Adriano Rigoglioso (born 29 May 1979) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Career

Rigoglioso began his career as a goalkeeper with

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, and played in the same youth team as

Michael Owen Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. Since r ...

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed club Aston Villa. Described by pundits and fellow professionals as one of his generation's greatest players, Ge ...

and

Jamie Carragher James Lee Duncan Carragher (; born 28 January 1978) is an English football pundit and former footballer who played as a defender for Premier League club Liverpool during a career which spanned 17 years. A one-club man, he was Liverpool's vic ...

. However, he did not make the grade and joined

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

. He was signed by

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

in the summer of 2000. Playing as

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

, he was limited to a few substitute appearances. Moved into midfield for the 2001–02 season, Rigoglioso had a more successful run in the side but was still not considered a regular. The following season, he was moved into the 'hole' behind the striker, and formed a formidable partnership with

Wayne Curtis Wayne John Curtis (born 6 March 1980) is an English retired football striker. He finished his career after a short spell with Kendal Town in September and October 2011. He has played in the football league for Morecambe as well as non-league ...

in a Morecambe side that made the

Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

play-offs. His form attracted attention from a number of other clubs, with Chester City in particular having several bids turned down. At the beginning of the 2003–04 season,

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

made a bid for the player. This was turned down by the Morecambe board of directors. This bid appeared to unsettle Rigoglioso and many believe he engineered a second bid to be accepted after several disciplinary issues, before joining Doncaster in November 2003. His move to Doncaster did not go as well as he might have hoped. He scored his first and only goal for the team in a

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

tie against

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

in November 2004. He did not feature in the first team to any great extent, and during the 2005–06 season he spent an unsuccessful loan spell at

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

, where his only match was a 4–0 loss at Accrington Stanley. He rejoined Morecambe in March 2006, initially on loan. Again, his appearances were limited to short substitute appearances, and it was surprising when he was awarded a contract for the 2006–07 season. Again, the start of the season saw his first team role restricted to a few substitute appearances, and he spent October 2006 on loan at

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

, managed by former Morecambe manager

Jim Harvey James Harvey (born 2 May 1958) is a Northern Irish football manager and former player. Playing career As a player, Harvey began his career at Glenavon in his hometown of Lurgan, before joining Arsenal in 1977. He made only three Football L ...

. On his return, Rigoglioso went straight back into the Morecambe first team, in the withdrawn striker role that had previously worked well for him. He wore Adriano on the back of his shirt rather than his surname, citing the fact that stadium announcers often mispronounce his surname. His nickname, given to him by his family, is Celi after the Italian easy-listening popstar

Adriano Celentano Adriano Celentano (; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian musician, singer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is dubbed "''il Molleggiato''" (the springy one) because of his dancing. Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both commercial and ...

, famous for his chart hit "Una Festa Sui Prati", in English, "A Party on the open area of grass". Rigoglioso was released by Morecambe on 24 January 2007, after a discussion with

Sammy McIlroy Samuel Baxter McIlroy (born 2 August 1954) is a Northern Irish retired footballer who played for Manchester United, Stoke City, Manchester City, Örgryte (Sweden), Bury, VfB Mödling (Austria), Preston North End and the Northern Ireland natio ...

, who told him he would be bringing in more players, thereby limiting Rigoglioso's first team opportunities. He signed for Forest Green in a permanent deal lasting until the end of the 2007–08 season. Rigoglioso went on to make over 50 league appearances for Forest Green and featured in Forest Green's FA Cup third round defeat to

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

The New Lawn The New Lawn, also known as The Bolt New Lawn for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire. It has been the home stadium of League One club Forest Green Rovers since 2006. During the 2007–08 season the stadium ...

but was released at the end of the 2008–09 season. At the start of the 2009–10 season, Rigoglioso signed for

Grays Athletic Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside in nearby Aveley. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former S ...

along with eight other players, before being released in November. In November 2009, Rigoglioso was signed by

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpo ...

in the

Northern Premier League Division One North The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...

. He signed for

Northern Premier League Premier Division The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...

club

FC United of Manchester Football Club United of Manchester is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home matches at Broadhurst Park. Founded ...

on 31 December 2009, before leaving in March 2010. He then rejoined Colwyn Bay for his second spell at the club. On 4 June 2010 he teamed up with his former Colwyn Bay manager Neil Young at newly formed

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

but joined Ashton United without featuring for Chester, scoring on his debut against Matlock Town in September 2010. On 9 January 2011, Rigoglioso returned to former club

and left the club at the end of April. In January 2012 he joined

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Flintshire (historic), Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at ...

. After ending the 2011–12 season with Rhyl, in June 2012 Rigoglioso signed for Conwy Borough but moved without playing a game for the club to

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

during July, where he became player-coach. He left the club, along with manager Andy Mutch on 3 November.

References

External links

Morecambe F.C. player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rigoglioso, Adriano 1979 births Living people English footballers Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Grays Athletic F.C. players Southport F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Marine F.C. players Colwyn Bay F.C. players F.C. United of Manchester players Chester F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Association football midfielders English people of Italian descent Footballers from Liverpool Rhyl F.C. players Conwy Borough F.C. players Ashton United F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players