Stefano Fiore

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Personal information
Stefano Fiore
Full name	Stefano Fiore
Date of birth	April 17, 1975 (age 31)
Place of birth	Cosenza, Italy
Height	181cm
Position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Torino
Number	7
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1992-1994 1994-1995 1995-1996 1996-1997 1997-1999 1999-2001 2001-2004 2004- 2005-2006 2006-	Cosenza Parma Padova Chievo Parma Udinese Lazio Valencia Fiorentina (loan) Torino (loan)	11 (1) 8 (1) 24 (1) 38 (2) 54 (2) 67 (18) 95 (17) 20 (2) 38 (16) 13 (0)
National team**
2000-2004	Italy	38 (2)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of December 14, 2006. ** National team caps and goals correct as of December 14, 2006.

Stefano Fiore (April 17, 1975 in Cosenza) is an Italian football player who plays in central midfield or on the wing. His current club is Torino. He is best known for his outstanding passing abilities and creativity, which result in many assists for his teammates. He also has a tendency to score key goals for both club and country.

Fiore's career began at Cosenza in 1992, the place where he was born. He played just 11 games before moving to Parma in 1994. His limited playing time with the Gialloblu forced him to move to Padova for the following season, where he scored 1 goal in 24 games. In the 1996-97 season, Fiore moved to Chievo Verona where he was very impressive, notching up 2 goals and plenty of assists. This prompted former club, Parma, to re-sign the midfielder in 1997. For the next 2 seasons the Gialloblu left Fiore rotting on the bench, yet when he was given a chance he looked far more impressive than the ageing Dino Baggio.

Fiore's career took off in the 1999-00 season after a move to Udinese. Here he scored 9 goals in 33 appearances, many of which were truly spectacular. His fine form earned him a call up to the national side for Euro 2000 at the expense of Dino Baggio, the man who had kept him out of the Parma team for so long. He had a very successful tournament and scored what many regard as the goal of the tournament in the 2-0 victory over Belgium. Fiore returned to Udinese for the 2000-01 season despite rumours of a move to Lazio, Inter Milan and Juventus. His fine form continued and he scored 9 goals in 34 games. Eventually, Fiore did move to Lazio in 2001 in a deal worth €20 million. Fellow teammate, Giuliano Giannichedda, also joined him in Rome. Fiore could not find his form for the Biancocelesti as coach, Alberto Zaccheroni, persisted in playing him on the left side of midfield. This resulted in Fiore losing his place in the national side for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Fiore admitted that he did not deserve to go due to his poor form for Lazio, but the midfielder was gutted.

Zaccheroni was sacked in 2002, and Fiore began to find his form under new coach, Roberto Mancini. Fiore seemed far more at ease playing in the centre of midfield and guided Lazio to fourth in Serie A, thus earning them a place in next season's UEFA Champions League. Fiore was in sensational form for Lazio the following season, despite the loss of several key players in the summer. Lazio won the Coppa Italia, in which Fiore was an inspirational player. His impressive showings earned him a place on the national side for Euro 2004. However, Fiore was used sparingly by coach, Giovanni Trapattoni, who preferred to play the Argentine born winger, Mauro Camoranesi. When he did start, the Azzurri looked a lot more creative, with Fiore nearly scoring from a spectacular volley against Bulgaria in the final group game. Despite the Azzurri winning this match, the damage was done in the 2 previous group games, and Italy exited the tournament early.

Due to the financial problems that Lazio were suffering, Fiore, along with several other teammates, were offloaded to Spanish outfit, Valencia, where he joined up with the Italian coach, Claudio Ranieri. After a promising start, Valencia suffered a disastrous losing streak in October, which they never fully recovered from. They exited the UEFA Champions League early, and coach Claudio Ranieri was dismissed by mid February. Fiore could not adequately adapt to the demands of Spanish football, and was often left on the substitutes bench. In the summer of 2005, he returned to Serie A, with Fiorentina taking the midfielder on a loan spell. His form with the Viola was outstanding. He linked up well with fellow Italian striker, Luca Toni, and together they brought Fiorentina to a higher level, guding them to 4th in Serie A (before the Calciopoli verdicts saw them lose this place). Despite many fans and pundits alike claiming that he deserved a recall to the national side, Fiore missed out on Marcello Lippi's 23 man squad for the 2006 World Cup.

Surprisingly, Fiorentina decided not to take Fiore on a permanent basis despite his highly impressive loan spell. What made this even more surprising was that Valencia were willing to release Fiore for as little as £2 million. After much speculation linking the midfielder with Milan, Inter and Juventus, Fiore sealed a loan move to Torino on deadline day.