Alberto Gilardino

Alberto Gilardino
Gilardino managing Genoa in 2023
Personal information
Full name Alberto Gilardino[1]
Date of birth (1982-07-05) 5 July 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth Biella, Italy
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Cossatese
1996–1997 Biellese
1997–1999 Piacenza
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2000 Piacenza 17 (3)
2000–2002 Hellas Verona 39 (5)
2002–2005 Parma 96 (50)
2005–2008 AC Milan 94 (36)
2008–2012 Fiorentina 118 (48)
2012–2014 Genoa 50 (19)
2012–2013 → Bologna (loan) 36 (13)
2014–2015 Guangzhou Evergrande 14 (5)
2015 → Fiorentina (loan) 14 (4)
2015–2016 Palermo 33 (10)
2016–2017 Empoli 14 (0)
2017 Pescara 3 (0)
2017–2018 Spezia 16 (6)
Total 544 (199)
International career
1998 Italy U15 10 (1)
1998 Italy U16 2 (0)
1999–2000 Italy U19 3 (0)
2000–2004 Italy U21 24 (15)
2004 Italy Olympic 6 (4)
2004–2013 Italy 57 (19)
Managerial career
2019 Rezzato
2019–2020 Pro Vercelli
2020–2021 Siena
2021 Siena
2022–2024 Genoa
Medal record
Representing  Italy
Association football
FIFA World Cup
Winner 2006 Germany
Summer Olympics
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Athens
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Winner 2004 Germany
FIFA Confederations Cup
Third place 2013 Brazil
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Alberto Gilardino Ufficiale OMRI[3][4][5] (Italian pronunciation: [alˈbɛrto dʒilarˈdiːno]; born 5 July 1982) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player who played as a striker. He was most recently the manager of Serie A club Genoa.

A prolific goalscorer, in Gilardino's early career he was compared to Filippo Inzaghi due to his opportunism, positional sense and eye for goal.[6] Gilardino currently holds the record for being the tenth-youngest player to have scored 100 goals in Serie A, a feat which he managed at the age of 26 years and 105 days.[7][8][9][10][11][12] With 188 Serie A goals, Gilardino is currently among the top 10 all-time scorers in Serie A history.[13] His trademark goal celebration saw him get to his knees and play an imaginary violin.[14]

Gilardino has played for several Italian clubs throughout his career. He first came to prominence during his time at Parma due to his consistent goalscoring, which earned him the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year Award in 2004, followed by the Serie A Footballer of the Year and the Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year Awards in 2005, as well as a move to AC Milan. With Milan, he won the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, the 2007 UEFA Super Cup and the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup. Gilardino has also played for Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande, with whom he won the 2014 Chinese Super League.

Gilardino has represented Italy at under-19, under-20, under-21, and senior levels. Gilardino was a part of the Italian side that won the 2004 UEFA Under-21 Championship, where he became the tournament's leading goalscorer. He was also named as the best player of the tournament, and one of two strikers in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. Later that year, he also won a bronze medal with Italy at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He is the all-time top scorer of the Italy U-21 national team with 19 goals in 30 appearances. At senior level, he was part of the 2006 FIFA World Cup-winning squad, and has also participated at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2010 World Cup and the 2013 Confederations Cup, where he won a bronze medal. In his career Gilardino scored 432 goals.[15]

  1. ^ "FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010: List of Players: Italy" (PDF). FIFA. 4 June 2010. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Alberto Gilardino". Empoli F.C. (in Italian). Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  3. ^ quirinale.it (ed.). "Gilardino Sig. Alberto – Ufficiale Ordine al merito della Repubblica Italiana".
  4. ^ FIFA.com[dead link‍]
  5. ^ AscotSportal.com Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Il Verona mette i brividi alla Roma". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 27 August 2001. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  7. ^ "Icardi 100: Inter captain's Serie A landmark in Opta numbers". FourFourTwo. 18 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Inter Milan Fans Laud Mauro Icardi After Striker Becomes Sixth-Youngest to Net 100 Serie A Goals". Sports Illustrated. 18 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Icardi hits Serie A Century". Football Italia. 18 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  10. ^ Andrew Dampf (18 March 2018). "Icardi passes 2 century marks with 4-goal performance". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  11. ^ Redazione La Nazione. "Solo Altafini come Gilardino: bomber a 26 anni". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  12. ^ Giansandro Mosti. "Gila, numeri da urlo. Più decisivo di Altafini: alla sua età Bati era indietro". La Nazione. Retrieved 5 March 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^ Gilardino, sulla via di Pablito Rossi Archived 25 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine ilsecoloxix.it
  14. ^ "Trademark celebration power rankings: 30 of football's most recognisable routines rated and slated". The Mirror. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  15. ^ "Gilardino".