Alberto Gilardino facts for kids
Gilardino with Genoa in 2023
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Alberto Gilardino | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 5 July 1982 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Biella, Italy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Pisa (head coach) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cossatese | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Biellese | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | Piacenza | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Piacenza | 17 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Hellas Verona | 39 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2005 | Parma | 96 | (50) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2008 | AC Milan | 94 | (36) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2012 | Fiorentina | 118 | (48) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Genoa | 50 | (19) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | → Bologna (loan) | 36 | (13) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Guangzhou Evergrande | 14 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | → Fiorentina (loan) | 14 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Palermo | 33 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Empoli | 14 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Pescara | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Spezia | 16 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 544 | (199) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998 | Italy U15 | 10 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998 | Italy U16 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Italy U19 | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2004 | Italy U21 | 24 | (15) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Italy Olympic | 6 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2013 | Italy | 57 | (19) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Rezzato | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Pro Vercelli | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Siena | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Siena | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Genoa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Pisa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alberto Gilardino (born 5 July 1982) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. He played as a striker and is the head coach of the Pisa football club.
Gilardino was a fantastic goalscorer. Early in his career, people compared him to the famous striker Filippo Inzaghi because he was great at being in the right place at the right time to score. He is one of the youngest players ever to score 100 goals in Serie A, Italy's top football league. With 188 goals in Serie A, he is one of the top 10 goalscorers in the league's history.
He was famous for his special goal celebration. After scoring, he would get on his knees and pretend to play a violin.
Gilardino played for many top Italian clubs. He became well-known at Parma for scoring lots of goals. This led to a big move to AC Milan. With Milan, he won the UEFA Champions League, the 2007 UEFA Super Cup, and the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup. He also played in China for Guangzhou Evergrande, where he won the Chinese league title.
Internationally, Gilardino was a star for Italy. He helped the under-21 team win the 2004 UEFA Under-21 Championship, where he was the top scorer and best player. That same year, he won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. His biggest achievement was being part of the Italian team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Club Career
Early Years
Gilardino started playing football as a boy in his hometown of Cossato, Italy. He joined the youth team of Piacenza and made his debut in Serie A at just 17 years old. He played against the famous club AC Milan. Even though his team was moved to a lower league, Gilardino scored 3 goals in 17 games.
After Piacenza, he moved to Hellas Verona. He played there for two seasons and scored five goals. His talent was clear, and soon a bigger club came calling.
Parma
In 2002, Gilardino joined Parma. This is where his career really took off. His coach, Cesare Prandelli, helped him become a better player.
In the 2003–04 season, Gilardino scored an amazing 23 goals in Serie A. He was the second-highest scorer in the entire league. The next season, he did it again, scoring another 23 goals. In just three years at Parma, he scored 50 goals in 96 league games. His incredible scoring earned him awards like Serie A's Best Young Player and Best Italian Player.
AC Milan
In 2005, Gilardino moved to one of the biggest clubs in the world, AC Milan. In his first season, he scored 17 goals in the league.
The next season, he helped Milan win the Champions League. He scored an important goal in the semi-final against Manchester United. Milan went on to win the final against Liverpool. He also won the 2007 UEFA Super Cup and the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup with the team.
Fiorentina
In 2008, Gilardino joined Fiorentina, where he was reunited with his old coach, Cesare Prandelli. He continued to score many goals. In his first season, he scored 19 goals in Serie A.
He also had great success in the Champions League with Fiorentina. He scored a last-minute goal against Liverpool at their famous stadium, Anfield. Gilardino said this was the most important goal of his career. He scored 48 league goals during his time at the club.
Later Career
After Fiorentina, Gilardino played for several other clubs. He had a successful season on loan at Bologna, where he scored 13 goals. He also played for Genoa and had a short time in China with Guangzhou Evergrande, where he won the league title.
He returned to Italy and played for Palermo, Empoli, Pescara, and Spezia before retiring as a player in 2018.
International Career
Youth Success
Gilardino was a star for Italy's youth teams. In 2004, he led the under-21 team to victory in the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He was the tournament's top scorer and was named the best player.
That same year, he played for Italy at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. He helped the team win a bronze medal by scoring the winning goal in the third-place match. He is the all-time top scorer for Italy's U-21 team with 19 goals.
2006 World Cup Champion
_-_Alberto_Gilardino_(edited).jpg)
Gilardino's success earned him a spot on the senior national team. He was a key part of the Italy squad that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
He played in the first two games and scored a goal against the United States. In the semi-final against Germany, he came on as a substitute and hit the post with a shot. In the final moments of that game, he made an assist for Alessandro Del Piero's goal, which secured Italy's 2–0 win. Italy then beat France in the final to become world champions.
He continued to play for Italy until 2013, scoring a total of 19 goals in 57 matches.
Managerial Career
After retiring as a player, Gilardino became a coach. He started managing smaller clubs like Rezzato and Pro Vercelli.
In 2022, he became the coach of the youth team for his former club, Genoa. He was soon promoted to head coach of the main team and led them to promotion back to Serie A. In June 2025, he was hired as the new head coach for Pisa.
Playing Style
Gilardino was a classic striker. He was quick, smart, and always seemed to be in the right position to score. He was excellent at heading the ball and could score with acrobatic shots.
He was also strong and good at holding up the ball with his back to the goal. This allowed his teammates to join the attack. While he was naturally right-footed, he worked hard to become good with his left foot too.
Personal Life
Gilardino is married to Alice Bregoli, and they have three daughters: Ginevra, Gemma, and Giulia.
He is famous for his goal celebration, where he kneels and pretends to play a violin. This became his trademark throughout his career.
Honours
AC Milan
- UEFA Champions League: 2006–07
- UEFA Super Cup: 2007
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2007
Guangzhou Evergrande
- Chinese Super League: 2014
Italy U21
Italy U23
- Olympic Bronze Medal: 2004
Italy
- FIFA World Cup: 2006
- FIFA Confederations Cup third place: 2013
Individual
- Serie A Footballer of the Year: 2005
- Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year: 2005
- Serie A Young Footballer of the Year: 2004
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship Golden Player: 2004
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship top scorer: 2004
See also
In Spanish: Alberto Gilardino para niños
