Alberto Gilardino

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Alberto Gilardino
Alberto Gilardino (right)
Personal information
Full name Alberto Gilardino
Date of birth July 5, 1982 (1982-07-05) (age 25)
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 clubs
Piacenza
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1999–2000
2000–2002
2002–2005
2005–2008
2008–		 Piacenza
Hellas Verona
Parma
A.C. Milan
Fiorentina		 17 0(3)
39 0(5)
96 (50)
94 (36)
00 0(0)   
National team2
2000–2004
2004–		 Italy U-21
Italy		 30 (19)
25 0(9)

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 November 21, 2007.
* Appearances (Goals)

Alberto Gilardino, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI[1][2], (born July 5, 1982 in Biella, Piedmont) is a World Cup-winning footballer who plays as striker for ACF Fiorentina and the Italian national team.

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] Early years

"Gila" started his career for Piacenza Calcio, playing his first match in Serie A against A.C. Milan, That season he made 17 league appearances and scored 3 goals.

He was sold to Hellas Verona in 2001, scoring only five goals in his two seasons at the club where he made 39 league appearances.

[edit] Parma

His career was launched on the international stage in 2002, after he transferred to Parma F.C. on the explicit request of former Verona coach Cesare Prandelli. Gilardino scored five goals in his first season, and netted over four times that total in the 2003-04 campaign, making him the second-most prolific Serie A scorer. The success in club level and U21 level, made him earned a contract extension until June 2007.[3] He repeated this feat in 2004-05, scoring 23 goals and finishing as the second-best scorer in Serie A once again.

[edit] AC Milan

He made an estimated €24m transfer to AC Milan on 17 July 2005.[4] Though he scored seventeen domestic goals for Milan, he failed to find his offensive form in Milan's 2005-06 Champions League campaign, going goalless in all twelve matches. Gilardino also created havoc with a controversial foal against Celtic in the Champions League by diving while running into the penalty area. The idiotic attempt for a penalty ended in a yellow card. However he was offered additional one year on his contract in October 2006. [5] 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 semifinals on May 3, 2007, which put them back into the CL final and set up a rematch with Liverpool F.C.. He played only two minutes as a substitute for Filippo Inzaghi in Milan's 2-1 victory. Gilardino led Milan in '06-07 Serie A scoring with twelve goals; no other Milan player hit double figures.

He contributed a brace in Milan's 5-1 defeat of S.S. Lazio on October 7, 2007 (which marked his first domestic goal following a double in Milan's 5-2 victory over Ascoli Calcio on April 18), and likewise for his first Champions League scores of the season in a 4-1 victory over FC Shakhtar Donetsk on October 24.

[edit] ACF Fiorentina

On May 25th 2008 Fiorentina sporting director Pantaleo Corvino confirmed that a deal to sign Alberto Gilardino from Milan had been completed. [1] On May 28th 2008 The deal was confirmed Fiorentina reportedly paid a €15 million transfer fee, and has signed Gilardino to a five-year deal worth €1.5 million per season, plus bonuses and incentives. Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli previously guided Gilardino when the pair were with Parma.

[edit] National

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.

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 that sealed the Azzurri's 2-0 victory.

On October 17th, 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.

Olympic medal record
Competitor for Flag of Italy Italy
Men's Football
Bronze 2004 Athens Team Competition

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

[edit] National

[edit] Individual

[edit] Career stats

[edit] Club performance

Club Season Domestic
League		 Domestic
Cup		 European
Competition1		 Other
Tournaments2		 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Piacenza 1999-00 17 3 - - - - - - 17 3
2000 - - 3 2 - - - - 3 2
Total 17 3 3 2 - - - - 20 5
Hellas Verona 2000-01 22 3 - - - - - - 22 3
2001-02 17 2 2 1 - - - - 19 3
Total 39 5 2 1 - - - - 41 6
Parma 2002-03 24 4 2 1 2 0 - - 26 5
2003-04 34 23 2 0 4 3 - - 40 26
2004-05 38 23 1 0 8 1 - - 47 25
Total 96 50 5 1 14 4 - - 115 55
A.C. Milan 2005-06 34 17 3 2 10 0 - - 47 19
2006-07 30 12 4 2 11 2 - - 45 16
2007-08 30 7 1 0 8 2 1 0 40 9
Total 94 36 8 4 29 4 1 0 132 44
Career Totals 246 94 18 8 43 8 1 0 307 110
Last updated April 12, 2008

1European Competitions include the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup.
2Other Tournaments include the FIFA Club World Cup.

[edit] International goals

Updated to games played March 28, 2007. [6]

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. October 13, 2004 Palermo, Italy Flag of Belarus Belarus 4–3 Win FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualification
2. February 9, 2005 Cagliari, Italy Flag of Russia Russia 2–0 Win Friendly
3. August 17, 2005 Dublin, Ireland Flag of Ireland Republic of Ireland 1–2 Win Friendly
4. October 12, 2005 Lecce, Italy Flag of Moldova Moldova 2–1 Win FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualification
5. November 12, 2005 Amsterdam, Netherlands Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands 1–2 Win Friendly
6. March 1, 2006 Florence, Italy Flag of Germany Germany 4–1 Win Friendly
7. April 31, 2006 Geneva, Switzerland Flag of Switzerland Switzerland 1–1 Draw Friendly
8. June 17, 2006 Kaiserslautern, Germany Flag of the United States USA 1–1 Draw FIFA World Cup 2006
9. September 6, 2006 Saint-Denis, France Flag of France France 1–3 Loss UEFA Euro 2008 Qualification

[edit] Trivia

  • When he scores, he often celebrates "playing the violin"- he gets down on his knees and imitates a violinist.
  • 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.
  • He became engaged to Alice Bregoli in 31 March 2006.[7] and had their first baby, a girl Ginevra on the 2nd of March, 2008.
  • He was born the day of Italy’s 3-2 group stage victory over Brazil in the 1982 World Cup, which was ultimately won by Italy.

[edit] References

  1. ^ FIFA.com
  2. ^ AscotSportal.com
  3. ^ Gilardino staying at Parma. UEFA.com (2004-08-11). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  4. ^ Gilardino 'honoured' to join Milan. UEFA.com (2005-07-18). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  5. ^ Gilardino gives Milan another year. UEFA.com (2006-10-02). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  6. ^ F.I.G.C. Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio
  7. ^ alice.it

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Kaká		 Serie A Footballer of the Year
2005		 Succeeded by
Fabio Cannavaro
Preceded by
Francesco Totti		 Italian Footballer of the Year
2005		 Succeeded by
Fabio Cannavaro
Preceded by
Antonio Cassano		 Serie A Young Footballer of the Year
2004		 Succeeded by
Giampaolo Pazzini


v • d • e
Italy squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Winners (4th Title)
1 Buffon • 2 Zaccardo • 3 Grosso • 4 De Rossi • 5 Cannavaro • 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
 Flag of Italy
v • d • e
ACF Fiorentina – current squad

1 Frey • 2 Krøldrup • 3 Dainelli • 4 Donadel • 5 Gamberini • 6 Potenza • 7 Semioli • 9 Osvaldo • 10 Mutu • 11 Gilardino • 12 Lupatelli • 15 Mazuch • 16 Hable • 17 Papa Waigo • 18 Montolivo • 19 Gobbi • 20 Jørgensen • 21 Ujfaluši • 22 Kuzmanović • 23 Pasqual • 24 Santana • 25 Avramov • 29 Pazzini • 32 Vieri • 54 Da Costa • 99 Cacia • Coach: Prandelli