Cristiano Lucarelli - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

He is a staunch admirer of Che Guevara

Che Guevara

Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...

, whose face is frequently displayed on Livorno fans' banners and T-shirts during matches. This first came to the fore in 1997, when, after scoring for Italy

Italy 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...

's Under-21 side, he celebrated by pulling his jersey over his face to reveal a shirt bearing the revolutionary's image. Despite his insisting that it was not a political gesture, he was consequently blackballed from the national team for several years until 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...

called him up as a starter for a friendly in 2005.

Lucarelli met Guevara's daughter, Aleida Guevara

Aleida Guevara

Aleida Guevara March is the eldest daughter of four children born to Ernesto "Che" Guevara and his second wife, Aleida March....

, after the 2004–05 Serie A season; one subject of discussion was the possibility of Livorno travelling to Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

to play a charity match, but it never came to fruition.

International career

Lucarelli has been capped six times for the Italy senior squad. His aforementioned debut was during a 2005 friendly tournament in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, where he scored his first national goal in a 1–1 draw against Serbia and Montenegro

Serbia national football team

The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...

at the Rogers Centre

Rogers Centre

Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...

in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. He was left off the Italy roster for the 2006 FIFA 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...

, but was recalled by new coach Roberto Donadoni

Roberto Donadoni

Roberto Donadoni is an Italian football manager and former player, last in charge of Serie A club Cagliari.An attacking midfielder or winger known for pace and technique, he was a pillar of the powerhouse AC Milan teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s and one of the pioneers of Major League...

– who had briefly coached Lucarelli at Livorno earlier in the year – for a friendly against Croatia

Croatia national football team

The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...

on August 16, 2006.

Due to a rash of injuries among the Azzurri, Lucarelli was summoned for a pair of June Euro 2008 qualifiers against Lithuania

Lithuania national football team

The national football team of Lithuania is under the auspices of the Lithuanian Football Federation. It played its first match in 1923. In 1940, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union; the country regained its independence in 1990 and played their first match as a new nation against Georgia on...

and the Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands national football team

The Faroe Islands national football team represents the Faroe Islands in association football and is controlled by the Faroe Islands Football Association, the governing body for football in the Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands became a member of FIFA in 1988 and UEFA in 1990 and are the third...

. He came on as a substitute for Filippo Inzaghi

Filippo Inzaghi

Filippo Inzaghi, Ufficiale OMRI commonly known as Pippo, is a World Cup and UEFA Champions League-winning Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club Milan....

in the 58th minute of Italy's narrow 2–1 victory over the Faroes on June 2, but did not play in a 2–0 defeat of Lithuania on June 6. Lucarelli also substituted for Inzaghi in the 65th minute of a Euro 2008 qualifying match against France

France national football team

The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...

on September 8, 2007. He scored his first brace in Italy's 2–0 friendly win over South Africa

South Africa national football team

The South Africa national football team represents South Africa in association football and is controlled by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. South Africa's home ground is Soccer City, known as FNB Stadium due to a naming rights deal, in...

on October 17.

Statistics

|-
|1992/93||Cuoiopelli Cappiano Romaiano||Nazionale Dilettanti||28||5||||||||||||
|-
|1993/94||rowspan="2"|Perugia

Perugia Calcio

Associazione Calcistica Perugia Calcio is an Italian association football club based in Perugia, Umbria, direct heir of the old Perugia Calcio and A.C. Perugia, excluded from Italian football because of financial troubles....

||Serie C1||2||0||||||||||||
|-
|1994/95||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...

||5||0||||||||||||
|-
|1995/96||Cosenza||Serie B

Serie B

||32||15||||||||||||
|-
|1996/97||Padova

Calcio Padova

Calcio Padova is an Italian football club, based in Padua, Veneto. The club was founded in 1910. Padova is playing in Serie B, having last been in Serie A in 1996...

||Serie B

Serie B

||34||14||||||||||||
|-
|1997/98||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...

||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...

||26||5||||||||||||

|-
|1998/99||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...

||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...

||13||1||||||||||||

|-
|1999/00||rowspan="2"|Lecce

U.S. Lecce

Unione Sportiva Lecce or simply U.S. Lecce is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia who play in the Italian Serie A. After being crowned Serie B champions in 2009–10, the team successfully managed to avoid relegation in 2010-11....

||rowspan="2"|Serie A

Serie A

||30||15||||||||||||
|-
|2000/01||29||12||||||||||||
|-
|2001/02||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

||30||9||||||||||||
|-
|2002/03||26||1||||||||||||
|-
|2003/04||rowspan="4"|Livorno

A.S. Livorno Calcio

Associazione Sportiva Livorno Calcio is an Italian football club based in Livorno, Tuscany. The club was formed in 1915 and currently plays in Italian Serie B. The team's colors are dark red or maroon...

||Serie B

Serie B

||41||29||||||||||||
|-
|2004/05||rowspan="3"|Serie A

Serie A

||35||24||||||||||||
|-
|2005/06||36||19||||||||||||
|-
|2006/07||34||20||||||||||||

|-
|2007/08||Shakhtar Donetsk

FC Shakhtar Donetsk

FC Shakhtar Donetsk is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. Shakhtar has appeared in several European competitions and currently is often a participant of the UEFA Champions League. The club became the first Ukrainian club to win the UEFA Cup in 2009, the last year...

||Premier League

Ukrainian Premier League

The Ukrainian Premier League is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Supreme League it was founded in 1991 after the fold of the Soviet Union's Vysshaya Liga. In 2008 it was reformed into a more autonomous entity of the Football Federation of Ukraine and changed...

||12||4||||||||||||

|-
|2007/08||rowspan="2"|Parma

Parma F.C.

Parma Football Club , commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A for the 2011–12 season, having finished in twelfth position last season. Founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club in July 1913, the club changed its...

||Serie A

Serie A

||16||4||||||||||||
|-
|2008/09||Serie B

Serie B

||29||12||||||||||||
|-
|2009/10||Livorno

A.S. Livorno Calcio

||Serie A

Serie A

||28||10||||||||||||
|-
|2010/11||Napoli

S.S.C. Napoli

Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....

||Serie A

Serie A

||9||1||||||||||||
470||197||||||||||||
13||1||||||||||||
12||4||||||||||||
495||202||||||||||||
|}
|-
|2005||2||1
|-
|2006||1||0
|-
|2007||3||2
|-
!Total||6||3
|}

External links

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