Alberto Gilardino

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Alberto Gilardino
Personal information
Full name	Alberto Gilardino
Date of birth	July 5, 1982 (age 24)
Place of birth	Biella, Piemonte, Italy
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Nickname	Gila
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	A.C. Milan
Youth clubs
1999	Piacenza
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1999-2001 2001-2002 2002-2005 2005-	Piacenza Hellas Verona Parma AC Milan	17 (3) 39 (5) 96 (50) 49 (28)
National team2
2000-2004 2004-	Italy U-21 Italy	30 (19) 23 (9)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Alberto Gilardino (born July 5, 1982 in Biella, Piemonte) is an Italian football (soccer) player, who is a striker for AC Milan and the Italian national team. He was member of the Italian team which won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Contents 1 Club 2 National 3 Trivia 4 External links

[edit] Club

Gilardino started his career for Piacenza Calcio, playing his first match in Serie A against A.C. Milan. Then he was sold to Hellas Verona, for which he played for two season and scoring only two goals but showing plenty of his talent. His career was launched on the international stage in 2002, after he moved to Parma on explicit request of former Hellas Verona coach Cesare Prandelli. He scored five goals in his first season and then 23 goals the next year, when he ranked as second-placed scorer in Serie A in the 2003-04 season. In 2004-05 season, he again scores 23 goals and also ranked as second-placed scorer in Serie A.

He made an estimated £18m transfer to AC Milan on 17 July 2005. Though he has scored seventeen Serie A goals for Milan, he failed to find his offensive form in Milan's 2005-06 UEFA Champions League campaign, as he went scoreless in all twelve matches.

Gilardino has been having some difficulty scoring early on in the season, but he finally scored his first goal in the 06/07 season (with AC Milan) against Internazionale and was able to break his Champions League drought in the 88th minute against Anderlecht, four days later. He also scored a brace against Fiorentina to capture a much needed point for AC Milan.

[edit] National

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

He played for the Italian national football team during 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 also played for 2002 European U-21 Football Championship Qualifying round against Hungary and playoff for Final Tournament, against Poland home legs. He played for Italian U-18 team, reached Intermediary round of 2000 European Under-18 Football Championship.

Gilardino was a member of the Italian team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He played in the first two matches, scoring a goal against USA with a diving header. He came on as a substitute in the semi-final match versus Germany, hitting the post in extra-time and providing the pass for Alessandro Del Piero's stoppage time goal that sealed Italy's 2-0 victory.

[edit] Trivia

• When he scores, he often celebrates "playing the violin"- he gets down on his knees and imitates a violinist.
• He's a huge fan of retired striker Gabriel Batistuta from Argentina.
• He is the best friend of his teammate Daniele Bonera. They've played together for AC Milan and AC Parma. He has even dedicated one of his goals to Daniele's baby daughter.
• He is engaged to Alice Bregoli.[1]
• He was part of a controversial diving call in the 2006-2007 Champions League game against Celtic.[2]

[edit] External links

• Personal site
• Profile and stats at A.C. Milan official site
• (Italian) National Team stats at FIGC official site
• FootballDatabase.com provides Gilardino's profile and stats

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

A.C. Milan - Current Squad

1 Dida | 2 Cafu | 3 Maldini | 4 Kaladze | 5 Costacurta | 7 Oliveira | 8 Gattuso | 9 Inzaghi | 10 Seedorf | 11 Gilardino | 13 Nesta | 15 Borriello | 16 Kalac | 17 Šimić | 18 Jankulovski | 19 Favalli | 20 Gourcuff | 21 Pirlo | 22 Kaká | 23 Ambrosini | 24 Grimi | 25 Bonera | 26 Storari | 27 Serginho | 28 Guerci | 29 Fiori | 30 Facchin | 31 Antonelli | 32 Brocchi | 33 Di Gennaro | 34 Bottini | 35 Aubameyang | 36 Darmian | 37 Bruscagin | 38 Lunati | 39 Vitofrancesco | 44 Oddo | 99 Ronaldo | Coach: Ancelotti

	Italy squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Champions (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