Dario Hübner (born 28 April 1967) is an Italian former professional

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 ...

. An opportunistic

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, with an eye for goal, and an accurate finisher (with both his head and feet) and

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

taker, he was, however, questioned for his work-rate and behaviour at times. He scored over 300 goals throughout his career, only playing in the higher divisions towards the end of his career, becoming the oldest player to win the Serie A top scorer award, which he managed during the

2001–02 Serie A The 2001–02 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 100th season of top-tier Italian football, the 70th in a round-robin tournament. It was composed by 18 teams, for the 14th consecutive time from season 1988–89. ...

season, at the age of 35; this record was later broken by

Luca Toni Luca Toni (; born 26 May 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer, Toni scored over 300 goals throughout his career, and is one of the top-five highest scoring Italians in all competition ...

in 2015, who won the award at the age of 38. 38 of Hübner's career goals came from penalties, whilst he was sent off ten times throughout his career, also receiving 36 yellow cards.

Career

Born in

Muggia Muggia ( vec, label=Venetian language, Venetian, Triestine dialect, Muja; german: Mulgs; fur, Mugle; sl, Milje) is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the south-west of the Province of Trieste, in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia on the border w ...

Province of Trieste The Province of Trieste ( it, Provincia di Trieste, sl, Tržaška pokrajina; fur, provinzia di Triest) was a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Trieste. It had an are ...

, Hübner started his career in 1987–88 at Pievigina, in Interregionale, scoring ten goals. He later also played in Pergocrema (1988–89),

Fano Fano is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the ''Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by popula ...

(1989–92) in

Serie C The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

, and

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. History Cesena was o ...

(1992–97), in

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

. Following Cesena's relegation to Serie C in 1997, Hübner moved to newly promoted

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

side

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

, making his debut in the top Italian division in his thirties. On his debut, he scored his first goal in Serie A, against

Inter Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club * FK Inter Bratislava, a forme ...

at the

San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...

Stadium, from an Andrea Pirlo assist, and on his second appearance, he scored a hat-trick against

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional 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, ...

. Notwithstanding his impressive tally of 16 goals, Brescia were relegated to Serie B the following season, although he was later named the club's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and main penalty taker, and helped the side to re-gain promotion to Serie A, scoring 21 goals during the

1999–2000 Serie B The Serie B 1999–2000 was the sixty-eighth tournament of this competition played in Italy since its creation. Teams Alzano, Fermana, Pistoiese and Savoia had been promoted from Serie C, while Salernitana, Sampdoria, Vicenza and Empoli had b ...

season. During the 2000–01 season, he played alongside attacking midfield

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativit ...

Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pre ...

, the team's new captain, under coach

Carlo Mazzone Carlo "Carletto" Mazzone (born 19 March 1937 in Rome) is an Italian retired professional association footballer and manager, who played as a centre-back. Playing career Mazzone played several seasons for A.S. Roma, as well as for SPAL and Ascoli. ...

, while he also faced competition as the starting striker from

Igli Tare Igli Tare (; born 25 July 1973) is an Albanian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. He is the sporting director at Serie A club Lazio. Tare joined Partizani Tirana as a 9-year-old in 1982, and would later go on to make his ...

, who had a higher work-rate than Hübner. Alongside Baggio, Hübner was extremely prolific, as he scored 17 goals, helping the club to qualify for the

2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup The 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals were won by Aston Villa, Paris Saint-Germain and Troyes. All three teams advanced to the UEFA Cup. First round First leg ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ...

. He was also famous for smoking on the bench during his time at Brescia, and was known for drinking

grappa Grappa is an alcoholic beverage: a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Italian origin that contains 35 to 60 percent alcohol by volume (70 to 120 US proof). Grappa is made by distilling the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems (i.e., the poma ...

. After joining newly promoted Serie A club

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

in 2001, for 6 billion Lit., Dario consistently battled for the title of top scorer in Serie A (

capocannonieri The ''Capocannoniere'' award (; literally "head gunner"), known as Paolo Rossi Award David Trezeguet David Sergio Trezeguet (born 15 October 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Trezeguet began his career in Argentina with Club Atlético Platense at the age of eight, progressing through their youth system ...

in the 2001–02 season, at 35 years old, with 24 goals, and 7th in 2002–03 season with 14 goals. Along with

Igor Protti Igor Protti (born 24 September 1967) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who currently works as a general manager for U.S. Livorno 1915, Livorno. Throughout his playing career, he made a name for himself as a proli ...

, Hübner is the only player to have won the top scoring titles in

, and

Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football (soccer), football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1 ...

(winning the Serie B top scorer title during the 1995–96 season with

, scoring 22 goals, and the Serie C1, Girone A top scorer title during the 1991–92 season with

, scoring 14 goals. He is currently Piacenza's all-time Serie A top scorer. After his time with Piacenza, he later played for

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

during the first half of the

2003–04 Serie A The 2003–04 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 102nd season of top-tier Italian football, the 72nd in a round-robin tournament. It contained 18 teams for the 16th and last time from the 1988–89 season. With th ...

season, although he was unable score or help the club avoid the relegation zone, and subsequently moved to Serie A club

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

(2004), where he was also unsuccessful in helping the club to avoid relegation. He later moved on to play for

Mantova Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Europ ...

(2004–05). In September 2005 he left professional football and signed for

Chiari Chiari may refer to: * Chiari (surname) *Chiari, Lombardy, a commune in Italy * The Chiari Institute, a medical institution in Great Neck, New York *Battle of Chiari (1701), part of the War of the Spanish Succession See also * Arnold–Chiari malf ...

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...

, which he left two months later to join

Rodengo Saiano Rodengo-Saiano (Brescian: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. A center of the Franciacorta historical region, it was founded in 1927 from the communes of Rodengo and Saiano. It is home to a Cluniac The Cluniac Reforms (also ...

, another Serie D club (2005–06). In 2007–08 season, he played for Orsa Corte Franca of Eccellenza (2006–09), also later playing with Castel Mella (2009–10) and Cavenago (2010–11), before retiring and working as a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Personal life

Hübner is of German heritage on his father's side; his paternal grandfather was from Frankfurt, but he later moved to Trieste. However, although his grandfather was German, Dario Hübner does not speak the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

fluently. He was nicknamed ''Bisonte (Bison)''. In 2015, he featured in a music video, "L'estate di Hubner", by the band Toromeccanica. He was also referenced in the 2018 song "Hübner" by singer-songwriter

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Individual * Serie A top scorer: 2001–02 (24 goals, alongside

David Trezeguet David Sergio Trezeguet (born 15 October 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Trezeguet began his career in Argentina with Club Atlético Platense at the age of eight, progressing through their youth system ...

) *

top scorer: 1995–96 (22 goals) *

top scorer: 1991–92, Girone A (14 goals)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hubner, Dario 1967 births Living people People from Muggia Footballers from Friuli Venezia Giulia Italian footballers Italian people of German descent Association football forwards U.S. Pergolettese 1932 players Alma Juventus Fano 1906 players A.C. Cesena players Brescia Calcio players Piacenza Calcio 1919 players A.C. Ancona players A.C. Perugia Calcio players Mantova 1911 players A.C. Rodengo Saiano players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Serie D players