Ferdinando Sforzini (born 4 December 1984) is an Italian 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 striker. He is a product of the famous

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

youth academy. During his stay in Grosseto, Sforzini was given the nickname ''Nandogoal'' and also ''taglia gole utthroat', nicknamed for his traditional goal celebration.

Career

Early career

A tall

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 ...

, Sforzini started his career off with the youth system of

and was loaned out to

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

from Napoli's youth system in 2002. Ferdinando Sforzini graduated from Lazio youth system in 2003 and immediately sold, to

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; egl, label=Modenese dialect, Modenese, Sasól ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town ...

. At Sassuolo he impressed, scoring 10 goals in 29 appearances in 2004–05

Serie C2 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of 2 ...

season.

Udinese

After impressing with

U.S. Sassuolo Calcio Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio, commonly referred to as Sassuolo (), is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Sassuolo, Emilia-Romagna. Their colours are black and green, hence the nickname ''Neroverdi'' (literally "black and gre ...

, he was transferred to

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 ...

club

Udinese Calcio Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Football in Italy, Italian association football, football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a ...

in June 2005. Ferdinandos Sforzini remained at Udine for 2 months, but loaned out to

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 ...

side

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

in order to gain more experience in August 2005. In his season with

, Ferdinando Sforzini managed 5 goals in 35

appearances, which mainly as a substitutes player, but also made 16 league starts. For the 2006–2007 season, Udinese opted to again loan out the player in July 2006, however this time, it was to

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

, another

club. With Modena, Ferdinandos Sforzini scored 5 goals again, in 30 league appearances (started 17 times). On 1 July 2006 Sforzini returned to Udinese, however, he again was loaned out soon later. In July 2007, Ferdinandos Sforzini transferred to

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

for yet another Serie B season. With the club, Ferdinandos Sforzini made 14 league appearances (half of them as starting XI) in his six-month stay, scoring 2 goals. For the second half of the 2007–2008 season, Udinese loaned out the 23-year-old Sforzini to

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

, a club struggling to avoid relegation from the

. In the latter half of the season, Ferdinandos Sforzini scored an impressive 9 goals in 21 league appearances for

Ravenna Calcio Ravenna Football Club is an Football in Italy, Italian association football club, based in Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna. It currently plays in Serie C after achieving promotion as Group D champions in the 2016–17 Serie D, 2016-17 Serie D season. ...

, but it was not enough to save them from relegation. Ferdinandos Sforzini was again loaned out into the Serie B – this time with

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. It is the m ...

. In his six-month loan period with Grosseto, Sforzini was a regular starter at the start of season, appearing 18 times (10 of them as starter) and scoring 3 goals in Serie B. In January 2009, he swapped places with

Alessandro Pellicori Alessandro Pellicori (born 22 July 1981) is a former Italian footballer and football coach. He played as a striker. On 11 August 2012 he was suspended 3 year for alleged match-fixing. Career Pellicori started his professional career at Cosenza ...

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

. With relegation frightening Avellino Sforzini impressed, hitting good form and scoring 7 goals in just 12

appearances. After hitting good form with Avellino, Sforzini returned to Udinese on 1 July 2009, and received the call-up to the pre-season camp. But he was loaned out again, this time to Serie B champion

A.S. Bari Società Sportiva Calcio Bari, commonly referred to as Bari, is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Bari, Apulia. Bari currently plays in the . The team finished the 2021–22 season in first place in Serie C and earned promot ...

, the

newcomer. He was the starting forward along with Vitaly Kutuzov in the opening match of Serie A, a shocking 1–1 draw with defending champion

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...

. But in the next Serie A match the coach

Giampiero Ventura Gian Piero Ventura (; born 14 January 1948) is an Italian football manager. His playing career as a midfielder was spent in the lower leagues, having not made the grade at Sampdoria, where he began his coaching career with the youth team in 1976 ...

preferred

Riccardo Meggiorini Riccardo Meggiorini (born 4 September 1985) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward for an amateur side San Giovanni Lupatoto. Club career Early career Meggiorini took his first steps as a footballer at age eight, in a smal ...

as starting forward to partner with Kutuzov. Sforzini was further hit by left leg injury soon after, At first he would be rested a month but hit by flu in November. Sforzini then trained separately for ongoing injury. After Kutuzov's out of season injury, Bari signed

José Ignacio Castillo José Ignacio Castillo Álvarez (born 11 April 1975) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Career Serie D A prolific striker, nicknamed ''Nacho'', he moved in Italy in 2001 to join Serie D club Brindisi, offering a m ...

, and Sforzini was call-up by Ventura several time to as an extra cover for their starting forwards Barreto, Meggiorini and Castillo. He played his return match on 30 January 2010, substituted Castillo at the second half. He made a further 5 Serie A appearances as substitute. On 1 July 2010, Sforzini returned to Udinese again, and played for Udinese B team (composite of players that pending loan) in pre-season friendlies.

CFR Cluj loan

On 25 August 2010, he was loaned to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n side

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ), is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, which competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1907 as ''Kolozsvári Vas ...

. He made his debut in

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

10 September 2010 against

Rapid București Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a '' cascade' ...

in a 2–0 defeat, replacing

Cristian Bud Cristian Ionuț Bud (; born 26 June 1985) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for CS Făurei. Career Early years In 2004, Bud began his career with his hometown club Liberty Salonta after being bought from Sporting B ...

eight minutes from the end of the game. On 15 September made his debut in the Champions League in Cluj- Basel (2-1), replacing

Lacina Traoré Lacina Traoré (born 20 May 1990) is an Ivorian professional Association football, footballer who last played as a Forward (association football), forward for Portuguese club Varzim S.C. He is nicknamed “The Big Tree”, due to his 2.03m fra ...

as a substitute Scored the first goal for Cluj on 27 October 2010 won the encounter against the Targu Mures (2-0 final), valid for the knockout stages of the Cupa României. However, after the sacking of Italian manager

Andrea Mandorlini Andrea Mandorlini (born 17 July 1960) is an Italian association football, football manager and former Defender (association football), defender, currently in charge of club Mantova 1911, Mantova. Playing career Mandorlini made his playing debu ...

in September 2010, Sforzini lost his place in the side and he returned to

at the start of the January window. During the 2011 January winter transfer market he was transferred to Italian

team U.S. Grosseto on loan with option to sign permanently.

Grosseto

After scoring 8 goals in 20 games on loan at U.S. Grosseto in

, Sforzini's move was made permanent leaving

after a 6-year spell at the club. His form in his 2 seasons in

was impressive, in his first season he scored 21 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions with 20 of those coming in

in the 2011/12 season. He finished 3rd top scorer in

behind

Ciro Immobile Ciro Immobile (born 20 February 1990) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Lazio, which he captains, and the Italy national team. Immobile began his career at Sorrento. In 2009, he was purchased by Ju ...

(28 goals for

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

) and

Marco Sau Marco Sau (, ; born 3 November 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker. Early life Sau has been nicknamed ''Pattolino'' (Duckling) since childhood. His idol growing up was the striker Gianfranco Zola, also from his na ...

(21 goals for Juve Stabia). On 10 August 2012, Grosseto were provisionally relegated, by the Disciplinary Commission set up for Scommessopoli scandal investigations, to

Lega Pro Prima Divisione Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest 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. Before the 1978� ...

because of their involvement in Scommessopoli scandal. Furthermore, the president of Grosseto was at the time suspended from all football activities for five years. However, on 22 August 2012, Grosseto and its president were acquitted by the Court of justice, eliminating the verdict of the first instance and so re-instated back to

for the following 2012/13 season. His start to the 2012/13 season saw him score 11 goals in his first 21

appearances before his form attracted interest of

club

in the January transfer window.

Pescara

On 31 January 2013, Sforzini transferred to

side

for

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

400,000 plus

received Gastón Brugman and Danilo Soddimo on season long loan's from

as part of the transfer. In his first half season he made 10 appearances im

, without scoring a goal. He could not help Pescara escape from relegation to

. During the 2013–14 season, Sforzini scored just 2 goals in 20

games.

Latina

On 1 September 2014 he was signed by fellow Serie B club

U.S. Latina Calcio Latina Calcio 1932, commonly referred to as Latina, is an Italian football club based in Latina, Lazio. They currently play in the . History The club was founded in 1932 as ''Unione Sportiva Latina Calcio'' and subsequently re-established sever ...

Entella

On 2 February 2015 he was swapped with

Gianluca Litteri Gianluca Litteri (born 6 June 1988) is an Italian footballer who plays as a striker for club Catania. Career Litteri was signed by Inter in 2006 from Serie D club Giarre, being then loaned out to Slavia Prague during the summer 2008 transfer w ...

Entella Éntella (Greek language, Greek: ), was an ancient city in the interior of Sicily, situated on the left bank of the river Hypsas (modern Belice), and nearly midway between the two seas, being about 40 km from the mouth of the Hypsas, and ...

Later career

In 2018–19, he was a regular for

, guiding the team to win the

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 ...

title. After a mere ten days with

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 ...

club

Cavese Cavese 1919 S.r.l., commonly known as just Cavese, is an Italian football club based in Cava de' Tirreni, Campania, that currently plays in . The first city club was founded in 1919 as Unione Sportiva Cavese. It was refounded as Pro Cavese in 1 ...

in August 2019, he rescinded on 30 August 2019 and joined

club

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

two weeks later. On 9 September 2020 he joined

club

Campobasso Campobasso (, ; nap, label= Campobassan, Cambuàsce ) is a city and ''comune'' in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Molise and of the province of Campobasso. It is located in the high basin of the Biferno river, surrounded by Sann ...

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

La Gazzetta dello Sport 2006–07 Profile

La Gazzetta dello Sport 2007–08 Profile
*

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sforzini, Ferdinando 1984 births Living people Sportspeople from Tivoli, Lazio Italian men's footballers Italian expatriate men's footballers SSC Napoli players SS Lazio players Udinese Calcio players Hellas Verona FC players Modena FC 2018 players LR Vicenza players Ravenna FC players US Grosseto 1912 players US Avellino 1912 players SSC Bari players CFR Cluj players Delfino Pescara 1936 players US Viterbese 1908 players Palermo FC players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Liga I players Expatriate men's footballers in Romania Men's association football forwards Footballers from the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital