Sebastian Giovinco

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Sebastian Giovinco
Personal information
Date of birth	January 26, 1987 (1987-01-26) (age 21)
Place of birth	Turin, Italy
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club	Juventus
Number	20
Youth clubs
2001–2006	Juventus
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2006– 2007–2008	Juventus → Empoli (loan)	03 (0) 35 (6)
National team2
2003 2003–2004 2005 2006 2006–2007 2007– 2008	Italy U-16 Italy U-17 Italy U-18 Italy U-19 Italy U-20 Italy U-21 Olympic team	07 (3)[1] 07 (1)[1] 04 (0)[1] 01 (1)[1] 04 (0)[1] 11 (0)[1] 10 (3)[1]
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 18, 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of September 9, 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Sebastian Giovinco (born January 26, 1987 in Turin) is an Italian footballer who is currently playing for Juventus. Giovinco plays as an attacking midfielder with noted dribbling and play-making skills.^[2]

Due to his short stature and his technical skills Giovinco acquired the nickname formica atomica (atom ant, after the eponymous Hanna-Barbera character) and although only being in the early stages of his footballing career, he is today considered one of the most promising Italian footballers.^[3]

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Club career 1.3 International career 2 Honours 2.1 Club 2.2 International 3 References

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Giovinco was born in Turin to Southern-Italian immigrant parents; his mother is from Catanzaro, Calabria while his father is from Palermo, Sicily.^[4] He grew up highly interested in football and impressed Juventus who brought him into their youth system in 2001, at the age of 14. He then rose through the youth system ranks of the club, impressing by winning the Campionato Primavera with the bianconeri in their 2005–06 campaign.

[edit] Club career

He was successively integrated into the Juventus first team and made his debut on May 12, 2007 in a Serie B league match against Bologna, entering in as a substitute in place of Raffaele Palladino, and promptly marking his debut with a splendid assist for David Trezeguet's tap-in.

On July 4, 2007 he was loaned out to Empoli, a Tuscan Serie A team that also took part in the UEFA Cup 2007–08. Giovinco scored his first Serie A goal on September 30, 2007 when Empoli beat Palermo 3–1. His goal became the game winner.

Giovinco caused large media interest when he scored his second goal a few weeks later, on November 4. The goal was an equalizer in the last minute against Roma, it was a long distance curling free kick from the right wing, a goal which was compared by some pundits to Ronaldinho's against England in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.^[5]

On June 25, 2008 it was confirmed that Giovinco would return to Juventus for the 2008–2009 campaign, giving him the chance to play at the UEFA Champions League level as well.

[edit] International career

Giovinco has represented Italy at every youth level from under-16s upwards. He was called up to Italy U-21 by head coach Pierluigi Casiraghi, on June 1, 2007 to make his first appearance at that level in a qualification match against Albania.^[6] He gave the assist for Acquafresca who scored. Italy U-21 won the match 0–1.

He also starred at the 2008 Toulon Tournament, where he was voted most valuable player, scoring two goals in the opening game against the Ivory Coast,^[7] and netting the winning penalty in the semifinal match against Japan.^[8] Italy ultimately won the competition, defeating Chile 1–0 in the final.

Giovinco then appeared in the 2008 Olympic Games for the Italian team. He scored the first goal in a 3–0 win against Honduras in the first match of the competition where he struck the ball from outside of the box with his left foot. He also had an impressive second match against South Korea. His Olympic adventure ended after Italy lost 3–2 to Belgium in the quarter-finals.

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

• 2005–06 Torneo di Viareggio (Juventus)
• 2005-06 Campionato Primavera (Juventus)
• 2006–07 Serie B (Juventus)

[edit] International

• 2008 International Tournament of Toulon (Italy U-21)

[edit] References

v • d • e Italy squad – 2008 Summer Olympics 1 Viviano • 2 Motta • 3 De Ceglie • 4 Nocerino • 5 Cigarini • 6 Criscito • 7 Montolivo • 8 Marchisio • 9 Rocchi • 10 Giovinco • 11 Rossi • 12 Dessena • 13 Coda • 14 Acquafresca • 15 Bocchetti • 16 De Silvestri • 17 Abate • 18 Consigli • Coach: Casiraghi

Persondata
NAME	Giovinco, Sebastian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Giovinco, Sebastian
SHORT DESCRIPTION	football (soccer) player
DATE OF BIRTH	1987-1-26
PLACE OF BIRTH	Turin, Italy
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

v • d • e Juventus F.C. – current squad 1 Buffon • 3 Chiellini • 4 Mellberg • 5 Zebina • 6 Zanetti • 7 Salihamidžić • 8 Amauri • 9 Iaquinta • 10 Del Piero (c) • 11 Nedvěd • 12 Chimenti • 13 Manninger • 14 Andrade • 15 Knežević • 16 Camoranesi • 17 Trezeguet • 18 Poulsen • 19 Marchisio • 20 Giovinco • 21 Grygera • 22 Sissoko • 27 Ekdal • 28 Molinaro • 29 De Ceglie • 30 Tiago • 32 Marchionni • 33 Legrottaglie • Manager: Ranieri