Alberto Aquilani
| File:Aquilani.JPG | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alberto Aquilani | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Central Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | A.S. Roma | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 22 2008 | |||
Alberto Aquilani born in Rome, Italy (July 7, 1984) is an Italian football midfielder who, known for his passing ability and thunderous long shots, currently plays for Juventus F.C..
Football career
In 2001, when he was 16, Chelsea offered him a lucrative contract but he declined the offer because it was his dream to play for A.S. Roma, whom he had supported since childhood.[1]
A.S. Roma
He made his debut in Serie A on 10 May 2003 against Torino, but played the season 2003-04 in US Triestina on loan. Back to Roma in 2004-05, he scored the second goal in the victory in the derby played on 26 February 2006; that victory broke the record of most consecutive wins in Serie A. In the following season he was expected to be one of the best player of Roma, in fact he was also capped for the first time by Italy on 15 November 2006 for a friendly against Turkey. Unfortunately an injury forced him to stay away from the fields for several months. Despite this he played as regular during the 2007 U-21 Championships held in the Netherlands and was also named in the 'UEFA Team of the tournament'. He scored an excellent free kick in this tournament against the Czech Republic.He also played in the UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid where he had an excellent game. That performance earned him much praise from the media and Real Madrid were reported to be targeting him for a transfer soon after the game.
He scored two long range goals in the first two matches of the season 2007-08 with AS Roma against Palermo and Siena, and thus was called up to Roberto Donadoni's Azzurri for the fundamental games against France and Ukraine.
Aquilani was named to the 23-man roster for Euro 2008, his first major international tournament. He came on as a sub in Italy's third game of the tournament, which was a 2-0 victory over rivals France. He started Italy's quarterfinal match against Spain due to the suspensions to Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso but disappointed as Italy crushed out after a penalty shoot-out against the eventual winners.
Juventus F.C.
On July 23, 2008 Aquilani stunned Roma fans by announcing he had agreed to a transfer to the most titled team in Italy, Juventus FC.
Transfer Rumors
Arsenal FC and Valencia both had offers rejected for Aquilani [2] in the summer of 2007, according to reports in Italy. The duo were believed to have put in bids of around 15 million euros, but Roma turned both sides down in order keep one of their star midfielders. However, speculation surrounding Aquilani resurfaced again in the summer of 2008, with Arsenal again linked. Vincenzo Morabito, pretending to be Aquilani's agent, suggested that Arsene Wenger is targeting his client to replace the recently departed Mathieu Flamini. Aquilani quickly moved to dampen these rumours, telling Corriere dello Sport that "I am part of Roma and the other sides do not matter. Talk of a move makes no sense."
Aquilani's agent is in fact Franco Zavagli and not Vincenzo Morabito. Morabito was later involved in a row with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's agent, Arnold Oosterveer, for pretending to represent the dutch striker in an interview with L'Equipe.
However, lately reported that Aquilani open the door for a move to England saying that he wants an improvement in his current contract with Roma and most importantly a guaranteed starting spot in his preferred defensive midfield position. While on national team duty with Italy, Aquilani had a discussion with Roma director Bruno Conti who later claimed that all is settled with Aquilani and that he will be signing a new contract soon rumored to be worth 2.5 million euros a season. He is this summer being linked with Manchester City to improve bolster the clubs midfield ahead of their season.
In addition to Arsenal and Valencia other clubs that have expressed interest in Aquilani include Real Madrid, Palermo, Inter Milan, Juventus, Chelsea FC and Manchester United. He wants to stay at Roma as it is his boyhood club but would not hesitate moving if a good offer comes to him and Roma.
References
 | ||