Christian Vieri
Encyclopedia
Christian Vieri is a retired Italian
footballer who played as a centre forward.
Vieri was named in the FIFA 100
, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé
as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations. For a number of years he was regarded as one of the finest strikers in Europe, leading to him becoming the world's most expensive footballer in 1999 when Internazionale paid Lazio
£32 million for his services. This record has since been broken only a handful of times.
Somewhat of a footballing nomad, Vieri played for no fewer than 12 clubs throughout his career. Most notable were his spells at Juventus, Atlético Madrid, Lazio and Inter; with the latter he hit the net on more than 100 occasions. Vieri has often been described as an old fashioned style centre forward due to his physical presence and outstanding aerial ability, he is the all time top scorer of headed goals in Italian league history.
As well as picking up several winners medals during his career, Vieri also claimed many individual honours including the Pichichi and Capocannoniere (top scorer) titles in Spain
and Italy
and Italian Footballer of the Year
twice. He is one of Italy's highest ever World Cup
scorers with 9 goals from 9 matches at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups respectively.
, Italy
, his family moved to Australia
in the 1970s, residing in the suburb of Wetherill Park
in South-Western Sydney
and he attended Prairiewood High School. His father, Roberto Vieri
played for Sydney-based club Marconi Stallions. It is from his father that he inherited his nickname "Bobo" which he carried with him throughout his career.
During his time in Australia, Vieri developed a love for both football and cricket
, a sport he still follows to this day. He stated in an interview that he would have liked to have been a professional cricketer. His brother, Massimiliano Vieri
, is also a professional footballer and was an Australian international in 2004. Vieri played for Marconi Juniors when he was a child but his family soon moved back to Italy.
and played his first Serie A
game the next year for the Turin team. Vieri made six appearances in the league as well as in the Coppa Italia
. In November 1992, he was sold to Serie C
club, Pisa Calcio
, scoring two goals. Another season went by, he then moved to Ravenna
in Serie B
, scoring 12 goals. He was subsequently sold to Venezia
in Serie F, scoring 11 goals. Another move followed for the youngster, this time to Atalanta
where he scored seven goals. A change of luck came when he was spotted by Juventus
in the 1996–97 season. He made 23 appearances and scored eight goals in Serie A, and six goals in ten matches in Europe, making him joint topscorer for Juventus that season along with Alen Bokšić
.
Vieri was on the move once again, this time it was to Spain
and Atlético Madrid. He scored a total of 24 goals in 24 league appearances for Atlético (and an additional five goals from seven appearances in Europe), which led him to the win the Pichichi Trophy, as the league's top scorer. In an interview with Marca
magazine shortly after arriving at the Calderón
, he had Spanish readers hot-footing it to internet search engines when he named his all-time sporting hero as Australia
n cricket
er Allan Border
. After the 1998 World Cup
, he moved to Lazio
, where he was outstanding in his first season, scoring 12 goals in Serie A and one in Europe, winning the Cup Winners' Cup
in the final of which came his sole European goal that season. But it all changed when he was spotted by Inter
and its chairman Massimo Moratti
. Vieri's move to Internazionale was for a (then) world record transfer fee of £32 million. Then manager Marcello Lippi
had requested the player after their successful season together at Juventus. According to rumour, Vieri took on the number 32 jersey at Inter as a reflection of his hefty price tag.
At Inter, Vieri formed a potentially dangerous partnership with Ronaldo
up front, but because of injuries to both players, they were not able to play together often. He was impressive in his first couple of seasons, but constant managerial changes meant that Inter could not challenge for the Scudetto. It was under disciplined Argentinian coach Héctor Cúper
, that Vieri and Inter really began to flourish and challenge for honours. Vieri was made the focal point of the attack and scored 22 goals in 25 games in the 2001–02 season as Inter narrowly missed out on the Scudetto after their last-day defeat to Lazio. The following season he was Serie A Capocannoniere
after scoring 24 goals in 23 appearances. In addition, he scored 3 goals in Inter's Champions League
campaign and formed a potent partnership with Hernán Crespo
. He scored both of Inter's goals in the quarter-final victory over Valencia
. Vieri was injured during the second leg of this game and therefore played no part in the semifinal defeat to city rivals Milan
.
The following year, Cúper was sacked only a few games into the season and was replaced by Alberto Zaccheroni. Vieri did not get along with his new manager and also had many of the Inter fans turn on him after his dip in form. In addition, he had shown his discontent at the sale of strike partner Crespo to Chelsea
. When Roberto Mancini
replaced Zaccheroni in the summer of 2004, Vieri played the majority games upfront with Adriano
. It was clear to many though that the injury he had sustained against Valencia had taken its toll on Vieri and he was no longer as sharp in front of goal, despite his respectable goal output.
In July 2005, Vieri and Internazionale came to a mutual agreement to terminate his contract with the club. He was then signed by cross-town rivals Milan
, but left the Rossoneri - where he was not a regular starter - after just six months, joining French side Monaco
in order to play regularly and gain a place on Italy's roster for the 2006 World Cup
. However, he suffered a serious knee injury while playing for Monaco in 2006, which required extensive surgery and ruled out the possibility of playing in his third consecutive FIFA World Cup
.
Vieri agreed a one-year deal with Sampdoria
on 6 July 2006. However, Vieri returned to Atalanta on 29 August, signing a one-year minimum wage contract worth 1500€ per month. Although he received a paltry salary, Vieri was to earn another €100,000 for every goal he scored, leaving chairman Ivan Ruggeri to comment, "If things go well, Vieri will cost me €2 million." Vieri scored 2 goals in 7 substitute appearances, including one spectacular long-range effort.
In June 2007, Atalanta announced they chose not to offer a contract extension to Vieri. His contract therefore ended on 30 June and was signed on a one-year deal with Fiorentina
. He was officially presented to the press on 21 July 2007. He signed a one-year-contract for Atalanta
on 30 June 2008. However, both Atalanta and Vieri mutually agreed that his contract will be rescinded, after only making nine appearances. He haven't announced his retirement yet actually on 20 October 2009.
and played for his country at the 1998 World Cup
, scoring five times, and the 2002 World Cup
, scoring four times, though he endured a less successful tournament at Euro 2004, whilst he missed Euro 2000 and 2006 World Cup
through injury. Vieri is generally considered to be Italy's greatest pure striker of recent times despite strong competition, and is one of Italy's most prolific World Cup goal scorers. He was named by Pelé
as one of the 125 greatest living footballers
in March 2004.
Vieri received his first international cap during the 1996–97 season after some impressive displays for Juventus. He scored a key goal for Italy in the play off against Russia
during qualification
for the 1998 World Cup. At the finals of the tournament in France
he formed a strong partnership with Roberto Baggio
. Vieri opened the scoring against Chile
after a delightful assist from his strike partner. He went on to score 3 more goals during the group stages
. Vieri scored Italy's only goal in the round of 16 match against Norway. He scored Italy's fourth penalty in the quarterfinal shooutout against France but Luigi Di Biagio
missed the fifth and Italy were eliminated.
Vieri missed out on Euro 2000 after suffering a recurrence of an old thigh injury, during the 4th place playoff with Parma at the end of the 1999–2000 season after a collision with Gianluigi Buffon
, who would also miss out on the tournament.
Italy played Vieri as a lone striker in the 2002 World Cup
, scoring four goals in four games. He managed a brace in the opening game against Ecuador and scored Italy's only goal in the 2-1 defeat to Croatia despite having a previous goal controversially ruled out for offside
. In the Round of 16 match against South Korea he opened the scoring in the 18th minute, scoring a powerful header from a Francesco Totti
corner. Italy led the game until the Koreans equalised 3 minutes before the end. Italy was eventually eliminated by South Korea by a golden goal
.
Vieri was once again the main striker in Italy's ill fated Euro 2004 campaign. However, this time he did not fare so well, scoring no goals as Italy were eliminated in the first round. It was during this tournament that his now infamous "more of a man" press conference took place, where he hit back at his critics in the Italian press by stating that he was more of a man than any of them.
More disappointment occurred when he missed the 2006 World Cup
after suffering a knee meniscus injury in a Ligue 1
match against Paris Saint-Germain on 26 March 2006. Although Vieri would not necessarily have been a starter for Lippi's side, Lippi admitted that he would have picked him had he been fit. He played in three tournaments, but failed to win a medal in each of them, missing out on the Euro 2000 runners up medal and the glorious 2006 World Cup winners medal.
, Elena Santarelli, Debora Salvalaggio, Fernanda Lessa and Melissa Satta
among others.
He has his own fashion label - Sweet Years - which he runs with friend and former Italy and Milan team mate Paolo Maldini
. The pair also own a number of restaurants in the city of Milan.
|-
|1991–92||rowspan="2"|Torino
||rowspan="2"|Serie A
||6||1||1||1||0||0||7||2
|-
|1992–93||1||0||1||0||0||0||2||0
|-
|1992–93||Pisa
||rowspan="3"|Serie B
||18||2||0||0||0||0||18||2
|-
|1993–94||Ravenna
||32||12||0||0||0||0||32||12
|-
|1994–95||Venezia||29||11||0||0||0||0||29||11
|-
|1995–96||Atalanta
||rowspan="2"|Serie A
||19||7||2||2||0||0||21||9
|-
|1996–97||Juventus
||23||8||5||1||10||5||38||14
|-
|1997–98||Atlético Madrid||La Liga
||24||24||0||0||10||5||34||29
|-
|1998–99||Lazio
||rowspan="8"|Serie A
||22||12||2||1||4||1||28||14
|-
|1999–2000||rowspan="6"|Internazionale
||20||13||5||5||0||0||24||18
|-
|2000–01||27||18||0||0||5||1||32||19
|-
|2001–02||25||22||1||0||2||3||28||25
|-
|2002–03||23||24||0||0||12||3||35||27
|-
|2003–04||22||13||1||0||9||4||32||17
|-
|2004–05||27||13||3||3||6||1||36||16
|-
|2005–06||Milan
||8||1||1||1||5||0||14||2
|-
|2005–06||Monaco
||Ligue 1
||7||3||2||1||2||1||11||5
|-
|2006–07||Atalanta
||rowspan="3"|Serie A
||7||2||0||0||0||0||7||2
|-
|2007–08||Fiorentina
||26||6||1||0||12||3||39||9
|-
|2008–09||Atalanta
||9||2||0||0||0||0||9||2
344||167||23||14||65||21||432||202
24||24||0||0||10||5||34||29
7||3||2||1||2||1||11||5
375||194||25||15||79||35||477||236
|-
|1997||7||2
|-
|1998||7||6
|-
|1999||5||2
|-
|2000||1||0
|-
|2001||2||0
|-
|2002||8||5
|-
|2003||6||4
|-
|2004||7||3
|-
|2005||6||1
|-
!Total||49||23
|}
|-
! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
|-
| 1. || 29 March 1997 || Trieste
, Italy
|| || 1 – 0 || 3 – 0 || 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| 2. || 29 October 1997 || Moscow
, Russia
|| || 1 – 0 || 1 – 1 || 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| 3. || 11 June 1998 || Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
, France
|| || 1 – 0 || 2 – 2 || 1998 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 4. || 17 June 1998 || Stade de la Mosson
, Montpellier
, France
|| || 1 – 0 || 3 – 0 || 1998 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 5. || 17 June 1998 || Stade de la Mosson
, Montpellier
, France
|| || 2 – 0 || 3 – 0 || 1998 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 6. || 23 June 1998 || Stade de France
, Saint-Denis
, France
|| || 1 – 0 || 2 – 1 || 1998 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 7. || 27 June 1998 || Stade Vélodrome
, Marseille
, France
|| || 1 – 0 || 1 – 0 || 1998 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 8. || 5 September 1998 || Liverpool
, England
|| || 2 – 0 || 2 – 0 || UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
|-
| 9. || 5 June 1999 || Bologna
, Italy
|| || 4 – 0 || 4 – 0 || UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
|-
| 10. || 8 September 1999 || Napoli, Italy
|| || 1 – 0 || 2 – 3 || UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
|-
| 11. || 3 June 2002 || Sapporo Dome
, Sapporo, Japan
|| || 1 – 0 || 2 – 0 || 2002 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 12. || 3 June 2002 || Sapporo Dome
, Sapporo, Japan
|| || 2 – 0 || 2 – 0 || 2002 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 13. || 8 June 2002 || Kashima Soccer Stadium, Kashima
, Japan
|| || 1 – 0 || 1 – 2 || 2002 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 14. || 18 June 2002 || Daejeon World Cup Stadium
, Daejeon
, South Korea
|| || 1 – 0 || 1 – 2 || 2002 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 15. || 11 November 2002 || Pescara
, Italy
|| || 1 – 0 || 1 – 1 || Friendly
|-
| 16. || 29 March 2003 || Palermo
, Italy
|| || 1 – 0 || 2 – 0 || UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
|-
| 17. || 29 March 2003 || Palermo
, Italy
|| || 2 – 0 || 2 – 0 || UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
|-
| 18. || 8 August 2003 || Stuttgart
, Germany
|| || 1 – 0 || 1 – 0 || Friendly
|-
| 19. || 11 October 2003 || Reggio Calabria
, Italy
|| || 1 – 0 || 4 – 0 || UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
|-
| 20. || 2 February 2004 || Palermo
, Italy
|| || 1 – 0 || 2 – 2 || Friendly
|-
| 21. || 31 March 2004 || Braga
, Portugal
|| || 1 – 1 || 2 – 1 || Friendly
|-
| 22. || 28 April 2004 || Genoa
, Italy
|| || 1 – 1 || 1 – 1 || Friendly
|-
| 23. || 12 October 2005 || Stadio Via del Mare
, Lecce
, Italy
|| || 1 – 0 || 2 – 1 || 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
|}
Lazio
Internazionale
Italy
Individual
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
footballer who played as a centre forward.
Vieri was named in the FIFA 100
FIFA 100
The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de...
, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations. For a number of years he was regarded as one of the finest strikers in Europe, leading to him becoming the world's most expensive footballer in 1999 when Internazionale paid Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
£32 million for his services. This record has since been broken only a handful of times.
Somewhat of a footballing nomad, Vieri played for no fewer than 12 clubs throughout his career. Most notable were his spells at Juventus, Atlético Madrid, Lazio and Inter; with the latter he hit the net on more than 100 occasions. Vieri has often been described as an old fashioned style centre forward due to his physical presence and outstanding aerial ability, he is the all time top scorer of headed goals in Italian league history.
As well as picking up several winners medals during his career, Vieri also claimed many individual honours including the Pichichi and Capocannoniere (top scorer) titles in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Italian Footballer of the Year
Italian Footballer of the Year
The Italian Footballer of the Year is a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association given to the Italian footballer who has been considered to have performed the best over the previous Serie A season. The award is part of the "Oscar del Calcio" awards event.-Winners:-By...
twice. He is one of Italy's highest ever World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
scorers with 9 goals from 9 matches at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups respectively.
Early life
Born in BolognaBologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, his family moved to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in the 1970s, residing in the suburb of Wetherill Park
Wetherill Park, New South Wales
Wetherill Park is a suburb of south western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wetherill Park is located 34 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.The 2006...
in South-Western Sydney
South-western Sydney
South-western Sydney is a general term which is used to describe the metropolitan area in south-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Greater Western Sydney area....
and he attended Prairiewood High School. His father, Roberto Vieri
Roberto Vieri
Roberto "Bob" Vieri is an Italian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. Active in both Italy and Australia, Vieri made nearly 300 professional career league appearances, scoring over 50 goals.-Personal life:...
played for Sydney-based club Marconi Stallions. It is from his father that he inherited his nickname "Bobo" which he carried with him throughout his career.
During his time in Australia, Vieri developed a love for both football and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, a sport he still follows to this day. He stated in an interview that he would have liked to have been a professional cricketer. His brother, Massimiliano Vieri
Max Vieri
Massimiliano "Max" Vieri is an Italian Australian football player. He is a striker, and currently plays for AC Prato of Italian Lega Pro Prima Divisione....
, is also a professional footballer and was an Australian international in 2004. Vieri played for Marconi Juniors when he was a child but his family soon moved back to Italy.
Club career
Vieri started his playing career at Marconi Stallions. While there, he was spotted by TorinoTorino F.C.
Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....
and played his first Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
game the next year for the Turin team. Vieri made six appearances in the league as well as in the Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
. In November 1992, he was sold to Serie C
Serie C
The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico , commonly known as Lega Pro , is the governing body that runs the third and fourth highest football divisions in Italy, the Prima Divisione and Seconda Divisione respectively. It also includes the sole professional club of San Marino...
club, Pisa Calcio
Pisa Calcio
Associazione Calcio Pisa 1909 is an Italian association football club, based in Pisa, Tuscany. The club was founded in 1909 as Pisa Sporting Club and refounded in 1994 as A.C. Pisa , after the cancellation of the old one because of economical troubles...
, scoring two goals. Another season went by, he then moved to Ravenna
Ravenna Calcio
Ravenna Calcio is an Italian association football club, based in Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1913 and refounded in 2001....
in Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
, scoring 12 goals. He was subsequently sold to Venezia
F.B.C. Unione Venezia
Football Club Unione Venezia , commonly referred to as simply Venezia, is an Italian football club from Venice, Veneto....
in Serie F, scoring 11 goals. Another move followed for the youngster, this time to Atalanta
Atalanta B.C.
Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy.They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the orobici...
where he scored seven goals. A change of luck came when he was spotted by Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
in the 1996–97 season. He made 23 appearances and scored eight goals in Serie A, and six goals in ten matches in Europe, making him joint topscorer for Juventus that season along with Alen Bokšić
Alen Bokšic
Alen Bokšić is a former football attacker from Croatia. He was a renowned forward known for his technique.-Career:Bokšić was born in Makarska and started his career in the club Zmaj from Makarska. As a young player he moved to Hajduk Split and was introduced into the first team . With Hajduk, he...
.
Vieri was on the move once again, this time it was to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Atlético Madrid. He scored a total of 24 goals in 24 league appearances for Atlético (and an additional five goals from seven appearances in Europe), which led him to the win the Pichichi Trophy, as the league's top scorer. In an interview with Marca
Marca
Marca may refer to:Places:* Marca, Sălaj, a commune in Sălaj County, Romania* an alternative name for Merca, Somalia* Marca District, in the province Recuay, PeruMarches:* Marca is the Latin term for border regions known as a Marks or Marches...
magazine shortly after arriving at the Calderón
Vicente Calderón Stadium
The Vicente Calderón Stadium is the home stadium of La Liga football club Atlético Madrid and is located in the Arganzuela district of Spanish capital Madrid. The stadium was originally called the Manzanares Stadium, but this was later changed to the Vicente Calderón Stadium, after the famous...
, he had Spanish readers hot-footing it to internet search engines when he named his all-time sporting hero as Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er Allan Border
Allan Border
Allan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...
. After the 1998 World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
, he moved to Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
, where he was outstanding in his first season, scoring 12 goals in Serie A and one in Europe, winning the Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
in the final of which came his sole European goal that season. But it all changed when he was spotted by Inter
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
and its chairman Massimo Moratti
Massimo Moratti
Massimo Moratti is an Italian oil tycoon. He is the owner and President of Italian football team Football Club Internazionale Milano, and Chief Executive Officer of Saras S.p.A.-Life and career:...
. Vieri's move to Internazionale was for a (then) world record transfer fee of £32 million. Then manager Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi, Commendatore OMRI is a former Italian World Cup-winning football manager and former player. He served as Italian national team head coach from 16 July 2004 to 12 July 2006 and led Italy to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was re-appointed as Italian head coach in the summer of 2008...
had requested the player after their successful season together at Juventus. According to rumour, Vieri took on the number 32 jersey at Inter as a reflection of his hefty price tag.
At Inter, Vieri formed a potentially dangerous partnership with Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima , commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo is widely considered to be the greatest 'pure' striker in the history of the modern game, and by some accounts, in the history of football. Ronaldo was one of the...
up front, but because of injuries to both players, they were not able to play together often. He was impressive in his first couple of seasons, but constant managerial changes meant that Inter could not challenge for the Scudetto. It was under disciplined Argentinian coach Héctor Cúper
Héctor Cúper
Héctor Raúl Cúper is an Argentinean former football defender and a current manager.-Coach:...
, that Vieri and Inter really began to flourish and challenge for honours. Vieri was made the focal point of the attack and scored 22 goals in 25 games in the 2001–02 season as Inter narrowly missed out on the Scudetto after their last-day defeat to Lazio. The following season he was Serie A Capocannoniere
Capocannoniere
The Capocannoniere is the name given to the highest goalscorer in Italian football. The Serie A title is currently held by Antonio Di Natale.-SERIE A:...
after scoring 24 goals in 23 appearances. In addition, he scored 3 goals in Inter's Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
campaign and formed a potent partnership with Hernán Crespo
Hernán Crespo
Hernán Jorge Crespo is an Argentine footballer who plays for Parma in the Italian Serie A. Crespo has scored over 300 goals in a career spanning 18 years. His honors include an Olympic Games silver medal, a Copa Libertadores, an English Premier League title and three Scudettos. He was topscorer in...
. He scored both of Inter's goals in the quarter-final victory over Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
. Vieri was injured during the second leg of this game and therefore played no part in the semifinal defeat to city rivals Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
.
The following year, Cúper was sacked only a few games into the season and was replaced by Alberto Zaccheroni. Vieri did not get along with his new manager and also had many of the Inter fans turn on him after his dip in form. In addition, he had shown his discontent at the sale of strike partner Crespo to Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
. When Roberto Mancini
Roberto Mancini
Roberto Mancini is an Italian football manager, formerly an international player and current manager of Premier League club Manchester City.As a player Mancini was best known for his time at Sampdoria, where he played more than 550 matches, and helped them win the Serie A league title, four Coppa...
replaced Zaccheroni in the summer of 2004, Vieri played the majority games upfront with Adriano
Adriano Leite Ribeiro
Adriano Leite Ribeiro , commonly known as simply Adriano, is a Brazilian footballer who played striker who currently plays for Corinthians...
. It was clear to many though that the injury he had sustained against Valencia had taken its toll on Vieri and he was no longer as sharp in front of goal, despite his respectable goal output.
In July 2005, Vieri and Internazionale came to a mutual agreement to terminate his contract with the club. He was then signed by cross-town rivals Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, but left the Rossoneri - where he was not a regular starter - after just six months, joining French side Monaco
AS Monaco FC
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club are a French football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. The club was founded in 1924 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. The team plays its home matches at the Stade Louis II located within Fontvieille...
in order to play regularly and gain a place on Italy's roster for the 2006 World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
. However, he suffered a serious knee injury while playing for Monaco in 2006, which required extensive surgery and ruled out the possibility of playing in his third consecutive FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
.
Vieri agreed a one-year deal with Sampdoria
U.C. Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria is an Italian association football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria...
on 6 July 2006. However, Vieri returned to Atalanta on 29 August, signing a one-year minimum wage contract worth 1500€ per month. Although he received a paltry salary, Vieri was to earn another €100,000 for every goal he scored, leaving chairman Ivan Ruggeri to comment, "If things go well, Vieri will cost me €2 million." Vieri scored 2 goals in 7 substitute appearances, including one spectacular long-range effort.
In June 2007, Atalanta announced they chose not to offer a contract extension to Vieri. His contract therefore ended on 30 June and was signed on a one-year deal with Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is a professional Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany. Founded by a merger in 1926, Fiorentina have played at the top level of Italian football for the majority of their existence; only four clubs have played in more Serie A...
. He was officially presented to the press on 21 July 2007. He signed a one-year-contract for Atalanta
Atalanta B.C.
Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy.They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the orobici...
on 30 June 2008. However, both Atalanta and Vieri mutually agreed that his contract will be rescinded, after only making nine appearances. He haven't announced his retirement yet actually on 20 October 2009.
International career
Vieri has scored 23 goals in 49 matches for ItalyItaly national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
and played for his country at the 1998 World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
, scoring five times, and the 2002 World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
, scoring four times, though he endured a less successful tournament at Euro 2004, whilst he missed Euro 2000 and 2006 World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
through injury. Vieri is generally considered to be Italy's greatest pure striker of recent times despite strong competition, and is one of Italy's most prolific World Cup goal scorers. He was named by Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
as one of the 125 greatest living footballers
FIFA 100
The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de...
in March 2004.
Vieri received his first international cap during the 1996–97 season after some impressive displays for Juventus. He scored a key goal for Italy in the play off against Russia
Russia national football team
The Russia national football team represents Russia in association football and is controlled by the Russian Football Union , the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home grounds are Luzhniki Stadium, Lokomotiv Stadium , and Petrovsky Stadium in St.Petersburg and their head coach is...
during qualification
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
-Qualified teams:The following 32 teams qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup: - qualified automatically as hosts - qualified automatically as defending champions-Notes:...
for the 1998 World Cup. At the finals of the tournament in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
he formed a strong partnership with Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio is a retired Italian footballer. Widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of his generation, Baggio won both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993. He is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups. He is also one of the top 5 all-time...
. Vieri opened the scoring against Chile
Chile national football team
The Chilean national football team represents Chile in all major international football competitions. The team is controlled by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile which was established in 1895. They have appeared in eight World Cup tournaments and were hosts of the 1962 FIFA World Cup finishing in...
after a delightful assist from his strike partner. He went on to score 3 more goals during the group stages
1998 FIFA World Cup - Group B
Italy finished clear winners of this group with seven points. Injury-time equalisers for Austria, first against Cameroon and then against Chile, meant that all three of these teams could still qualify with one match to go. Austria were then eliminated after losing their final game to Italy...
. Vieri scored Italy's only goal in the round of 16 match against Norway. He scored Italy's fourth penalty in the quarterfinal shooutout against France but Luigi Di Biagio
Luigi Di Biagio
Luigi Di Biagio , is an Italian former football defensive midfielder, who last played for Ascoli Calcio 1898 .Di Biagio was born in Rome. Prior to joining Ascoli, he played for Lazio , Monza , Foggia , Roma , Internazionale , and Brescia Calcio . He was capped 31 times for Italy, scoring two goals...
missed the fifth and Italy were eliminated.
Vieri missed out on Euro 2000 after suffering a recurrence of an old thigh injury, during the 4th place playoff with Parma at the end of the 1999–2000 season after a collision with Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team. He has won the FIFA World Cup and is widely considered by fans and experts to be one of most dominant and successful goalkeepers in history...
, who would also miss out on the tournament.
Italy played Vieri as a lone striker in the 2002 World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
, scoring four goals in four games. He managed a brace in the opening game against Ecuador and scored Italy's only goal in the 2-1 defeat to Croatia despite having a previous goal controversially ruled out for offside
Offside (football)
Offside is a law in football which states that if a player is in an offside position when the ball is touched or played by a teammate, he may not become actively involved in the play...
. In the Round of 16 match against South Korea he opened the scoring in the 18th minute, scoring a powerful header from a Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti, Ufficiale OMRI, is an Italian footballer who is the captain of Serie A club Roma. His primary position is that of a trequartista, though he has also been successfully utilized as a lone striker. Totti has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number-one goalscorer and the most...
corner. Italy led the game until the Koreans equalised 3 minutes before the end. Italy was eventually eliminated by South Korea by a golden goal
Golden goal
The golden goal is a method used in association football, field hockey, ice hockey and korfball to decide the winner of games in elimination matches which end in a draw after the end of regulation time. It is a type of sudden death. Golden goal rules allow the team that scores the first goal during...
.
Vieri was once again the main striker in Italy's ill fated Euro 2004 campaign. However, this time he did not fare so well, scoring no goals as Italy were eliminated in the first round. It was during this tournament that his now infamous "more of a man" press conference took place, where he hit back at his critics in the Italian press by stating that he was more of a man than any of them.
More disappointment occurred when he missed the 2006 World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
after suffering a knee meniscus injury in a Ligue 1
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
match against Paris Saint-Germain on 26 March 2006. Although Vieri would not necessarily have been a starter for Lippi's side, Lippi admitted that he would have picked him had he been fit. He played in three tournaments, but failed to win a medal in each of them, missing out on the Euro 2000 runners up medal and the glorious 2006 World Cup winners medal.
Personal life
Christian Vieri's personal life has been subject to much media attention in Italy. He has been involved in many high profile relationships, including those with models Elisabetta CanalisElisabetta Canalis
-Career:Canalis had minor roles in the films Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo and Virgin Territory. She was also a velina in the television show Striscia la notizia. In 2007, she hosted the annual music festival, Festivalbar. In 2009, she co-hosted the Italian version of Total Request Live. In 2010,...
, Elena Santarelli, Debora Salvalaggio, Fernanda Lessa and Melissa Satta
Melissa Satta
Melissa Satta is an American-born Italian model and actress. She spent her youth in the island of Sardinia, land of origin of her parents. She was a showgirl in the Italian satirical series Striscia la notizia. She has appeared in Maxim magazine and was featured in the 2010 Sports Illustrated...
among others.
He has his own fashion label - Sweet Years - which he runs with friend and former Italy and Milan team mate Paolo Maldini
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...
. The pair also own a number of restaurants in the city of Milan.
Club
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align: center;"|-
|1991–92||rowspan="2"|Torino
Torino F.C.
Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....
||rowspan="2"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||6||1||1||1||0||0||7||2
|-
|1992–93||1||0||1||0||0||0||2||0
|-
|1992–93||Pisa
Pisa Calcio
Associazione Calcio Pisa 1909 is an Italian association football club, based in Pisa, Tuscany. The club was founded in 1909 as Pisa Sporting Club and refounded in 1994 as A.C. Pisa , after the cancellation of the old one because of economical troubles...
||rowspan="3"|Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
||18||2||0||0||0||0||18||2
|-
|1993–94||Ravenna
Ravenna Calcio
Ravenna Calcio is an Italian association football club, based in Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1913 and refounded in 2001....
||32||12||0||0||0||0||32||12
|-
|1994–95||Venezia||29||11||0||0||0||0||29||11
|-
|1995–96||Atalanta
Atalanta B.C.
Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy.They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the orobici...
||rowspan="2"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||19||7||2||2||0||0||21||9
|-
|1996–97||Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
||23||8||5||1||10||5||38||14
|-
|1997–98||Atlético Madrid||La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||24||24||0||0||10||5||34||29
|-
|1998–99||Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
||rowspan="8"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||22||12||2||1||4||1||28||14
|-
|1999–2000||rowspan="6"|Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
||20||13||5||5||0||0||24||18
|-
|2000–01||27||18||0||0||5||1||32||19
|-
|2001–02||25||22||1||0||2||3||28||25
|-
|2002–03||23||24||0||0||12||3||35||27
|-
|2003–04||22||13||1||0||9||4||32||17
|-
|2004–05||27||13||3||3||6||1||36||16
|-
|2005–06||Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
||8||1||1||1||5||0||14||2
|-
|2005–06||Monaco
AS Monaco FC
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club are a French football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. The club was founded in 1924 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. The team plays its home matches at the Stade Louis II located within Fontvieille...
||Ligue 1
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
||7||3||2||1||2||1||11||5
|-
|2006–07||Atalanta
Atalanta B.C.
Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy.They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the orobici...
||rowspan="3"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||7||2||0||0||0||0||7||2
|-
|2007–08||Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is a professional Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany. Founded by a merger in 1926, Fiorentina have played at the top level of Italian football for the majority of their existence; only four clubs have played in more Serie A...
||26||6||1||0||12||3||39||9
|-
|2008–09||Atalanta
Atalanta B.C.
Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy.They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the orobici...
||9||2||0||0||0||0||9||2
344||167||23||14||65||21||432||202
24||24||0||0||10||5||34||29
7||3||2||1||2||1||11||5
375||194||25||15||79||35||477||236
International
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align: center;"|-
|1997||7||2
|-
|1998||7||6
|-
|1999||5||2
|-
|2000||1||0
|-
|2001||2||0
|-
|2002||8||5
|-
|2003||6||4
|-
|2004||7||3
|-
|2005||6||1
|-
!Total||49||23
|}
International goals
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align: left;"|-
! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
|-
| 1. || 29 March 1997 || Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|| || 1 – 0 || 3 – 0 || 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| 2. || 29 October 1997 || Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
|| || 1 – 0 || 1 – 1 || 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| 3. || 11 June 1998 || Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
|| || 1 – 0 || 2 – 2 || 1998 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 4. || 17 June 1998 || Stade de la Mosson
Stade de la Mosson
Stade de la Mosson is a football stadium in Montpellier, France. It is the home of Montpellier HSC and has a capacity of 32,900. Formerly a 16,000-seater stadium, it was entirely rebuilt in 1998 to host 6 games of the 1998 FIFA World Cup. It was also used as a venue for group stage matches in the...
, Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
|| || 1 – 0 || 3 – 0 || 1998 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 5. || 17 June 1998 || Stade de la Mosson
Stade de la Mosson
Stade de la Mosson is a football stadium in Montpellier, France. It is the home of Montpellier HSC and has a capacity of 32,900. Formerly a 16,000-seater stadium, it was entirely rebuilt in 1998 to host 6 games of the 1998 FIFA World Cup. It was also used as a venue for group stage matches in the...
, Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
|| || 2 – 0 || 3 – 0 || 1998 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 6. || 23 June 1998 || Stade de France
Stade de France
The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000, making it the fifth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for...
, Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
|| || 1 – 0 || 2 – 1 || 1998 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 7. || 27 June 1998 || Stade Vélodrome
Stade Vélodrome
The Stade Vélodrome is a football stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1, and was a venue in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2007 Rugby World Cup. It is the largest club-football ground in France, with a capacity of 60,031 spectators,...
, Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
|| || 1 – 0 || 1 – 0 || 1998 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 8. || 5 September 1998 || Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
|| || 2 – 0 || 2 – 0 || UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
|-
| 9. || 5 June 1999 || Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|| || 4 – 0 || 4 – 0 || UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
|-
| 10. || 8 September 1999 || Napoli, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|| || 1 – 0 || 2 – 3 || UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
|-
| 11. || 3 June 2002 || Sapporo Dome
Sapporo Dome
The is a stadium located in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo, Japan, and is primarily used for baseball and football. It is the home field of the baseball team Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and the football club Consadole Sapporo.-History:...
, Sapporo, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|| || 1 – 0 || 2 – 0 || 2002 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 12. || 3 June 2002 || Sapporo Dome
Sapporo Dome
The is a stadium located in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo, Japan, and is primarily used for baseball and football. It is the home field of the baseball team Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and the football club Consadole Sapporo.-History:...
, Sapporo, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|| || 2 – 0 || 2 – 0 || 2002 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 13. || 8 June 2002 || Kashima Soccer Stadium, Kashima
Kashima, Ibaraki
is a port city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 66,249 and a population density of 708.02 persons per km². The total area is 93.57 km². Kashima was formerly a town in Kashima District and became a city after merging with the...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|| || 1 – 0 || 1 – 2 || 2002 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 14. || 18 June 2002 || Daejeon World Cup Stadium
Daejeon World Cup Stadium
Daejeon World Cup Stadium, nicknamed "Purple Arena", is a football stadium in the South Korean city of Daejeon. It was used to host some matches of the 2002 World Cup ....
, Daejeon
Daejeon
Daejeon is South Korea's fifth largest metropolis and the provincial capital of Chungnam. Located in the center of the country, Daejeon had a population of over 1.5 million in 2010. It is at the crossroads of Gyeongbu railway, Honam railway, Gyeongbu Expressway, and Honam Expressway. Within the...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
|| || 1 – 0 || 1 – 2 || 2002 FIFA World Cup
|-
| 15. || 11 November 2002 || Pescara
Pescara
Pescara is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. As of January 1, 2007 it was the most populated city within Abruzzo at 123,059 residents, 400,000 with the surrounding metropolitan area...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|| || 1 – 0 || 1 – 1 || Friendly
|-
| 16. || 29 March 2003 || Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|| || 1 – 0 || 2 – 0 || UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
|-
| 17. || 29 March 2003 || Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|| || 2 – 0 || 2 – 0 || UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
|-
| 18. || 8 August 2003 || Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
|| || 1 – 0 || 1 – 0 || Friendly
|-
| 19. || 11 October 2003 || Reggio Calabria
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|| || 1 – 0 || 4 – 0 || UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
|-
| 20. || 2 February 2004 || Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|| || 1 – 0 || 2 – 2 || Friendly
|-
| 21. || 31 March 2004 || Braga
Braga
Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
|| || 1 – 1 || 2 – 1 || Friendly
|-
| 22. || 28 April 2004 || Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|| || 1 – 1 || 1 – 1 || Friendly
|-
| 23. || 12 October 2005 || Stadio Via del Mare
Stadio Via del Mare
Stadio Via del Mare is a multi-purpose stadium in Lecce, Italy. It is mostly used for football matches and is the home of U.S. Lecce. The stadium was built in 1966 and holds 33,876. It takes its name from the street leading to the sea.-History:...
, Lecce
Lecce
Lecce is a historic city of 95,200 inhabitants in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Lecce, the second province in the region by population, as well as one of the most important cities of Puglia...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|| || 1 – 0 || 2 – 1 || 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 5
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 5 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Belarus, Italy, Moldova, Norway, Scotland and Slovenia.The group was won by Italy, who qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup...
|}
Honours
Juventus- Serie ASerie ASerie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
: 1
-
- 1997
- Supercoppa ItalianaSupercoppa ItalianaThe Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...
: 1
- Supercoppa Italiana
- 1997
- Intercontinental CupIntercontinental Cup (football)The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
: 1
- Intercontinental Cup
- 19961996 Intercontinental CupThe 1996 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on November 26, 1996 between Juventus, winners of the 1995-96 UEFA Champions League, and River Plate, winners of the 1996 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the National Stadium in Tokyo...
- UEFA Super Cup: 1
- 19961996 UEFA Super CupThe 1996 UEFA Super Cup was played on 15 January 1997 and 5 February 1997 between Juventus of Italy, winner of 1995-96 UEFA Champions League and Paris Saint-Germain of France, winner of the 1995-96 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup...
- 1997
Lazio
- Supercoppa ItalianaSupercoppa ItalianaThe Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...
: 1
-
- 1998
- UEFA Cup Winners' CupUEFA Cup Winners' CupThe UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
: 1
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
- 1999
- 1998
Internazionale
- Supercoppa ItalianaSupercoppa ItalianaThe Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...
: 1
-
- 2005
- Coppa ItaliaCoppa ItaliaThe Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
: 1
- Coppa Italia
- 2005
- 2005
Italy
- UEFA Under-21 European Championship: 1
-
- 19941994 UEFA European Under-21 Football ChampionshipThe UEFA U-21 Championship 1994, which spanned two years , had 32 entrants. After the quarter-finals stage, France were chosen as the first hosts of the final stages, consisting of four matches in total....
- 1994
Individual
- Pichichi Trophy: 1
-
- 1998
- Serie ASerie ASerie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
: Top Scorer: 1
- Serie A
- 2003
- Serie A Footballer of the YearSerie A Footballer of the YearThe Serie A Footballer of the Year is a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association given to the footballer who has been considered to have performed the best over the previous Serie A season....
: 1
- Serie A Footballer of the Year
- 1999
- Italian Footballer of the YearItalian Footballer of the YearThe Italian Footballer of the Year is a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association given to the Italian footballer who has been considered to have performed the best over the previous Serie A season. The award is part of the "Oscar del Calcio" awards event.-Winners:-By...
: 2
- Italian Footballer of the Year
- 1999, 2002
- Guerin d'OroGuerin d'OroThe Guerin d'Oro is an annual prize instituted by the Italian weekly football magazine Guerin Sportivo, which, since 1976, is awarded to the player in Serie A with at least 19 games played, which has obtained the best average-media rating...
: 1
- Guerin d'Oro
- 2002
- FIFA 100FIFA 100The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de...
: 1
- FIFA 100
- 2004
- World Cup Silver Boot: 1
- 1998
- World Cup Bronze Boot: 1
- 2002
- All time top scorer of headers in Italian league history
- 1998