Alberto Gilardino

Alberto Gilardino is an Italian world-class footballer.

The product of Piacenza youth system, Alberto joined the first team of the feeder club in 1999. He spent the next two seasons at Verona where he scored 5 goals in 39 appearances. In between 2002 and 2005, Gilardino had a successful three-year stint at Parma netting 50 goals in 96 league games. With Parma he finished twice as the second top-scorer in Serie A. That could not but spark interest of top-flight clubs in a highly promising striker. Thus, Gilardino joined Italian giants Milan in the summer 2005 for a transfer fee of €25 million. Though he was resplendent with 17 domestic goals for the Rossoneri, Gilardino played twelve 2005/06 UEFA Champions League goalless matches. Overall, he scored 36 goals in 94 games during a three-year spell at Milan.

In May 2008, Gilardino moved to Fiorentina. He played his first Serie A match with the Violas tying an 89th minute goal in a 1-1 draw against powerhouse Juventus. Thanks to his terrific performances in the domestic league and in the Champions League, Gilardino became a fantastic asset for the club. In the summer 2012, he moved to Bologna on loan from Genoa.

In the summer 2014 the 32-year old penned a deal with China champions Guangzhou Evergrande.

Alberto Gilardino is a regular international for the Italy national team since 2004. He was capped to the team during the 2006 FIFA World Cup when Italy became the world champion. He captained the team in 2007. In October 2009, Gilardino scored the most crucial goal in his career, as he sees it, when he put it to the back of the net in the 89th minute against Ireland aiding his squad to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.