Cristian Zaccardo

Cristian Zaccardo
Personal information
Full nameCristian Zaccardo
Date of birth21 December 1981
Place of birthFormigine, Italy
Height1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionCentre back
Club information
Current team
Milan
Number81
Youth career
1991–2000Bologna
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2000–2004Bologna79(2)
2000–2001→ Spezia28(0)
2004–2008Palermo142(8)
2008–2009VfL Wolfsburg15(1)
2009–2013Parma118(10)
2013–Milan13(1)
National team
2002–2004Italy U2121(2)
2004–2007Italy17(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:19, 19 May 2014 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Cristian Zaccardo, Ufficiale OMRI[1][2] (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkriːstjan dzakˈkardo], born 21 December 1981) is an Italian footballer who plays as a centre back for Serie A club Milan, although he is also capable of playing as a fullback or in midfield. He was a member of the Italian side that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

One of the best products of the Bologna F.C. 1909 youth system, Zaccardo debuted in the first team in 2001, under the direction of coach Francesco Guidolin, immediately becoming a regular for the rossoblu and Italy's under-21 national team. He left Bologna in 2004 to join his former coach Guidolin in Palermo. He was a regular starter for Palermo as he appeared in 142 league matches scoring 8 goals. After a season spent in Germany at VfL Wolfsburg,[3] in which he helped the club to its first ever Bundesliga title, he rejoined his former coach Guidolin at Parma F.C. in August 2009.[4] In his three and a half seasons with Parma Zaccardo appeared in 118 league matches and scored 10 goals.

On 24 January 2013, he was signed by Milan.[5] The deal was part of a cashless swap in which Djamel Mesbah moved to Parma.[6] Towards the end of the 2014 summer transfer window, Milan had a deal with Parma about the swap of him and Jonathan Biabiany but he refused to move back to his former club. On 1 February 2015, he scored his first goal for Milan in a 3-1 home win against Parma.

International career

Zaccardo represented the Italy Under-16 squad at the age of 15, also takign part in the 1998 UEFA European Under-16 Championship held in Scotland; during the tournament, he scored the decisive goal in the semi-final, which allowed Italy to progress to the final of the tournament, where they were defeated by Ireland.[7] In 2001, he was a member of the Italian Under-23 team that won a silver medal at the Mediterranean Games held in Tunis.[8] He also represented Italy at Under-21 level, winning the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, under manager Claudio Gentile.[9]

He made his senior international debut for Italy under Marcello Lippi on 17 November 2004, in Italy's 1-0 home friendly victory over Finalnd.[10] He began to be deployed with more frequency, and on 8 October 2005, he scored his first international goal in a 1-0 home win over Slovenia in Palermo in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying match; the victory allowed Italy to qualify for the upcoming 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.[11] Zaccardo was included in Italy's 23-man roster for the tournament, and he made three appearances in the final competition. He started the first two matches of the group stage,[12] but he scored an unfortunate own goal off an attempted clearance following a free-kick in the azzurri's second match, which ended in a 1–1 draw against the United States; this was one of the only two goals that Italy conceded throughout the tournament.[13] He made one more appearance during the tournament, coming on as a substitute in Italy's 3-0 win over Ukraine in the quarter-finals,[14] as Italy went on to win the 2006 World Cup. Due to his mistake during the World Cup, he has been overlooked by the national team since the tournament's conclusion, and only made two more appearances under Roberto Donadoni; he made his final appearance for Italy in a 2-0 friendly win over South Africa on 17 October 2007.[15] In total, Zaccardo made 17 appearances for Italy between 2004–07, scoring 1 goal.

Honours

Club

Wolfsburg

International

Orders

Collar of Merit Sports: Collare d'Oro al Merito Sportivo: (2006)[16]
4th Class / Officer: Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: (2006)[17]

Career statistics

As of 8 February 2015 (UTC)[18]
Club Season League Cup [nb 1] Europe [nb 2] Other Tournaments Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bologna 2001–02 191200000211
2002–03 321206100402
2003–04 280200000300
Total 79 2 6 0 6 1 0 0 91 3
Spezia (loan) 2000–01 280200000300
Total 28 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 30 0
Palermo 2004–05 352200000372
2005–06 360404000440
2006–07 365105100426
2007–08 351201000381
Total 142 8 9 0 10 1 0 0 161 9
Wolfsburg 2008–09 141305100222
2009–10 1000000010
Total 15 1 3 0 5 1 0 0 23 2
Parma 2009–10 345000000345
2010–11 343200000363
2011–12 351200000371
2012–13 151100000161
Total 118 10 5 0 0 0 0 0 123 10
Milan 2012–13 1000000010
2013–14 110101000130
2014–15 2100000021
Total 14 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 16 1
Career total 396 22 26 0 22 3 0 0 444 25
  1. ↑ Includes Coppa Italia, DFB-Ligapokal, DFB-Pokal, DFL-Supercup, and Supercoppa matches.
  2. ↑ Includes UEFA Supercup matches.

Personal life

Cristian Zaccardo is currently married to Alessia Serafini.[19] Zaccardo and his wife have two sons, Niccolò Zaccardo and Ginevra Zaccardo.[19]

Zaccardo has the names of his two sons Niccolò and Ginevra Zaccardo tattooed on his left arm, while on his right arm a tattoo of his wife Alessia Serafini.[20] From 6 March 2008, Zaccardo became an honorary citizen of Pollina, in the province of Palermo.[20]

References

  1. ↑ FIFA.com
  2. ↑ AscotSportal.com
  3. ↑ "Wolfsburg sign a world-class player". Bundesliga.de. 9 May 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  4. ↑ "Zaccardo al Parma" (in Italian). Parma F.C. 29 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  5. ↑ "ZACCARDO PROUD TO JOIN MILAN". A.C. Milan. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  6. ↑ 2013 bilancio AC Milan (Italian)
  7. ↑ "Life". Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Life". Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "FINALE EUROPEO UNDER 21: L'ULTIMA VITTORIA 9 ANNI FA CON 3 MILANISTI". http://www.acmilan.com'' (in Italian). 18 June 2003. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Esordio azzurro con la Finlandia". http://ricerca.repubblica.it'' (in Italian). La Repubblica. 24 May 2006. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  11. ↑ Diego Antonelli (8 October 2005). "Zaccardo gol, Italia al Mondiale". www.gazzetta.it (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Zaccardo, Cristian: Convocazioni e presenze in campo". http://www.figc.it''. FIGC. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Italia-Usa: la guerra che non si voleva Pari con 3 espulsi. Qualificazione rinviata". http://www.repubblica.it'' (in Italian). La Repubblica. 17 June 2006. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "La difesa era perfetta, ora anche l'attacco Doppietta Toni, Ucraina sconfitta". http://www.repubblica.it'' (in Italian). La Repubblica. 30 June 2006. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "Italia-Sudafrica: 2-0". http://www.italia1910.com'' (in Italian). 17 October 2007. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  16. ↑ "Coni: Consegnati i Collari d’oro e diplomi d’onore ai campionissimi". coni.it (in Italian). 23 October 2006. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  17. ↑ "Zaccardo Sig. Cristian - Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana". quirinale.it (in Italian). Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  18. ↑ "Italy – C. Zaccardo". soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Barbara Carere (2 June 2011). "... Cristian Zaccardo". tuttomercatoweb.com (in Italian). Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Cristian Zaccardo". informazione.it (in Italian). Retrieved 25 February 2013.

External links