| Date of birth | 5 July 1982 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Biella, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
Alberto Gilardino, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI[1][2] (born 5 July 1982) is an Italian world cup-winning footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Fiorentina and the Italian national team.
In his early career, he was compared to Filippo Inzaghi,[3] and Vieri described him as the fusion of both players.
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 his 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 a co-ownership deal, then Gilardino was also bought by Parma in a co-ownership deal during 2001–02 season and 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.
Gilardino became infamous while on Milan for committing an obvious and egregious dive against Celtic, continuing to run for a few paces before flopping onto the ground. He received a yellow card.
Fiorentina
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 February 27th, 2011, Gilardino scored his 200th career goal in a match with Bari.
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.
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