Marco Negri

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Marco Negri
Personal information
Full name Marco Negri
Date of birth October 27, 1970 (1970-10-27) (age 37)
Place of birth    Milan, Italy
Playing position Striker (retired)
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1994-1995
1995-1997
1997-2001
1999-2000
2001-2002
2002
2002-2003
2004-2005
Cosenza
Perugia
Rangers
Vicenza (loan)
Bologna
Cagliari
Livorno
Perugia
Total
034 (19)
060 (33)
030 (32)
009 0(1)
003 0(0)
005 0(2)
010 0(8)
003 0(0)
154 (95)   

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Marco Negri (born 27 October 1970 in Milan) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a Striker for Perugia, Scottish club Rangers, Bologna and Livorno.

When Rangers manager Walter Smith bought the Italian forward from Perugia for £3.5 million in 1997 he was rewarded with instant success - Negri scored 23 goals in only ten games. His low-key celebrations were noteworthy - often he felt the need only to exchange a handshake with other players and showed little in the way of facial expressions.

It soon became clear that this was not a show of modesty but rather a deep disaffection from his work and those around him. He easily topped the goal charts in that first campaign, with 32 League strikes. His scoring run was brought to an end on suffering a serious eye injury on the squash court while playing against team-mate and fellow countryman Sergio Porrini.

After that first season Negri only played three more first team games; he sat out the whole of one campaign and Rangers tried loaning him to Vicenza. However, the striker seemed content to sit in the reserves and see out his contract at Ibrox. Neither Walter Smith or his successor Dick Advocaat (appointed at the start of the 1998-99 season) could coax commitment out of him and eventually he was sold to Bologna in February 2001.

His record at Bologna reads two substitute appearances in two years, so it would appear that his attitude to the game remained the same. He apparently did start working with a famous sports clinic in Italy with a view to regaining full fitness and at that time, Ivano Bonetti held talks with Negri about a return to Scotland as replacement for Claudio Caniggia at Dundee.

After Bologna Negri dropped into Serie B with Livorno but they released him after a few months. In 2004 the player had a trial at Derby County, although he wasn't offered a contract.

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