• Golden boot in the bag for Berg

  UEFA.com - Found Jun. 29, 2009 Andrea Pirlo (Italy, 2000), Alberto Gilardino (Italy, 2004), Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Netherlands, 2006), Maceo Rigters (Netherlands, 2007), Johan...

• Is the future blue for Azzurri? - Global

  ESPNsoccernet - Found Jun. 28, 2009 Two that are not - 26-year-olds Alberto Gilardino and Fabio Quagliarella - failed to shine in South Africa.

• Felipe Melos team-mate admits the Arsenal target is heading for ...

  Football.co.uk - Found Jun. 24, 2009 Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino fears his club will not be able to keep Felipe Melo from Arsenal's clutches.

• Pressure grows on Lippi as world champion flops

  People's Daily Online - Found Jun. 23, 2009 Alberto Gilardino appeared in better form than Toni, but Lippi has tended to prefer the 1.92-meter Bayern Munich forward.

• Brazil send Italy out of Confederations Cup

  Times of India - Found Jun. 22, 2009 Italy finally woke up in the second half with substitutes Simone Pepe, Giuseppe Rossi and Alberto Gilardino all getting shots on target as... Football: USA in Confed semis, Italy out - CNN U.S. advances to Confederations Cup semis - Miami Herald U.S. advances to Confederation Cup semifinals - Detroit News U.S. advances with 3-goal win, 3-goal Italian loss - Philadelphia Daily News Explore All

  Al Jazeera

• Pressure grows on Lippi as world champion flops

  People's Daily Online - Found Jun. 23, 2009 Alberto Gilardino appeared in better form than Toni, but Lippi has tended to prefer the 1.92-meter Bayern Munich forward.

• Brazil send Italy crashing out of Confederations Cup

  Mangalorean - Found Jun. 22, 2009 Substitutes Giuseppe Rossi and Alberto Gilardino and Andrea Pirlo all tried their luck with shots, while Simone Pepe had a shot blocked but it...

• Lippi defends his team as three-goal Brazil knock out Italy - ...

  Earthtimes.org - Found Jun. 21, 2009 Substitutes Rossi and Alberto Gilardino and Andrea Pirlo all tried their luck with shots, while Simone Pepe had a shot blocked but it was... U.S. Advances in Confederations Cup - New York Times Italy crash out after heavy defeat to... - CNN Italy out of Confed Cup after 3-0 loss to Brazil - USA Today Unlikely U.S. Advances in Confederations Cup - New York Times Explore All

  Telegraph and Argus

• Brazil take Italy apart at Confed Cup

  AFP via Yahoo! - Found Jun. 21, 2009 Italy finally woke up in the second half with substitutes Simone Pepe, Giuseppe Rossi and Alberto Gilardino all getting shots on target as... � Brazil take Italy apart - IAfrica.com Brazil take Italy apart at Confed Cup - SuperSport Brazil take Italy apart at Confed Cup - The Age Brazil take Italy apart at Confed Cup - Sydney Morning Herald Explore All

• Brazilian rout puts heat on Italy's ageing squad

  New Zealand Herald - Found Jun. 22, 2009 Alberto Gilardino appeared in better form, but Lippi has tended to prefer the Bayern Munich forward. Pressure grows on Lippi as world champion flops - Shanghai Daily Lippi under pressure after Italy's departure - The Age Explore All

  New Zealand Herald

Alberto Gilardino
Personal information
Full name	Alberto Gilardino
Date of birth	July 5, 1982 (1982-07-05) (age 26)
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 career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1999–2000 2000–2002 2002–2005 2005–2008 2008–	Piacenza Verona Parma Milan Fiorentina	017 0(3) 039 0(5) 096 (50) 094 (36) 035 (19)
National team2
2000–2004 2004–	Italy U-21 Italy	030 (19) 034 (12)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 May 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 21 June 2009. * Appearances (Goals)

Alberto Gilardino, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI¹² (born 5 July 1982 in Biella, Piedmont) is an Italian footballer who currently plays as a striker for Italian Serie A club Fiorentina.

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, scoring only five goals in his two seasons at the club where he made 39 league appearances.

Parma

His career was launched on the international stage in 2002, after he transferred to Parma on the explicit request of former Verona coach Cesare Prandelli. Gilardino scored five goals in his first season, and netted 23 times in his second season. 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 2007.³ 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 AC Milan on 17 July 2005.⁴ 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.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 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.[1] On 28 May 2008, the deal was confirmed; Gilardino moved for €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. ⁶

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 that sealed 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.

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

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

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.

International goals

Updated to games played June 10, 2009. ⁷

Alberto Gilardino: International goals

#	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 31, 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

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.
• Gilardino became engaged to Alice Bregoli on 31 March 2006⁸ and had their first baby, a girl Ginevra, on 2 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.
• While still a teenager and going to football school, he shared the same room as Antonio Cassano, another notable Italian football player.
• Gilardino was featured on an episode of the hit Italian show Scherzi a Parte, which has a similar premise to the American show Punk'd.

References

External links

• 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

Alberto Gilardino - Navigation boxes and awards v • d • e Italy squad – 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalists 1 Pelizzoli • 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 Amelia • Coach: Gentile 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 v • d • e Italy squad – 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 Buffon • 2 Santon • 3 Grosso • 4 Chiellini • 5 Cannavaro • 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 v • d • e Serie A Footballer of the Year 1997: Mancini | 1998: Ronaldo | 1999: Vieri | 2000: Totti | 2001: Zidane | 2002: Trezeguet | 2003: Nedvěd & Totti | 2004: Kaká | 2005: Gilardino | 2006: Cannavaro | 2007: Kaká | 2008: Ibrahimović v • d • e Serie A Young Footballer of the Year 1997: Inzaghi | 1998: Nesta | 1999: Totti | 2000: Baronio | 2001: Cassano | 2002: Brighi | 2003: Cassano | 2004: Gilardino | 2005: Pazzini | 2006: De Rossi | 2007: Montolivo | 2008: Hamšík v • d • e Italian Footballer of the Year 1997: Mancini | 1998: Del Piero | 1999: Vieri | 2000: Totti | 2001: Totti | 2002: Vieri | 2003: Totti | 2004: Totti | 2005: Gilardino | 2006: Cannavaro | 2007: Totti | 2008: Del Piero