Fabio Quagliarella facts for kids

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Fabio Quagliarella

Quagliarella playing for Torino in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth	(1983-01-31) 31 January 1983 (age 42)
Place of birth	Castellammare di Stabia, Italy
Height	1.80 m
Playing position	Forward
Youth career
1988–1991	Annunziatella
1991–1993	Pro Juventude
1993–1997	Gragnano
1997–1999	Torino
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999–2005	Torino	39	(7)
2002–2003	→ Fiorentina (loan)	12	(1)
2003–2004	→ Chieti (loan)	43	(19)
2005–2006	Ascoli	33	(3)
2006–2007	Sampdoria	35	(13)
2007–2009	Udinese	73	(25)
2009–2010	Napoli	34	(11)
2010–2014	Juventus	84	(23)
2014–2016	Torino	50	(18)
2016–2023	Sampdoria	242	(89)
Total		645	(209)
National team
2000–2001	Italy U18	8	(1)
2001	Italy U19	9	(1)
2002–2004	Italy U20	8	(2)
2004	Italy U21	2	(1)
2007–2019	Italy	28	(8)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Fabio Quagliarella (born on January 31, 1983) is an Italian former football player. He played as a forward, which means he was an attacker who scored goals.

Throughout his career, Fabio played for many different Italian clubs. He won three Italian league titles in a row with Juventus from 2012 to 2014. He also won two Italian Super Cups with Juventus. Earlier in his career, he won a lower league title (Serie C2) with Fiorentina. He also played for famous Italian teams like Torino, Ascoli, Udinese, Napoli, and Sampdoria.

Fabio Quagliarella also played for the Italian national team. He started with the youth teams before joining the senior team in 2007. He was part of Italy's squads for big tournaments like the UEFA Euro 2008, the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

He won several individual awards for his amazing skills. In 2009, he won the award for the best goal in Serie A. Later, he received awards for being a fair player and for his great career. In the 2018–19 season, he scored in eleven league games in a row. This was a record only achieved by one other player, Gabriel Batistuta, before him. He finished that season as the league's top scorer with 26 goals. He was also named the league's best forward.

Fabio Quagliarella's Club Career

Starting His Football Journey

Fabio Quagliarella started playing football in the youth teams of Gragnano. Then he joined Torino. He played his first game in Italy's top league, Serie A, on May 14, 2000. Torino won that game 2–1 against Piacenza.

In 2002, Fabio didn't get to play much for Torino. So, he was loaned to Fiorentina, which was in a lower league called Serie C2 at the time. He scored one goal in 12 games there. Later that season, he was loaned again to Chieti in Serie C1. He stayed with Chieti for another season and scored 17 goals in 32 games. In total, he scored 19 goals in 43 games for Chieti.

After his time at Chieti, he returned to Torino for the 2004–05 season in Serie B. He became a regular player and scored seven goals in 34 games. He helped Torino get promoted back to Serie A. However, Torino had financial problems, so Fabio could join any team for free in August 2005. He then signed with Ascoli. At Ascoli, he became a starting player in the 2005–06 season. He scored his first Serie A goal on December 21, 2005, helping Ascoli win 1–0 against Treviso.

Playing for Udinese and Sampdoria

Fabio Quagliarella signed with Udinese in 2005. But Udinese immediately sold half of his player rights to Ascoli. He played for Ascoli for one season, scoring three goals in 33 games. Udinese then bought back all his rights in June 2006.

On July 7, 2006, he was sold to Sampdoria. During the 2006–07 season with Sampdoria, Fabio scored 13 goals in the league. Many of his goals were very spectacular, which made him famous around the world. His amazing season at Sampdoria led to him being called up to the Italian national team.

After his great 2006–07 season, Udinese and Sampdoria couldn't agree on his shared ownership deal. They went to a special bidding process. Sampdoria offered €6.5 million, but Udinese offered more, paying €7.15 million to get him back. At Udinese, he started the 2007–08 season slowly, scoring only once in the first 11 games. But he soon found his form, playing well with Antonio Di Natale. He scored 12 goals in the 2007–08 season. This helped him get a spot in the Italian squad for the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. Fabio continued to score goals for Udinese in the 2008–09 season. He scored 21 goals in all competitions, including eight goals in the UEFA Cup, where Udinese reached the quarter-finals.

Time at Napoli

On June 1, 2009, Quagliarella moved to Napoli, the club from his hometown. Napoli paid €18 million for him, and he signed a five-year contract. At Napoli, he played alongside Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamšík. He scored 11 goals in Serie A, helping Napoli finish sixth in the league and qualify for the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League. He played his last game for Napoli in the Europa League, a 1–0 win.

Playing for Juventus

Quagliarella playing for Juventus in 2011

On August 27, 2010, Quagliarella joined Juventus on loan for €4.5 million. Juventus also had the option to buy him permanently for €10.5 million. Before the winter break, he was the team's top scorer with nine league goals in 17 games. However, he got a serious knee injury on January 6, 2011, in the first game after the break. This meant he missed the rest of the season.

On June 22, 2011, Juventus bought him permanently for €10.5 million. Fabio signed a new contract to stay with Juventus until 2014. On April 1, 2012, he scored against his former club Napoli. He chose not to celebrate because of his strong connection to Naples. On April 30, 2012, he signed another contract extension, keeping him at the club until 2015.

On September 22, 2012, Quagliarella scored two goals in one game against Chievo. On November 10, 2012, he scored his first hat-trick (three goals in one game) of the season against Pescara. Juventus won that match 6–1. In the Champions League, he scored his first goal in that competition in a 2–2 draw against Chelsea.

In March 2013, he scored the first goal in the Turin derby against Inter Milan with a great shot from far away. He also made the pass for Alessandro Matri's winning goal.

Returning to Torino

Quagliarella playing for Torino in 2015

On July 17, 2014, Torino bought Quagliarella for €3.5 million. This marked his return to Torino after nine years, and he signed a three-year contract. In his first game back, he scored a penalty goal in the Europa League against Brommapojkarna.

In his first Serie A game back, he won a penalty, but his teammate missed it. The next game, on September 24, 2014, he scored his first Serie A goal for Torino against Cagliari, helping them win 2–1. On October 2, 2014, he scored his first European goal for Torino with a penalty in the last minute against Copenhagen, securing a 1–0 win. On February 1, 2015, he scored his first hat-trick for Torino in Serie A against Sampdoria, in a 5–1 victory. On April 26, 2015, he scored the winning goal against Juventus, 2–1. This was a historic win for Torino in the Turin derby, as they hadn't beaten Juventus in 20 years.

Second Time at Sampdoria

After some disagreements with Torino fans, Fabio Quagliarella was loaned to Sampdoria on February 1, 2016. He scored his first goal back on February 20 against Inter Milan. On November 20, he scored his 100th Serie A goal in his 343rd league game. He also set up a goal for his teammate Luis Muriel, helping Sampdoria win 3–2 against Sassuolo.

On January 13, 2017, he signed a new contract with Sampdoria until June 2019. On January 21, 2018, Quagliarella scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 home win against Fiorentina. He finished the 2017–18 Serie A season with 19 goals in 35 games, making him one of the top scorers in the league.

During the 2018–19 Serie A season, on September 2, 2018, Quagliarella scored an amazing backheel goal against Napoli. He later said it was the best goal of his career. This goal was even nominated for the 2019 FIFA Puskás Award.

On January 26, 2019, Quagliarella scored two penalty goals against his former club Udinese. This meant he had scored in 11 consecutive Serie A matches in a single season. This amazing feat equaled a record set by Gabriel Batistuta in 1994. By the end of the season, Quagliarella scored 26 Serie A goals for Sampdoria, becoming the league's top scorer. He was also named the Serie A Best Forward and was included in the Serie A Team of the Year.

On May 22, 2021, Fabio played his 500th game in Serie A against Parma. He scored the first goal in a 3–0 win. On February 19, 2022, he reached 100 goals with Sampdoria by scoring two goals in a 2–0 win against Empoli.

On March 5, 2023, Quagliarella played his 550th game in Serie A. This made him only the fifth outfield player to reach this milestone. On May 20, he scored a goal against Milan at 40 years old. This made him one of the oldest players to score in Serie A. However, Sampdoria was relegated from Serie A that season. On July 7, he left the club after seven years.

After being a free agent for a few months, Fabio Quagliarella announced his retirement from football on November 19, 2023.

Fabio Quagliarella's International Career

Fabio Quagliarella played for the Italian youth teams, called the Azzurrini, from 2000 to 2005. He made his debut for the Italy U17 team on September 5, 2000. The next season, he played for the Italy U19 team.

After his great performances with Sampdoria in the 2006–07 season, Fabio was called up to the Italian senior squad, known as the Azzurri. He finally made his senior debut for Italy on March 28, 2007, in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Scotland. He came on as a substitute in the 2–0 win. On June 6, 2007, he started his first game for Italy against Lithuania. He scored his first two goals for the national team in that 2–0 win. On February 6, 2008, he scored his third goal for Italy in a 3–1 win over Portugal.

Fabio was part of the Italian squad for UEFA Euro 2008. He played in Italy's second group match, a 1–1 draw against Romania. Italy was later knocked out by Spain in the quarter-finals.

He was also called up for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. He played in Italy's second group match, a 1–0 loss to Egypt. Italy was eliminated from the tournament in the group stage.

Fabio Quagliarella was also included in the Italian squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. On June 5, 2010, he scored a header in a 1–1 draw against Switzerland before the tournament. In Italy's final group match at the 2010 World Cup against Slovakia, Fabio came on in the second half. He helped set up a goal and then scored a beautiful long-range chip shot. Even though he played very well, Italy lost 3–2 and was surprisingly knocked out of the World Cup. He was praised for his performance.

Under Italy's new manager, Fabio scored Italy's fourth goal in a 5–0 win against the Faroe Islands on September 7, 2010. He also scored the equalizing goal in a 1–1 draw against Romania in November.

On March 15, 2019, he was called up to the national team again for Euro 2020 qualifying matches. On March 23, 2019, Quagliarella came off the bench in a 2–0 win over Finland. This was his first game for Italy in over eight years! On March 26, Fabio started his first international game since 2010. He scored two goals from penalties in a 6–0 win over Liechtenstein. This made him Italy's oldest goalscorer ever, at 36 years old. He also helped set up another goal in that match.

How Fabio Quagliarella Played

Fabio Quagliarella was a hard-working forward who was great at scoring goals. He was known for his powerful and accurate shots from far away. He was also very good in the air, both with his head and with acrobatic kicks like volleys. He often scored amazing goals from outside the penalty area.

He was a very flexible player and could play in different attacking positions. He could be a main striker, a winger (playing on the side of the field), or even a second striker who supported the main attacker. He was also very skilled with the ball and could create chances for his teammates. He was also good at taking penalty kicks.

Even when he was older, Fabio was still very fast. In 2021, at 38 years old, his running speed was measured at 35.07 km/h, making him one of the fastest players in Serie A.

Fabio Quagliarella's Personal Life

Fabio Quagliarella wore the number 27 jersey to honor his childhood friend, Niccolò Galli. Niccolò was a teammate in their youth academy and used to wear that number. Sadly, Niccolò died in a road accident in 2001 when he was 17.

In 2017, Fabio shared in an interview that he and his family were threatened by a stalker for five years while he was playing for Napoli. This difficult situation eventually led to him leaving the club.

Career Statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Quagliarella goal.

List of international goals scored by Fabio Quagliarella

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 June 2007	Darius and Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas, Lithuania	Lithuania	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
2				2–0
3	6 February 2008	Letzigrund, Zürich, Switzerland	Portugal	3–1	3–1	Friendly
4	5 June 2010	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Switzerland	1–1	1–1	Friendly
5	24 June 2010	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	Slovakia	2–3	2–3	2010 FIFA World Cup
6	7 September 2010	Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy	Faroe Islands	4–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualification
7	26 March 2019	Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma, Italy	Liechtenstein	3–0	6–0	UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
8				4–0

Awards and Trophies

Fabio Quagliarella won several team and individual awards during his career.

Team Trophies

• Torino
  • Serie B: 2000–01
• Fiorentina
  • Serie C2: 2001–02
• Juventus
  • Serie A: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14
  • Supercoppa Italiana: 2012, 2013

Individual Awards

• Serie A Goal of the Year: 2009, 2019
• Premio Gentleman Fairplay: 2017 (Award for fair play)
• Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano Scirea": 2018 (Award for an excellent career)
• Serie A Best Forward: 2018–19
• Serie A top scorer: 2018–19 (with 26 goals)
• Serie A Team of the Year: 2018–19

See also

In Spanish: Fabio Quagliarella para niños