivo · 19 Gobbi · 20 Jørgensen · 21 Comotto · 22 Kuzmanović · 23 Pasqual · 24 Santana · 25 Avramov · 28 Jefferson · 32 Bonazzoli · 54 Da Costa · Coach: Prandelli
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Gilardino"
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