Christian Panucci facts for kids
Panucci with Ternana in 2016
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Christian Panucci | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 12 April 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Savona, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Right back | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1990 | Genoa | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1993 | Genoa | 31 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1996 | AC Milan | 89 | (9) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1999 | Real Madrid | 73 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2001 | Inter Milan | 26 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | → Chelsea (loan) | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | → Monaco (loan) | 14 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2009 | Roma | 226 | (21) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Parma | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 486 | (41) | |||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1996 | Italy U21 | 19 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1994–2008 | Italy | 57 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Russia (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Livorno | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Livorno | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Ternana | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Albania | ||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Christian Panucci (born 12 April 1973) is a former Italian footballer and manager. He played as a defender. He usually played as a right-back. Later in his career, he often played as a centre-back. This was because he was strong in the air.
Panucci started his playing career with Genoa in 1990. He then moved to AC Milan in 1993. There, he won many titles, including two Serie A titles. He also won the UEFA Champions League in 1994. In 1996, he joined Real Madrid and won another La Liga title and his second Champions League. He returned to Italy to play for Inter Milan in 1999. He also played on loan for Chelsea and Monaco.
In 2001, he joined Roma and stayed there until 2009. He became a key player for Roma, winning two Coppa Italia titles and the Supercoppa Italiana. He finished his playing career in 2010 after playing one season with Parma.
Panucci also had a great international career. He won two Under-21 European Championships with Italy's youth team. He played 57 matches for the Italian senior national team between 1994 and 2008. He played in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2004, and UEFA Euro 2008.
After retiring as a player, Panucci became an assistant manager for the Russia national football team in 2012. He later became a head coach for clubs like Livorno and Ternana. In 2017, he was appointed as the coach for the Albania national football team.
Contents
Christian Panucci's Club Career
Starting with Genoa
Christian Panucci began his professional football journey with Genoa in 1990. He made his first appearance in Italy's top league, Serie A, during the 1991–92 season. He showed great promise in the 1992–93 season, scoring 3 goals in 30 games.
Success at AC Milan
In July 1993, Panucci moved to AC Milan when he was 20 years old. He was seen as a young and attacking player. He quickly became a regular starter under coach Fabio Capello. He played 19 league matches and scored twice, helping Milan win both the Italian league and the Champions League.
In the 1994 UEFA Champions League final, he played as a left-back. Milan won the final 4–0 against Barcelona. Even though some key players were missing, Milan played very well. For his strong performances, Panucci received the Bravo Award in 1994. This award is given to the best Under-23 player in Europe.
In the next season (1994–95), Panucci became Milan's main right-back. He helped Milan win the Supercoppa Italiana and the UEFA Super Cup. In the 1995–96 season, he had one of his best attacking years, scoring five goals. He was part of a very strong defense that helped Milan win the Italian championship again. After winning six titles with AC Milan, Panucci left the club in the middle of the 1996–97 season.
Moving to Real Madrid
Panucci joined Real Madrid, following his former AC Milan coach Fabio Capello. He was the first Italian player to play for the Spanish club. He quickly became the starting right-back. He played alongside the famous Brazilian player Roberto Carlos.
Real Madrid had a strong period during his time there. They won the league in 1997. In 1998, Panucci won his second Champions League title, beating Juventus. After a less successful 1998–99 season, Panucci decided to return to Italian football.
Time at Inter Milan and Loans
Panucci joined Inter in 1999. However, he did not find the same success there. He often had disagreements with the manager Marcello Lippi. He struggled to get playing time.
In August 2000, he was loaned to Chelsea in England. He scored one goal in a European match but only played 8 league games. After Chelsea, he moved to Monaco in France for the second half of the 2000–01 season. He scored three goals in nine league games there. He played a few more games for Monaco the next season before returning to Italy.
Settling at AS Roma
After playing for many different clubs, Panucci found a stable home at Roma. He joined the club in the 2001–02 season. Roma had won the national title the year before. He immediately helped them win the 2001 Supercoppa Italiana. He became a very important player and a leader for the club. He was the team's main starting right-back. In July 2002, Roma bought him permanently.
Panucci was a reliable leader on and off the field. He often spoke for the team during tough times. He played a key role in Roma's Coppa Italia victory in 2007. He even scored two goals in the final against Inter. He also helped Roma win the 2007 Supercoppa Italiana in 2007.
In the 2008–09 season, he continued to score goals. However, he had a difficult relationship with manager Luciano Spalletti. He was dropped from the team after refusing to sit on the bench. He later apologized and returned to the team. His contract with Roma ended in June 2009. He played a total of 311 matches for Roma, scoring 29 goals. This made him the highest-scoring defender in the club's history.
Final Season at Parma
On 30 July 2009, Panucci signed a one-year deal with Parma. He scored his first goal for Parma in December against Bologna. On 23 February 2010, Panucci left Parma.
On 22 August, Panucci announced he was retiring from football. He said he no longer felt the "hunger" to play.
Panucci's International Career
Panucci had a very successful career with the Italy national under-21 football team. He won two Under-21 European Championship titles in a row, in 1994 and 1996.
He made his debut for the senior Italy on 7 September 1994. He missed out on the 1994 World Cup and Euro 1996 squads. He was the captain of the Italy team at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He became a regular player for Italy at the 2002 FIFA World Cup under manager Giovanni Trapattoni.
At the 2002 World Cup, Italy was eliminated by South Korea. Panucci was involved in the goal that led to South Korea's equalizer. He also gave away a penalty, but Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon saved it.
After playing in UEFA Euro 2004, Panucci did not play for Italy for over three years. He was not chosen by manager Marcello Lippi, who led Italy to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, in 2007, coach Roberto Donadoni called him back to the national team.
On 17 November 2007, Panucci scored a very important goal for Italy. He headed in a winning goal in injury time against Scotland. This goal helped Italy qualify for UEFA Euro 2008.
On 13 June 2008, at Euro 2008, Panucci scored Italy's first goal of the tournament against Romania. He became the oldest player to score in open play in the competition. He was 35 years, 2 months, and 1 day old. Panucci ended his Italy career with 57 appearances and four goals.
How Christian Panucci Played
Panucci was a fast, strong, and competitive player. He was also very versatile. He mostly played as a right-back. But he could also play on the left side or in the centre of the defense. He was known for his hard work and consistent defending. He was also good with the ball.
He was especially good at heading the ball. He often scored goals with his head from free kicks and corners. He also helped his team attack with accurate passes and crosses. With 34 goals in Serie A, he is one of the highest-scoring defenders in Italian league history. Later in his career, as he became slower, he played more as a central defender. He was known for his leadership and determination.
Life After Playing Football
After retiring from football, Panucci became a football expert and commentator for SKY Italia. In 2011, he took part in the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars.
Christian Panucci's Managerial Career
On 19 March 2012, Panucci left his job as a pundit. He became a team manager for Palermo. He resigned from this role just over a month later.
On 23 July 2012, Fabio Capello invited him to be his assistant coach for the Russia national football team. He worked in this role until the end of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In 2013, he earned his UEFA Pro Licence, which allows him to coach top-level teams.
On 18 March 2015, he was named manager of the Serie B team Livorno. In June 2016, he became the head coach of Ternana.
Coaching Albania National Team
On 19 July 2017, Panucci became the head coach of the Albania national football team. He signed a contract for two years and four months. He replaced another Italian coach, Gianni De Biasi. Panucci started working right away. He traveled to watch Albanian players in their club matches.
In his first matches in charge, Albania won 2–0 against Liechtenstein. However, after a 2–0 home loss against Turkey in March 2019, Panucci was fired. During his time as Albania's coach, he achieved four wins and two draws in 15 matches.
Personal Life
Christian Panucci has both Italian and Czech heritage. His father, Vittorio, was an Italian postman, and his mother, Hana, was Czech. They met in Prague. Christian's brother, Patrick, also played football, mostly in amateur leagues.
Panucci had a very close call in 1996. He was supposed to be the captain of the Italy team for the 1996 Olympics. But he got injured. He planned to fly back to Italy on 17 July from New York to Rome. This flight was TWA Flight 800. However, his luggage was delayed, so he rebooked to a later flight to Milan. The TWA flight exploded over the Atlantic shortly after takeoff, killing everyone on board. Panucci narrowly escaped this tragedy.
Career Achievements
Club Honours
AC Milan
- Serie A: 1993–94, 1995–96
- UEFA Champions League: 1993–94
- UEFA Super Cup: 1994
Real Madrid
- La Liga: 1996–97
- Supercopa de España: 1997
- UEFA Champions League: 1997–98
- Intercontinental Cup: 1998
Roma
- Coppa Italia: 2006–07, 2007–08
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2007
International Honours
Italy
- UEFA Under-21 European Championship: 1994, 1996
Individual Awards
- Bravo Award: 1994
- ESM Team of the Year: 2007–08
Images for kids
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Panucci working with Russia as the team's assistant coach in 2012
