Alberto Aquilani facts for kids
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Aquilani with Liverpool in 2012
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Alberto Aquilani | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 7 July 1984 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rome, Italy | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Catanzaro (head coach) | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2002 | Roma | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2002–2009 | Roma | 102 | (9) | |||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | → Triestina (loan) | 41 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| 2009–2012 | Liverpool | 18 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | → Juventus (loan) | 33 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | → Milan (loan) | 23 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2015 | Fiorentina | 81 | (13) | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Sporting CP | 19 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Pescara | 9 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2017 | → Sassuolo (loan) | 16 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Las Palmas | 21 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 358 | (33) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | Italy U16 | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Italy U17 | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Italy U18 | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | Italy U19 | 18 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2003 | Italy U20 | 2 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2004–2007 | Italy U21 | 20 | (5) | |||||||||||||
| 2006–2014 | Italy | 38 | (5) | |||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Pisa | |||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Catanzaro | |||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||
Alberto Aquilani is a famous Italian football player who became a manager. He was born on July 7, 1984, in Rome, Italy. Alberto mainly played as a central midfielder, which means he played in the middle of the field. He was known for being a "deep-lying playmaker," someone who starts attacks from deeper positions. He could also play as an attacking midfielder, closer to the opponent's goal.
Aquilani started his career at Roma, a big club in Italy. He later played for other well-known teams like Liverpool in England, and Juventus and Milan in Italy. He also played for the Italian national team. After retiring as a player in 2019, he became a football manager. He is currently the head coach for the Catanzaro club.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Starting at Roma
Alberto Aquilani began his football journey at Roma as a young player. When he was just 17, big English clubs like Chelsea and Arsenal wanted him to join them. However, he chose to stay with his youth club, Roma.
He made his first professional appearance in Italy's top league, Serie A, when he was 18 years old. This was on May 10, 2002. To gain more experience, he was loaned to Triestina for the 2003–04 season.
When he returned to Roma, he started playing regularly in the main team. He helped Roma win the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) twice in a row in 2007 and 2008. They also won the 2007 Supercoppa Italiana (Italian Super Cup). During his time at Roma, he was nicknamed "Il Principino," which means "The Little Prince." This was because he reminded people of a former Roma star, Giuseppe Giannini, who was known as "The Prince."
Moving to Liverpool
In August 2009, Alberto Aquilani moved to the English club Liverpool. He signed a five-year contract with them. The transfer fee was about £17 million. He was given the number 4 shirt, which was previously worn by Sami Hyypiä.
Aquilani's time at Liverpool was affected by injuries, which limited how much he could play. He made his first appearance for Liverpool in October 2009. His first start in the Premier League was on December 26, 2009, against Wolves. Fans at Liverpool's stadium, Anfield, gave him a standing ovation when he was substituted.
He scored his first goal for Liverpool on March 15, 2010, against Portsmouth. He also provided assists for other goals. He was even voted "man of the match" by fans several times for his great performances.
Loan Spells in Italy
After one season at Liverpool, Alberto Aquilani returned to Italy on loan. In August 2010, he joined Juventus for a season. He played regularly for Juventus and scored two goals. However, Juventus decided not to buy him permanently, so he went back to Liverpool.
In August 2011, he went on another loan, this time to Milan. He quickly made an impact, helping Milan score goals. He played for Milan during the 2011–12 season.
Joining Fiorentina
In August 2012, Aquilani was sold to Fiorentina, another Italian club. He stayed there for three seasons. On January 26, 2014, he scored his first career hat-trick (three goals in one game) in a match against Genoa.
With Fiorentina, he reached the final of the 2014 Coppa Italia Final in 2014, but they lost to Napoli. Fiorentina also finished fourth in the league for three seasons in a row and reached the semi-finals of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League.
Later Clubs and Retirement
After leaving Fiorentina in 2015, Aquilani played for Sporting CP in Portugal. He then returned to Italy to play for Pescara and later on loan for Sassuolo. In 2017, he moved to Spain to play for Las Palmas.
After a year without a club, Alberto Aquilani announced his retirement from playing football in June 2019.
International Career
Alberto Aquilani represented Italy at many youth levels before playing for the senior national team. He won the 2003 UEFA European Under-19 Championship with Italy's Under-19 team and was named the best player of the tournament.
He made his debut for the senior Italian national team on November 15, 2006. He played in major tournaments like Euro 2008 and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. In the Confederations Cup, Italy won a bronze medal. He also took part in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
In total, Aquilani played 38 times for Italy between 2006 and 2014, scoring 5 goals.
Playing Style
Alberto Aquilani was known as a modern and versatile midfielder. He could play in different roles in the middle of the field. He was praised for his excellent vision, creativity, and passing skills. He could control the pace of the game and make smart passes to his teammates.
He was also good at shooting from long range and was effective in the air, scoring goals with his head. Even though he was a very talented player, he often had injuries throughout his career. These injuries sometimes made it hard for him to play consistently.
Managerial Career
After retiring as a player, Alberto Aquilani started his coaching career. In July 2019, he became the head coach for Fiorentina's Under-18 team. He later joined the first team staff as an assistant coach.
In July 2020, he was appointed as the head coach for Fiorentina's Primavera squad, which is their main youth team. Under his leadership, the Primavera team won the Coppa Italia Primavera title three times in a row (2020, 2021, 2022). They also won the Supercoppa Primavera twice (2021, 2022).
In 2023, he left Fiorentina's youth system to become a head coach for a senior team. He took over Pisa, a club in Italy's Serie B league. He guided Pisa to a mid-table finish in the league. In June 2024, he left Pisa.
In June 2025, Alberto Aquilani was appointed as the head coach of Catanzaro, another Serie B club.
Personal Life
Alberto Aquilani married Michela Quattrociocche on July 4, 2012. They have two daughters named Aurora and Diamante. In May 2020, it was announced that they had separated.
Images for kids
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Aquilani with Liverpool in 2012
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Martin Škrtel and Aquilani warming up before a game.
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Aquilani playing for Fiorentina.
See also
In Spanish: Alberto Aquilani para niños
