Christian Riganò facts for kids
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 25 May 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Lipari, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–1997 | Lipari | 73 | (34) |
| 1997–1998 | Messina | 29 | (3) |
| 1998–2000 | Igea Virtus | 50 | (28) |
| 2000–2002 | Taranto | 64 | (41) |
| 2002–2006 | Fiorentina | 94 | (57) |
| 2005–2006 | → Empoli (loan) | 33 | (5) |
| 2006–2007 | Messina | 27 | (19) |
| 2007 | Levante UD | 12 | (4) |
| 2008 | → Siena (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2008–2009 | Ternana | 5 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Cremonese | 7 | (1) |
| 2010–2011 | Rondinella | 68 | (13) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 February 2009 | |||
Christian Riganò (born May 25, 1974) is a former Italian football player. He was known for being a powerful striker who scored many goals. After his playing career, he became a football manager.
Contents
Christian Riganò's Football Journey
Starting Out: Early Career
Christian Riganò was born in Lipari, a town in Italy. Before becoming a professional footballer, he worked as a bricklayer. He began his football journey with an amateur team in Lipari. There, he quickly became known as a player who scored lots of goals.
In 1997, he joined Messina, a team in Serie D (a lower league). However, he did not play much there. After that, he spent two seasons with Igea Virtus, another Serie D team. He scored 28 goals for them.
Becoming a Professional: Taranto
In 2000, when he was 26 years old, Riganò finally started playing professional football. He joined Taranto. He was a key player in helping Taranto get promoted in his first season. The next year, he was the top scorer in Serie C1 with 27 goals. This showed everyone how good he was at scoring.
Rising Star: Fiorentina
In 2002, Riganò moved to Florentia Viola, a team in Serie C2. He had an amazing season, scoring 30 goals in just 32 matches. This made him the top scorer in the league again. He helped Fiorentina get promoted to a higher league.
During the 2003–04 season, he scored 23 goals in Serie B. This helped Fiorentina get promoted to Serie A, Italy's top football league. At 30 years old, he made his debut in Serie A. Later, in 2005, he was loaned to Empoli for a short time.
Return to Messina and Spanish Adventure
In August 2006, Riganò went back to Messina. He had a fantastic season, scoring 19 goals in 26 games. He finished as the third-highest scorer in Serie A during the 2006–07 season. This was impressive, even though he missed three months due to an injury.
In August 2007, Riganò moved to Spain to play for Levante UD. He scored four goals in 13 matches there. Three of those goals came in one game, a hat-trick against Almería. He was only the second Italian player to score a hat-trick in La Liga, Spain's top league. After six months, he was loaned to Siena in Italy.
Later Years in Football
After leaving Levante, Riganò joined Ternana in Italy in 2008. However, his time there was not very successful. He played only a few matches. In 2009, he moved to Cremonese, where he reunited with his old coach from Fiorentina. He later played for San Frediano Rondinella S.S., another team in Florence.
How Christian Riganò Played
Christian Riganò was a tall striker who was excellent at heading the ball. He was not super fast or strong, but he was very good at finding chances to score. He was known for his great timing and knowing where to be on the field. This made him a difficult player for defenders to mark.
He was usually played as a centre-forward. He could use his physical strength and skills to hold the ball for his teammates. He also provided assists (passes that lead to goals) and was good at taking penalty kicks. Because he scored so many goals and was from Lipari, people called him il bomber di Lipari (the bomber from Lipari) and Riga-Gol.
Awards and Achievements
Team Honours
- Taranto
- Serie C2: 2000–01 (Champions)
- Florentia Viola
- Serie C2: 2002–03 (Champions)
Individual Awards
- Serie C1 Top-scorer: 2001–02 (27 goals)
- Serie C2 Top-scorer: 2002–03 (30 goals)
- Fiorentina Hall of Fame
See also
In Spanish: Christian Riganò para niños
