Alberto Gilardino

Alberto Gilardino

Personal information
Date of birth	5 July 1982 (1982-07-05) (age 28)
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 career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999–2000	Piacenza	17	(3)
2000–2002	Verona	39	(5)
2002–2005	Parma	96	(50)
2005–2008	Milan	94	(36)
2008–	Fiorentina	71	(34)
National team‡
2000–2004	Italy U-21	30	(19)
2004–	Italy	43	(16)
Honours Olympic Games Competitor for  Italy Men's Football Bronze 2004 Athens Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 May 2010. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 June 2010

Alberto Gilardino, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI^[1][2] (born 5 July 1982) is an Italian footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Fiorentina and the Italian national team.

In his early career, he was compared to Christian Vieri, and Filippo Inzaghi described him as the fusion of both players.^[3]

Club career

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 in co-ownership, for 7.5 billion Italian lire.^[4] Despite young age, he scored five goals in his two seasons at the club where he made 39 league appearances. But Gilardino was already attracted Verona to sign in full in June 2001,^[5] For another 7 billion lire.^[6] After Martin Laursen was bought back in June 2001 by Parma, Anthony Šerić was sold to Verona in co-ownership deal then Gilardino was also bought by Parma in co-ownership deal during 2001–02 season but loaned back to Verona.

He also faced a car accident which ruled him out of season in April 2001.^[7]

Parma

His career was launched on the international stage in 2002, as Parma bought the remained 50% registration rights and gave Šerić back to Verona.^[8] Later Adrian Mutu, his team-mate at Verona was also signed, to replace the left of Marco Di Vaio. Under Cesare Prandelli, who later bought him to La viola, Gilardino scored five goals in his first season, and netted 23 times in his second season, after the left of Adriano. 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.^[9] 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.

Milan

He made an estimated €24 million transfer to A.C. Milan on 17 July 2005.^[10] 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.^[11] 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.

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.^[12] On 28 May 2008, the deal was confirmed; Gilardino moved for reported €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.^[13] Gilardino had an exceptional campaign in the Champions League the following season, first scoring a dramatic late goal to give Fiorentina a 2–2 tie at Sporting Lisbon, then against Debrecen, and then again scoring in the third minute of stoppage time against Liverpool in the final match day of the group phase, which gave Fiorentina a coveted first place finish at the expense of Lyon. On 31 August 2010, he was linked with a deadline day transfer to English giants Liverpool FC. However this move did not materialize.

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 two minutes after the first goal sealing 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.

On 10 October 2009, Gilardino scored what he describes as the most important goal of his career so far, scoring in the 89th minute against Ireland. This enabled them (Italy) to qualify for the 2010 World Cup to try and defend the title they won in 2006.

On 14 October 2009, Gilardino scored a hat trick in the final 13 minutes of the game against Cyprus to cap a 3–2 victory for Italy.

Gilardino was part of the Italian 2010 FIFA World Cup squad. The journey turned out to be a disappointement after being eliminated from the group stages.

Honours

Club

• UEFA Champions League: 1
  • 2006–07
• UEFA Super Cup: 1
  • 2007
• FIFA Club World Cup: 1
  • 2007

National team

• FIFA World Cup: 1
  • 2006
• UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 1
  • 2004

Individual

• Serie A Footballer of the Year: 1
  • 2005
• Italian Footballer of the Year: 1
  • 2005
• Serie A Young Footballer of the Year: 1
  • 2004
• UEFA European Under-21 Championship Golden Player: 1
  • 2004

Career statistics

Correct as of May 17, 2009.

¹European Competitions include the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup.
²Other Tournaments include the FIFA Club World Cup and Italy national under-21 football team.

International goals

Alberto Gilardino international goals. ^[14]

#	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 30, 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	Friendly
12.	June 10, 2009	Pretoria, South Africa	New Zealand	4–3	Win	Friendly
13.	October 10, 2009	Dublin, Ireland	Republic of Ireland	2–2	Draw	FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualification
14.	October 14, 2009	Parma, Italy	Cyprus	1–2	Win	FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualification
15.	October 14, 2009	Parma, Italy	Cyprus	2–2	Win	FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualification
16.	October 14, 2009	Parma, Italy	Cyprus	3–2	Win	FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualification

Personal life

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. Besides his goal-scoring, he is well-remembered for his goal celebration as well – getting on his knees and "playing the violin" at the touchline in front of the fans. He became engaged to Alice Bregoli on 31 March 2006^[15] and had their first baby, a girl Ginevra, on 2 March 2008. The couple wed July 5, 2009 in Santa Margherita Ligure, in the province of Genoa. [2]

References

External links

• (Italian) Profile at ACF Fiorentina official site
• (Italian) National Team stats at FIGC official site
• FootballDatabase.com provides Gilardino's profile and stats
• Fan site
• Profile at calcio57.com
• Alberto Gilardino - FIFA competition record

Italy squad Italy squad – 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalists 1 Amelia • 2 Chiellini • 3 Moretti • 4 Ferrari • 5 Bonera • 6 De Rossi • 7 Pinzi • 8 Palombo • 9 Gilardino • 10 Pirlo • 11 Sculli • 12 Gasbarroni • 13 Barzagli • 14 Bovo • 15 Donadel • 16 Del Nero • 17 Mesto • 18 Pelizzoli • Coach: Gentile Italy squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup Winners (4th Title) 1 Buffon • 2 Zaccardo • 3 Grosso • 4 De Rossi • 5 Cannavaro (c) • 6 Barzagli • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Toni • 10 Totti • 11 Gilardino • 12 Peruzzi • 13 Nesta • 14 Amelia • 15 Iaquinta • 16 Camoranesi • 17 Barone • 18 Inzaghi • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Perrotta • 21 Pirlo • 22 Oddo • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Lippi Italy squad – 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 Buffon • 2 Santon • 3 Grosso • 4 Chiellini • 5 Cannavaro (c) • 6 Legrottaglie • 7 Pepe • 8 Gattuso • 9 Toni • 10 De Rossi • 11 Gilardino • 12 De Sanctis • 13 Gamberini • 14 Amelia • 15 Iaquinta • 16 Camoranesi • 17 Rossi • 18 Palombo • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Montolivo • 21 Pirlo • 22 Dossena • 23 Quagliarella • Coach: Lippi Italy squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 Buffon • 2 Maggio • 3 Criscito • 4 Chiellini • 5 Cannavaro (c) • 6 De Rossi • 7 Pepe • 8 Gattuso • 9 Iaquinta • 10 Di Natale • 11 Gilardino • 12 Marchetti • 13 Bocchetti • 14 De Sanctis • 15 Marchisio • 16 Camoranesi • 17 Palombo • 18 Quagliarella • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Pazzini • 21 Pirlo • 22 Montolivo • 23 Bonucci • Coach: Lippi