Francesco Tavano
Encyclopedia
Francesco "Ciccio" Tavano (born 2 March 1979 in Caserta
) is an Italian
football
a striker who currently plays for Empoli
of Serie B
.
, then being sold to minor Florence
team Rondinella
, then in Serie C2
. He then joined Empoli
, where he slowly established himself as one of the stars of the small Tuscan
team. During the 2006 January transfer window, several Italian football pundits claimed that Real Madrid
were interested in signing Tavano, but he eventually signed for Valencia
during Summer 2006.
His time in Spain however proved out to be unsuccessful, as he fell out with coaching staff after making statements in the press which led to him being a sub player for the majority of the short stay which he has had. Tavano then returned to Italy for a loan spell with Roma
, where he mostly served as a reserve player for the main giallorossi strikers.
In 2007 he was permanently signed by Livorno
, for a reported €5.5 million and signed 4-year contract. He received the #10 jersey, previously retired in honour to Igor Protti
and unretired that year under explicit request from the former amaranto star. Despite being the club top scorer in his comeback season in Tuscany, his side did not manage to escape from relegation. Tavano agreed to stay at Livorno also in their Serie B 2008–09 campaign in order to try to lead his team back into the top fllght.
He scored a hat-trick at Avelino on the opening round, the first round 1 hat trick since 1994. He would than score at Piacenza, before standing back to back with a team mate in celebration. He missed a penalty against old club Empoli with the score 1-1, before Antonio Busce
scored Empoli's winner. Tavano would, however, get a goal in the 5-2 win over Frosinone, on the way to 25 for the season, giving him the capocannionaire title, and ensuring promotion through the playoffs after missing out on automatic promotion to Bari and Parma. However he had a hard season in Serie A, as Livorno were the only newly promoted team to go down. He scored the winner at Roma, but only scored 4 other goals. He was also inconsistent, so much so that one fan interrupted training to slap him. He was still described as important. New manager Giuseppe Pillon said "He is a fundamental player but must he motivated. I believe he has a desire for revenge after a poor Serie A Season."
Caserta
Caserta is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial and industrial comune and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Campanian Subapennine mountain range...
) is an Italian
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...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
a striker who currently plays for Empoli
Empoli F.C.
Empoli Football Club is an Italian association football club located in Empoli, Tuscany, founded in 1920 and played its first official match in 1921.In recent years, the club has all too often been bouncing between Italy's two top divisions...
of 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...
.
Career
Tavano started his professional career with PisaPisa 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...
, then being sold to minor Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
team Rondinella
Rondinella Calcio
San Frediano Rondinella Società Sportiva are a semi-professional Italian association football club based in Florence ....
, then in Serie C2
Serie C2
Lega Pro Seconda Divisione is the name of the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consists of 54 teams, but in the season 2010–11 the teams are only 49 divided geographically into three divisions of 17, 16 and 16 teams each...
. He then joined Empoli
Empoli F.C.
Empoli Football Club is an Italian association football club located in Empoli, Tuscany, founded in 1920 and played its first official match in 1921.In recent years, the club has all too often been bouncing between Italy's two top divisions...
, where he slowly established himself as one of the stars of the small Tuscan
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
team. During the 2006 January transfer window, several Italian football pundits claimed that Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
were interested in signing Tavano, but he eventually signed for 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...
during Summer 2006.
His time in Spain however proved out to be unsuccessful, as he fell out with coaching staff after making statements in the press which led to him being a sub player for the majority of the short stay which he has had. Tavano then returned to Italy for a loan spell with Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...
, where he mostly served as a reserve player for the main giallorossi strikers.
In 2007 he was permanently signed by 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...
, for a reported €5.5 million and signed 4-year contract. He received the #10 jersey, previously retired in honour to Igor Protti
Igor Protti
Igor Protti is a former Italian footballer. He was a prolific, penalty box striker who became a legend at Livorno...
and unretired that year under explicit request from the former amaranto star. Despite being the club top scorer in his comeback season in Tuscany, his side did not manage to escape from relegation. Tavano agreed to stay at Livorno also in their Serie B 2008–09 campaign in order to try to lead his team back into the top fllght.
He scored a hat-trick at Avelino on the opening round, the first round 1 hat trick since 1994. He would than score at Piacenza, before standing back to back with a team mate in celebration. He missed a penalty against old club Empoli with the score 1-1, before Antonio Busce
Antonio Buscè
Antonio Buscè is an Italian football midfielder. He currently plays for Empoli.-External links:*...
scored Empoli's winner. Tavano would, however, get a goal in the 5-2 win over Frosinone, on the way to 25 for the season, giving him the capocannionaire title, and ensuring promotion through the playoffs after missing out on automatic promotion to Bari and Parma. However he had a hard season in Serie A, as Livorno were the only newly promoted team to go down. He scored the winner at Roma, but only scored 4 other goals. He was also inconsistent, so much so that one fan interrupted training to slap him. He was still described as important. New manager Giuseppe Pillon said "He is a fundamental player but must he motivated. I believe he has a desire for revenge after a poor Serie A Season."