Luca Cigarini

Luca Cigarini
Personal information
Date of birth20 June 1986
Place of birthMontecchio Emilia, Italy
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Atalanta
Number21
Youth career
1997–2004Parma
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2004–2008Parma70(4)
2004–2005→ Sambenedettese (loan)33(4)
2008–2009Atalanta23(3)
2009–2013Napoli28(2)
2010–2011Sevilla (loan)6(0)
2011–2013Atalanta (loan)58(3)
2013–Atalanta7(1)
National team
2004Italy U181(0)
2005Italy U191(0)
2005–2007Italy U205(0)
2005–2009Italy U2120(1)
2008Italy Olympic Team8(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:26, 29 August 2012 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 00:00, 12 October 2011 (UTC).

Luca Cigarini (Italian pronunciation: [ˈluka tʃiɡaˈrini]; born 20 June 1986) is an Italian professional footballer who plays for Atalanta as a midfielder.

He is nicknamed il Professore (The Professor) due to his intelligent reading of the game. The Italian Media "Gazzetta dello Sport" has also stated that Cigarini has a similar vision of the game to that of Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo.

Club career

Parma

He was one of the notable youth products in 2005 Parma squad, alongside Daniele Dessena.

Atalanta

After Parma was relegated to Serie B in June 2008, he was sold to Atalanta in join-ownership bid, for €4.5 million on 11 July.[1][2]

Napoli

On 3 July 2009 Napoli signed the talented and hard-working playmaker from Atalanta on a five-year deal for €10.5 million.[3] Atalanta paid Parma €3.5 million plus half the registration rights of Manzoni to sign Cigarini outright.[4]

On 2 August 2010, Napoli sent Cigarini to Sevilla FC on a loan deal for the 2010-2011 season for €292,500,[5] upon conclusion of the season, Sevilla will have the option to purchase the midfielder for €7 million.

Return to Atalanta

Cigarini returned to Atalanta on loan in summer 2011 for free.[6] On 4 July 2012 the loan was renewed for €1.125 million loan fee.[7][8]

On 5 July 2013, after spending two seasons on loan with Atalanta, a co-ownership deal was agreed to with S.S.C. Napoli for €2.375 million.[9] Cigarini continued to play for Atalanta for the upcoming 2013-14 Serie A season.[10] Cigarini scored his first goal of the season against S.S. Lazio on October 20. In June 2014 Atalanta acquired Cigarini outright for €2.35 million.[9][11] Atlanta spent €5.875 million transfer fee in total to re-acquire Cigarini.

International career

On 7 September 2007, Cigarini scored his first ever goal (which was also the winning goal) with the Italy U-21 squad in a 2–1 victory over the Faroe Islands in a UEFA U-21 Qualifying match. He was also part of Pierluigi Casiraghi's Olympic team which won the 2008 Toulon Tournament. He also played for Italy in the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

Cigarini received his first call-up to the senior team on 30 August 2010. New coach Cesare Prandelli named him in the squad for the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers as an injury replacement for Claudio Marchisio.[12]

Career statistics

Club

As of 29 August 2012[13]
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
2005–06ParmaSerie A17040––210
2006–072114160312
2007–0832300––323
2008–09Atalanta23310––243
2009–10Napoli28210––292
2011–12Atalanta32100––321
2012–1326220––282
Spain League Copa del Rey Europe Total
2010–11SevillaLa Liga604162163
Total Italy 179121626020114
Spain 604162163
Career total 1851220312221717

References

  1. "Cigarini all'Atalanta" (in Italian). Atalanta BC. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  2. Parma FC SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2009 (Italian), PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA
  3. SSC Napoli FC SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2010 (Italian), PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA
  4. Parma FC SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2010 (Italian), PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA
  5. SSC Napoli FC SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2011 (Italian), PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA
  6. SSC Napoli FC SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2012 (Italian), PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA
  7. SSC Napoli FC SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2013 (Italian), PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA
  8. "Cigarini ancora in nerazzurro" (in Italian). Atalanta BC. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  9. 9.0 9.1 SSC Napoli FC SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2013 (Italian), PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA
  10. "Atalanta Invest in Cigarini". Football Italia. 6 July 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  11. "Mercato Nerazzurro, le operazioni chiuse venerdì 20 giugno" (in Italian). Atlanta BC. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  12. "Cigarini replaces Marchisio in Italy squad". Yahoo! News via Reuters. 30 August 2010.
  13. "Luca Cigarini Statistics". ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved 30 September 2010.

External links