Stefano Fiore

Stefano Fiore

Personal information
Date of birth	April 17, 1975 (1975-04-17)
Place of birth	Cosenza, Italy
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Manager (former Midfielder)
Club information
Current club	Cosenza (manager technical area)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1992–1994	Cosenza	11	(1)
1994–1995	Parma	8	(1)
1995–1996	Padova	24	(1)
1996–1997	ChievoVerona	38	(2)
1997–1999	Parma	54	(2)
1999–2001	Udinese	67	(18)
2001–2004	Lazio	95	(17)
2004–2007	Valencia	20	(2)
2005–2006	→Fiorentina (loan)	38	(6)
2006	→Torino (loan)	19	(1)
2007	→Livorno (loan)	16	(2)
2007–2008	Mantova	24	(3)
2009–2011	Cosenza	37	(7)
National team
2000–2004	Italy	38	(2)
Teams managed
2011-	Cosenza (manager technical area)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Stefano Fiore (born April 17, 1975 in Cosenza) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as an attacking midfielder or on the wing. He is currently in charge as manager technical area of Cosenza in Serie D.

Football career

Parma and early years

Fiore was born in Cosenza, which is where his career began during 1992. He played just 11 games before moving to Parma in 1994. His limited playing time with the Gialloblu forced him to move to Padova for the following season, where he scored 1 goal in 24 games. In the 1996-97 season, Fiore moved to A.C. ChievoVerona where he was impressive, notching up 2 goals and plenty of assists. This prompted former club, Parma, to re-sign the midfielder in 1997. For the next 2 seasons the Gialloblu left Fiore mainly on the bench, yet when he was given a chance he looked far more impressive than the aging Dino Baggio.

Udinese

In June 1999 he moved to Udinese, originally a cash plus player deal which Parma would get Stephen Appiah and Márcio Amoroso, for a combined 90 billion lire transfer fees to Udinese, Fiore priced 15 billion and the rest as cash.

His career improved during the season. Here he scored 9 goals in 33 appearances. His fine form earned him a call to the national side for Euro 2000 at the expense of Dino Baggio, the man who had kept him out of the Parma team for so long. He had a very successful tournament and scored what many regard as the goal of the tournament in the 2-0 victory over Belgium. His fine form continued and he scored 9 goals in 34 games in 2000-01 season.

Lazio

Eventually, Fiore did move to Lazio in June 2001 along with teammate, Giuliano Giannichedda, for a deal over 80 billion Italian lire. Lazio had big money moves that season, they sold midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón and Pavel Nedvěd co-currently that month (June), and sold striker Marcelo Salas to Juventus F.C. for cash and Darko Kovačević. They also got Jaap Stam to compensate part of Verón's transfer fees and signed Gaizka Mendieta from Valencia.

Fiore could not find his best form for the Biancocelesti as coach, Alberto Zaccheroni, persisted in playing him on the left side of midfield. This resulted in Fiore losing his place in the national side for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

Zaccheroni was dismissed in 2002, and Fiore began to improve with a new coach, Roberto Mancini. Fiore seemed more at ease playing in the centre of midfield and guided Lazio to fourth in Serie A, thus earning them a place in next season's UEFA Champions League. Fiore was in good form for Lazio the following season, despite the loss of several key players in the summer (and then Dejan Stanković in January 2004) . Lazio won the 2003–04 Coppa Italia, in which Fiore was an inspirational player. His impressive showings earned him a place on the national side for Euro 2004. However, Fiore was used sparingly by coach Giovanni Trapattoni, who preferred to play the Argentine born winger, Mauro Camoranesi. When he did start, the Azzurri looked a lot more creative, with Fiore nearly scoring from a spectacular volley against Bulgaria in the final group game. Despite the Azzurri winning this match, the damage was done in the 2 previous group games, and Italy exited the tournament early.

Valencia

Due to the financial problems that Lazio were suffering, Fiore, along with Bernardo Corradi, were offloaded to Spanish outfit, Valencia, where he joined with the Italian coach Claudio Ranieri, signing a 3+1 years contract. Corradi was priced €10M and Fiore for €6.6M and was to compensate the unpaid €16.6M Gaizka Mendieta's remained transfer fees.

After a promising start, Valencia suffered a disastrous losing streak in October, which they never fully recovered from. They exited the UEFA Champions League early, and coach Claudio Ranieri was dismissed by mid February. Fiore could not adequately adapt to the demands of Spanish football, and was often left on the substitutes bench.

Late career

In July 2005, Fiore and Corradi returned to Serie A, with Fiorentina taking the midfielder on a loan spell. La Viola has lost attacking midfielder Enzo Maresca and holding midfielder Christian Obodo earlier in June. His form with the Viola was outstanding. He linked up well with fellow Italian striker, Luca Toni, and together they brought Fiorentina to a higher level, guiding them to 4th in Serie A (before the Calciopoli verdicts saw them lose this place).

Fiorentina decided not to take Fiore on a permanent basis and Fiore sealed a loan move to Torino (which recently promoted back to top division) on deadline day. On 31 January 2007, the closure of transfer market, he was loaned to Livorno.

On February 11, 2007 he played his first Serie A match for Livorno against A.C. Milan

In the summer 2007, he failed to find a club to settle, until 22 August 2007, he signed a 1-year contract with A.C. Mantova of Serie B, which he last experienced in 1997.

Successively, Fiore did not play for any team during the 2008–09, but on September 2009 he finally made his comeback into active football, agreeing a three-year contract with hometown club Cosenza, in the Lega Pro Prima Divisione league (Italian third tier).

Statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Europe		Total
1993/94	Cosenza	Serie B	11	1	1	0	-		12	1
1994/95	Parma	Serie A	8	1	6	0	6	0	20	1
1995/96	Padova	Serie A	24	1	1	0	-		25	1
1996/97	ChievoVerona	Serie B	38	2	2	1	-		40	3
1997/98	Parma	Serie A	26	1	7	1	6	0	39	2
1998/99			28	1	9	0	10	2	47	3
1999/00	Udinese	Serie A	33	9	1	0	8	1	42	10
2000/01			34	9	6	0	5	0	45	9
2001/02	Lazio	Serie A	30	3	2	0	8	2	40	5
2002/03			33	5	5	1	8	2	46	8
2003/04			32	8	7	6	8	2	47	16
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Europe		Total
2004/05	Valencia	La Liga	20	2			3	0	23	2
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Europe		Total
2005/06	Fiorentina	Serie A	38	6	3	1	-		41	7
2006/07	Torino	Serie A	19	1	0	0	-		19	1
2006/07	Livorno	Serie A	16	2	0	0	-		16	2
2007/08	Mantova	Serie B	24	3	0	0	-		24	3
2009/10	Cosenza	LP Prima Divisione	20	4	0	0	-		20	4
2010/11			17	3	2	0	0	0	19	3
Country	Italy		414	57	50	10	62	9	526	76
	Spain		20	2			3	0	23	2
Total			434	59	50	10	65	9	549	78

Italy national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2000	14	1
2001	7	1
2002	1	0
2003	7	0
2004	9	0
Total	38	2

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	June 14, 2000	Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	0–2	Win	UEFA Euro 2000
2.	February 18, 2001	Rome, Italy	Argentina	1–2	Loss	Friendly

Honours

• 1995 UEFA Cup winner Parma
• 1999 UEFA Cup winner Parma
• 1999 Italian Cup winner Parma
• 2004 Italian Cup winner S.S. Lazio
• 2004 UEFA Super Cup Winner With Valencia CF

External links

• Stefano Fiore's record of achievements
• Player profile on TuttoMantova.it (Italian)