Graziano Pellè

Graziano Pellè

Personal information
Date of birth	15 July 1985 (1985-07-15)
Place of birth	San Cesario di Lecce, Italy
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position	Centre forward
Club information
Current club	Sampdoria
Number	99
Youth career
2001–2004	Lecce
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2007	Lecce	12	(0)
2005	→ Catania (loan)	15	(0)
2006	→ Crotone (loan)	17	(5)
2006–2007	→ Cesena (loan)	37	(10)
2007–2011	AZ	68	(14)
2011–	Parma	10	(1)
2012	→ Sampdoria (loan)	0	(0)
National team
2004–2005	Italy U20	10	(7)
2005–2007	Italy U21	11	(0)
2008	Italy Olympic	5	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 January 2012. † Appearances (Goals).

Graziano Pellè (born 15 July 1985) is an Italian footballer who plays for U.C. Sampdoria on loan from Parma F.C. in Serie A, as a centre forward.

Club career

Lecce

Born in San Cesario di Lecce, Province of Lecce, Pellè started playing for U.S. Lecce's youth teams, winning two Campionato Primavera titles (2003–04) and the Coppa Italia Primavera (2002). He made his Serie A debut on 11 January 2004, in 1–2 home defeat against Bologna F.C. 1909, making a total of two appearances in the season.

In January 2005, Pellè was loaned out to Catania Calcio in Serie B, being regularly used but failing to find the net. In the summer took part in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with the under-20 team, scoring four goals in an eventual quarterfinal exit, and returned to Lecce for 2005–06, only to be loaned again in the winter transfer window, again to the second division, now to F.C. Crotone.

In the 2006–07 season, Pellè was yet again loaned to a level two club, this time to A.C. Cesena, where he had a breakthrough year with 10 goals, thus earning a spot in the Italian team at the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, where he collected three appearances, all as a substitute. In the 5th-place playoff match against Portugal, he scored the first penalty kick in the shootout win, through a chip.

AZ

In July 2007, Pellè lost all ties to Lecce and signed for Dutch outfit AZ. He stated in an interview that he had a choice of staying at Lecce, who would loan him to U.S. Città di Palermo, but chose the Alkmaar club instead because of its willingness to give chances to young players. However, his debut was larlgely unfruitful, as he struggled to replace PSV Eindhoven-bound Danny Koevermans, and finished his first season with just three goals in 27 games (16 starts).

On 28 December 2008, Pellè scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win against NEC Nijmegen. He then netted twice goals in a 3–0 home win over FC Groningen, but was overall sparingly used by the North Holland side over the course of four Eredivisie seasons, being released in June 2011.

Parma

In early July 2011, Parma F.C. confirmed through its official website that Pellè had signed a multiyear contract with the team. On 31 January 2012, he joined U.C. Sampdoria in the second division, on loan.

External links

• Stats at Lega Serie A (Italian)
• National team data (Italian)
• Stats at Voetbal International (Dutch)
• Official website