Ciro Immobile

Ciro Immobile

Immobile with Borussia Dortmund in 2014
Personal information
Full nameCiro Immobile
Date of birth20 February 1990
Place of birthTorre Annunziata, Italy
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current team
Borussia Dortmund
Number9
Youth career
2002–2008Sorrento
2008–2009Juventus
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2009–2012Juventus3(0)
2010–2011→ Siena (loan)4(1)
2011→ Grosseto (loan)16(1)
2011–2012→ Pescara (loan)37(28)
2012–2013Genoa33(5)
2013–2014Torino33(22)
2014–Borussia Dortmund20(3)
National team‡
2009–2010Italy U206(0)
2009–2013Italy U2116(8)
2014–Italy11(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 May 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 March 2015

Ciro Immobile (Italian pronunciation: [ˈtʃiro imˈmɔbile]; born 20 February 1990) is an Italian footballer who plays as a striker for German club Borussia Dortmund and the Italian national team.

He began his career at Sorrento. In 2009 he was purchased by Juventus to play as a substitute, and then loaned out to three different clubs before moving to Genoa in 2012. After a season there, he moved to Juventus' rivals Torino. In his only season at Torino, he won the Capocannoniere award nominated for being the top scorer in Serie A, where he scored 22 goals in 33 games. Although primarily a striker, Immobile is capable of playing anywhere along the front-line. Immobile is primarily known for his eye for goal, as well as his physical attributes, his finishing ability with both feet, his reliable technique, and his effectiveness in the air.[2][3]

Immobile made his debut for the Italian national team in 2014 and was included in the squad for 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Born in Torre Annunziata, in the province of Naples, Immobile began his youth career with Sorrento, with who he scored 30 goals in the U-17 during the 2007–2008 season, impressing observers of Serie A giants, Juventus F.C.[4]

In 2008, at the age of 18, he was signed for €80,000, under the recommendation of Ciro Ferrara by Juventus to play with the Primavera.[5][6]

Juventus

Immobile playing for Juventus in August 2011

Immobile joined the Primavera (under-20) squad in 2009, where he formed a striking partnership with Ayub Daud that led the squad to win the 2009 Torneo di Viareggio, where he scored a total five goals; two of which came in the final.[7]

On 14 March 2009, Immobile made his Serie A debut in a 4–1 home win against Bologna, replacing Juventus' captain Alessandro Del Piero in the 89th minute, in a game where his youth system teammate Daud also made his Serie A debut, replacing Sebastian Giovinco a minute earlier. On 25 November 2009, Immobile also made his debut in a European competition, again as a second-half substitute for Alessandro Del Piero in a Champions League game against Bordeaux. In February 2010, he scored a hat-trick against Empoli in the 2010 Torneo di Viareggio final to seal the title for a second consecutive season.[8]

Siena, Grosseto

On 1 July 2010, Immobile, along with teammate Luca Marrone, were sent on loan to recently relegated Serie B side A.C. Siena. In exchange for the two loans, Juventus acquired Niccolò Giannetti, Leonardo Spinazzola, and Austrian midfielder Marcel Büchel on loan from the Tuscan club.[9] Immobile never broke into the first team, however, and in January 2011, he left Siena, after just 4 appearances and 1 goal. Following his departure from Siena, he was immediately loaned by Juventus to Grosseto, another Serie B club for the remainder of the 2010-11 Serie B season.[10] Immobile made his debut for the club on 29 January 2011, in a 0–1 away win over Vicenza Calcio. He finished the campaign with 16 appearances for Grosseto before returning to Juventus on 30 June 2011.

Pescara

On 17 August 2011, it was announced that Immobile would join Serie B club Pescara on a season-long loan from Juventus.[11] He scored his first goal for the club on 26 August during his debut for Pescara in the first league match against Hellas Verona. By the end of the Serie B andata (first half of the season), Immobile had already scored 14 league goals. On 30 January 2012, Genoa confirmed that they had paid €4 million for half of the player's rights from Juventus, following his mercurial form in Serie B. He completed his season with Pescara in the Italian second division, as the club won the league title and sealed promotion to the Serie A. He also went on to become the Serie B season's top scorer with a total of 28 goals, seven more than the second-highest scorer, Juve Stabia's Marco Sau. Immobile was also named the Serie B's Player of the Year at the 2012 AIC Gran Gala del Calcio, alongside team-mates Lorenzo Insigne and Marco Verratti.[12] On 20 June 2012, Immobile's co-ownership agreement was renewed by Juventus and Genoa, with the Ligurian side maintaining his registration rights for the 2012-13 Serie A campaign. For the €4 million transfer fee, Juventus converted into the purchase of Richmond Boakye's 50% registration rights in July 2012.

Genoa

Immobile formally became a Genoa player on 1 July 2012 after the loan with Pescara expired. On 26 August 2012, Immobile scored his first Serie A goal in the home match won 2–0 against Cagliari. He scored his second on 16 September against his co-owners Juventus in his club's 1–3 loss home at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. He also scored a goal in back-to-back games against Napoli and Sampdoria on 11 and 18 November, respectively, as Genoa failed to win either game. He finished the season with five goals scored in 33 Serie A appearances (21 as a starter), failing to score a goal in the 2013-half of the season as Genoa finished in 17th place, just escaping relegation.

On 19 June 2013, Genoa and Juventus again renewed the co-ownership agreements of Immobile and Boakye.[13]

Torino

Immobile with Torino in 2014

On 12 July 2013 Juventus bought Genoa's half of Immobile for €2.75 million.[14] On the same day he was sold to city-rivals Torino under a new co-ownership deal for €2.75 million.[15] Immobile was the third Torino signing from Genoa, following defenders Cesare Bovo and Emiliano Moretti.

He made his debut for Torino during the first round of the Coppa Italia against former club Pescara, scoring his first goal of the season.[16] He provided an assist in his Serie A debut for the club, but did not score until 7 October in a 2–2 draw against Sampdoria. Previously, Immobile had failed to score in Serie A since December 2012. The goal signalled a run of form for Immobile, with the player scoring a further 12 goals in his next 15 matches, including his first brace in Serie A during a game against Chievo Verona in December.[17]

On 22 March 2014, Immobile scored his first Serie A hat-trick, in a 3–1 win against Livorno.[18] Three days later, he scored a spectacular volley with his left foot against Roma, temporarily bringing the Granata level at the Stadio Olimpico.[19] On 6 April, he scored the winning goal against Catania in a 2–1 victory.[20]

On 13 April, Genoa were leading 1–0, when Immobile and Alessio Cerci both scored in stoppage time to give Torino a 2–1 win.[21][22] He scored again in the following round in a 3–3 draw away to Lazio.[23] On 27 April, Immobile scored for the sixth consecutive match in a 2–0 defeat of Udinese.[24] This took him to 21 goals in the season,[25] equaling the seasonal goal records of Paolo Pulici and Francesco Graziani at Torino.[26][27]

On 11 May, Immobile scored in the penultimate fixture of the season against Parma, but was sent off in the second half and suspended for the final match against Fiorentina.[28] He concluded his season with 22 goals in 33 appearances, plus one goal in the Coppa Italia.[29] He became the first Torino player to win the Capocannoniere since "Ciccio" Graziani in the 1976–77 season.[30]

Borussia Dortmund

Immobile playing for Borussia Dortmund in July 2014

On 2 June 2014 Immobile was sold to Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund,[31][32][33][34] despite the co-ownership agreement between Torino and Juventus not being resolved. Urbano Cairo, the president of Torino, accused Juventus and Dortmund of violating FIFA regulation regarding transfer on 10 May 2014,[35] which FIGC also states that such transfers must have mutual consent of the co-owners. Cairo also wanted to keep Immobile for at least a season for sports and for profit. On 18 June 2014, Juventus sold the remaining 50% registration rights of Immobile to Torino for €8 million.[36] On 13 August 2014, Immobile made his official debut for Dortmund as a striker in the starting line up for the 2014 DFL-Supercup against Bayern Munich. The match ended in Borussia lifting the cup by the score of 2–0.[37]

Immobile made his Bundesliga debut on 23 August in the opening match of Dortmund's 2014-15 Bundesliga campaign which saw them lose 2–0 to Bayer Leverkusen at home. On 16 September 2014, Immobile scored his first goal for the club, opening a 2–0 home win over Arsenal in the group stages of the Champions League.[38] He scored four goals in five Champions League matches, on a 3–0 away win over Anderlecht, on a 4–1 home win over Galatasaray and on a 1–1 home draw vs Anderlecht, with Borussia qualifying as first from the group. On 17 December 2014, Immobile assisted the first goal and scored the second on a 2–2 home draw with Wolfsburg.

International career

Immobile made his Italy under-19 debut in a 2009 European Championship qualifier in October 2008, but Italy failed to make it to the play-offs. On 25 March 2009, he made his debut with the Italy under-21 squad in a friendly match against the Austrian under-21s. He scored his first goal at the U-21 level at his second appearance, on 25 April 2012, in a friendly match won 4–1 against Scotland. He also scored against the Netherlands when he dribbled past three defenders and chipped the keeper. He was selected as a member of the Italy U-21 squad for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in Israel, along with Genoa teammate Andrea Bertolacci.

On 2 March 2014, he received his first call-up to the senior national team by Cesare Prandelli, for a friendly match against Spain three days later.[39] He made his debut as a substitute with for Alessio Cerci after 69 minutes as Spain eventually won 1–0.[40]

On 13 May 2014, Immobile was named in Italy's provisional 30-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup,[41] and on 1 June he was named in the final 23-man squad.[42] On 8 June, he scored a hat-trick in the Azzurri's final World Cup warm-up match, a 5–3 defeat of Brazilian club side Fluminense.[43] Immobile made his competitive debut in Italy's opening 2–1 win over England in Manaus on 14 June, playing the last 17 minutes in place of Mario Balotelli who scored the Italian winner.[44] He scored his first international goal in the third minute of a 2-0 friendly victory against the Netherlands on 4 September 2014.[45]

Career statistics

Club

As of 18 April 2015[46]
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Italy League Cup Europe Total
2008–09JuventusSerie A10000010
2009–1020101040
2010–11SienaSerie B4121-62
Grosseto 16100-161
2011–12Pescara 372800-3728
2012–13GenoaSerie A33510-345
2013–14Torino332211-3423
2014–15Borussia DortmundBundesliga19333642810
Career total 14560856415969

Honours

Club

Juventus
Pescara
Borussia Dortmund

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Scheda". bvb.de. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "Ciro Immobile capocannoniere della Serie B: dalla Juventus al Pescara per imporsi con Zeman". Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Generazione di Fenomeni - Ciro Immobile, l'ultimo goleador esploso con Zeman: mamma Juventus lo aspetta, il Genoa lo brama, a Pescara sperano di trattenerlo". Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  4. ↑ Berlusconi: “Montolivo out 5 mesi. Balo. "SpazioMilan - L'emozione rossonera". Spaziomilan.it. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  5. ↑ ""Quando l'Inter scartò Immobile per Balotelli..." - Panorama" ["When Inter rejected Immobile in favour of Balotelli..."] (in Italian). Sport.panorama.it. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  6. ↑ "Danilo Pagni: "Ecco come la Juve soffiò Immobile all'Inter" - Juventus - TMW" [Danilo Pagni: "This is how Juve took Immobile from Inter] (in Italian). Tuttomercatoweb.com. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "TMW VIAREGGIO – Trionfa la Juventus" (in Italian). TuttoMercatoWeb. 23 February 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Ciro Immobile turns 20 in a perfect week!". juventus.it. 20 February 2010.
  9. ↑ "Immobile e Marrone al Siena, Giannetti, Buchel e Spinazzola alla Juventus" (in Italian). AC Siena. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  10. ↑ "Ufficiale: Ciro Immobile al Grosseto" (in Italian). Biancorossi.it. 24 January 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  11. ↑ "Speciale Calciomercato: Immobile in biancazzurro" (in Italian). Delfino Pescara 1936. 17 August 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Oscar del calcio, Pirlo giocatore dell'anno". Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  13. ↑ "Youth transfer operations". Juventus FC. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "Official: Immobile to Torino". Football Italia. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  15. ↑ "Agreements about the player Ciro Immobile" (PDF). Juventus FC. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  16. ↑ "Torino vs. Pescara - 17 August 2013 - Soccerway". Au.soccerway.com. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Italy - C. Immobile - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Au.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  18. ↑ "TORINO LIVORNO 3–1". legaseriea.it. Lega Serie A. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  19. ↑ "Ciro Immobile Scores Amazing Volley for Torino vs. Roma in Serie A". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  20. ↑ "CATANIA VS. TORINO 1 – 2". soccerway.com. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  21. ↑ "Torino 2–1 Genoa: Immobile And Cerci Leave It Late". forzaitalianfootball.com. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  22. ↑ "Torino trainer ruptures achilles tendon celebrating goal". eurosport.com. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  23. ↑ "LAZIO VS. TORINO 3 - 3". soccerway.com. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  24. ↑ "Immobile: Joining two legends makes me proud". Inside Italian Football. 19 May 2014.
  25. ↑ "TORINO VS. UDINESE 2 - 0". soccerway.com. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  26. ↑ "Serie A Toro, Udinese ko. Immobile in stile Pulici". tuttosport.com. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  27. ↑ "Immobile: "Orgoglioso di aver raggiunto due miti come Pulici e Graziani"". tuttomercatoweb.com (in Italian). Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  28. ↑ "TORINO VS. PARMA 1 - 1". soccerway.com. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  29. ↑ "C. Immobile". soccerway.com. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "Serie A Week 38: Did You Know?". Football Italia. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  31. ↑ "Ciro Immobile moves to Borussia Dortmund". Borussia Dortmund. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  32. ↑ "Transfer news: Borussia Dortmund sign Serie A top scorer Ciro Immobile from Torino". Sky Sports. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  33. ↑ "DORTMUND SIGN STRIKER IMMOBILE". Bundesliga. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  34. ↑ "Borussia Dortmund sign Italy striker Ciro Immobile from Torino". BBC Sport. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  35. ↑ "Torino accuse BVB over Immobile". Football Italia. 10 May 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  36. ↑ "Agreement with Torino FC for the termination of the sharing agreement of the player Ciro Immobile" (PDF). Juventus FC. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 "Cairo: "È meglio per tutti se Immobile resta con noi"". TuttoSport (in Italian). 28 April 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  38. ↑ "Bor Dortmd 2-0 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  39. ↑ "FRIENDLY WITH SPAIN: FIRST CALL FOR BUILDING AND SCOOP". figc.it. Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  40. ↑ "International friendly: Spain see off resilient Italy with a 1-0 win in Madrid". .skysports.com. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  41. ↑ "World Cup 2014: Striker Giuseppe Rossi in Italy's provisional squad". BBC. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  42. ↑ "World Cup 2014: Italy omit Giuseppe Rossi from final squad". BBC Sport. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  43. ↑ "Fluminense 3-5 Italy: Ciro Immobile bags hat-trick as Azzurri lay down marker ahead of World Cup opener against England". dailymail. 8 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  44. ↑ McNulty, Phil (14 June 2014). "Italy 2-1 England". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  45. ↑ "Italy 2-0 Netherlands". BBC Sport. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  46. ↑ Ciro Immobile profile at Soccerway. Retrieved 1 June 2014.

External links

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