FIFA World Cup™ Germany 2006 player's profile

Alberto Gilardino was born on the same day as one of the most celebrated matches in the history of the Azzurri, Italy’s 3-2 win over Brazil in Barcelona at the 1982 FIFA World Cup™. Superstitious Italian fans see this as more than just mere coincidence.
The AC Milan striker has become a vital attacking option for Italy and his performances at Germany 2006 will have a significant bearing on the Italians’ overall performance. The one doubt is whether, at 24, Gilardino is experienced enough to play a dominant role and lead his team-mates to the ultimate prize.

That said, Gilardino is the most complete of the attackers available to Italy coach Marcello Lippi. His talents enable him to lead the line, participate in build-up play and score spectacular goals. His heading may not be as good as Luca Toni’s and his left foot cannot be compared with Christian Vieri’s but Gilardino is a real ‘Jack of all trades’, able to create problems for any defence.

Standing at 1.84m and weighing 79kg, Alberto has scored goals for fun in his first season at AC Milan. His only real difficulties have come in the UEFA Champions League, where the step-up from domestic football has found him wanting at times.

Piacenza promise
Gilardino made his Serie A debut in January 2000 for Piacenza at the age of 17. Despite showing great promise from the outset, his first steps in top-flight football were not without their problems. Support from a close family, his own commitment and hard work ensured that Alberto became more than just another player with squandered potential plying his trade in the lower leagues.

Following his exit from Piacenza for Verona, where he stayed for a year, Gilardino was then transferred to Parma to fill the not-inconsiderable hole left by Brazilian striker Adriano’s departure for Inter Milan. He seized his chance and has not stopped scoring goals since.

Gilardino’s exploits in Serie A were not enough to earn a place in the Azzurri squad for UEFA EURO 2004, but they were the springboard for success with the Italian Under-21 team during that same summer. Victory in the final of the UEFA European U-21 Championship was followed by a bronze medal at the Olympic Football Tournament Athens 2004

. His chance with the senior Italian national side came with the appointment of Lippi as coach. Alberto immediately repaid the faith shown in him with goals and outstanding overall performances.

Gilardino is two-footed, quick, good in the air and an excellent team player whose goals may yet prove vital for the Azzurri at Germany 2006. The only downside is his relative inexperience at this level, with some experts suggesting that we will not see the best of him until the 2010 tournament in South Africa. Only time will tell.

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UEFA Champions League 2005-06 player's profile

Alberto Gilardino is a natural born goalscorer, a complete forward who can use both feet and is good on the air.

National team
Gilardino has played and scored at every youth level for Italy. In 2004 he led his country to the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, scoring four goals in the competition, including one in the final against Serbia and Montenegro. Overlooked for UEFA EURO 2004™, he won a bronze medal at that summer's Olympic games and was soon in the senior squad following Marcello Lippi's appointment.

Club
Gilardino left his home town Biella in 1996 aged 14 to enter Piacenza FC's youth system. In 2000 he made his Serie A debut, a 1-0 defeat against AC Milan, and appeared 17 times that season scoring three goals. The forward left Piacenza the following campaign and moved to Hellas-Verona FC where he spent two terms scoring five goals in 39 Serie A games.

2002: Gilardino moved to Parma FC but Adriano and Adrian Mutu's presence limited him to four goals in 24 appearances, mostly as a substitute. The following season, however, Mutu left for Chelsea and Adriano suffered a serious injury, meaning Gilardino became the first-choice option in attack. He scored 23 goals in 34 games (only 21 of which were starts), one fewer than Serie A's leading scorer Andriy Shevchenko.

2004/05: For the second consecutive season Gilardino scored 23 goals for Parma, plus one in the play-off against Bologna FC which helped the club avoid relegation. Subsequently signed a five-year contract with Milan in a €24m transfer.

Did you know?
Gilardino was born on 5 July 1982, the same day that Paolo Rossi scored a famous hat-trick as Italy defeated Brazil 3-2 in the World Cup finals.

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