Francesco Scardina (born 11 December 1981 in

Rivalta di Torino Rivalta di Torino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 14 km southwest of Turin in the valley of the Sangone. It is home to a medieval castle, around which the town ori ...

) 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 ...

who played as a defender.

Early life

Scardina was born in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

to parents of Palermite origin and raised in Pasta, a small hamlet of the town of

. His football legends are

Paolo Montero Rónald Paolo Montero Iglesias (born 3 September 1971) is a Uruguayan football manager and former player, who played as a central defender or left-back and is the manager of Primavera 1 team Juventus U19. Montero began his career in Uruguay ...

and

Carles Puyol Carles Puyol Saforcada (, ; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played his entire career for Barcelona. He mainly played as a central defender, but he could also play in either full-back position, mostly as a ri ...

. In 2013 he obtained the

UEFA B Licence UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe, mandates several coaching licences for professional managers, each valid for coaching at a certain level. These include the UEFA Pro Licence, the UEFA A Licence, and the UEFA B Licence. They are is ...

, receiving the qualification to coach any amateur team or youth selection.

Club career

He began his career in the youth team of

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

, being called up for the first time by

Marcello Lippi Marcello Romeo Lippi (; born 12 April 1948) is an Italian former professional football player and manager, who led the Italian national team to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was appointed as Italy head coach in the summer of 2004 and ...

at the age of 16 for matches in

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...

against

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, without however starting. In the winter transfer window of the 2001-2002 season he was sent on loan to

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 ...

Serie C1 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 ...

, but after 6 appearances from the bench he was recalled by

and joined the first team, being called up for some matches of

2000–01 UEFA Champions League The 2000–01 UEFA Champions League was the 46th season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier European club football tournament, and the ninth since it was rebranded from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The competiti ...

and

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 Copp ...

. In the next year he initially played in the

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

with a loan to PAOK where he played some matches of the

Greek Football Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

(won in that season by the team from

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

), then returned to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

on loan in the month of January and played the final part of the season in

as a starter with the team L'Aquila Calcio, which in that season finished penultimate in the standings but then won the play-out against the

Paternò Paternò ( scn, Patennò) is a southern Italian town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily. With a population (2016) of 48,009, it is the third municipality of the province after Catania and Acireale. Geography Patern� ...

team. At the end of that season he was lined up by the coach Augusto Gentilini also as a full-back, both left (his natural side) and right side, since he had a good ductility. In the 2003-2004 season he was bought in co-ownership by

Crotone Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages unti ...

, which in that season was coached by

Gian Piero Gasperini Gian Piero Gasperini (born 26 January 1958) is an Italian football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of Italian side Atalanta. Playing career Gasperini entered the Juventus youth system at the age of 9; during his stay ...

, that had already been his coach in the

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...

; and participated in the championship of

in which he could play regularly as starter (34 matches, 1 assist and 1 goal against the

Teramo Teramo (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Tèreme ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo. The city, from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines ( Gran Sasso d'Italia ...

team) and won promotion to

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie 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 season. It had been ...

. He stayed in Calabria for another season and a half, playing another 31 games before moving on in January 2006 with a co-ownership deal 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 t ...

managed by

Giancarlo Camolese Giancarlo Camolese (born 25 February 1961 in Turin) is an Italian football (soccer) manager, TV sports caster, ex footballer, university lecturer at SUISM in Turin and instructor at the Coverciano Training Centre for players and technical staff. ...

. He initially struggled to find space with the red and white team, however ending the season as a starter also due to the numerous injuries of his teammates and taking the field on 12 games. His second season in

was undermined by some injuries, however he took the field in 23 games. The third season with the berici team he played games, confirming himself also in the penalty area with 3 goals in the league (including a brace against his ex-team

) and 1 goal in

. Released at the end of the season, in the summer of 2008 he was signed by

ChievoVerona Associazione Calcio ChievoVerona, commonly referred to as ChievoVerona or simply Chievo , is a former professional Italian football club named after and based in Chievo, a suburb of 4,500 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto, and owned by Paluani, a ...

. With head coach

Giuseppe Iachini Giuseppe Iachini (; born 7 May 1964) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who most recently managed Serie B club Parma. He played as a midfielder. Club career Iachini was born in Ascoli Piceno. He started his playing ca ...

he earned a starting position until the match against

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...

, when he received a red card after a tackle on Franco Semioli. In the meantime the team changed the technical leadership (up to that moment ChievoVerona had earned only 6 points in ten games), and the new coach

Domenico Di Carlo Domenico "Mimmo" Di Carlo (born 23 March 1964) is an Italian football coach and a former player, currently in charge of Pordenone. Career Player Di Carlo started his playing career in his native city, playing for the local Serie C2 team Real ...

preferred to play with greater physical prowess' players, moving Scardina to not renew the expiring contract after two seasons and 16 appearances (and after having gone very close to score against

Inter Milan 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 i ...

that in that season completed an unprecedented Italian seasonal treble, goal that was however reported as

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

Thiago Motta Thiago Motta (; ; born 28 August 1982) is a professional Association football, football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of club Bologna F.C. 1909, Bologna. A midfielder, Motta spent his early career at FC Barcelona, ...

). In the season 2010-2011 he moved on a free transfer to the

Cittadella Cittadella ( vec, Sitadeła) is a medieval walled city in the province of Padua, northern Italy, founded in the 13th century as a military outpost of Padua. The surrounding wall has been restored and is in circumference with a diameter of around ...

team in erie B After the first part of the season as a starter, in November he injured his calf, missing some matches, and then in January he suffered a knee injury in the warm-up before the match against

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

. After a three-week break he kept being deployed in an up-and-down manner until deciding to go for surgery, closing the season with 21 appearances and 1 goal scored. During his next season, already recovered from his knee injury, and after a good second half of the season and 21 appearances his contract with the

expired. On 10 September

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

he moved to Nocerina. With the "Molossi", he ends the season with 13 appearances to his credit, starting the games of the playoff semifinals, in which, however, after the draw in the two matches, it was Latina who was promoted to the cadet series for the best position in the

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 ...

. At the end of the season, he was released as free agent and left for the

Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano ''Il Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano'', is the central training ground and technical headquarters of the Italian Football Federation, located in the Coverciano '' quartiere'' of Florence, Italy. History The Center was founded by Luigi R ...

for the training camp of the Italian players released under the aegis of the

Italian Footballers' Association The Italian Footballers' Association (Italian: ''Associazione Italiana Calciatori''), also referred to by the acronym AIC, is the association for footballers in Italy. It was established in 1968 and currently has 4,500 members, of which 2,500 ar ...

. During that time, he passed the course organized by the AIC itself and by the

Italian Football Federation The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. I ...

, obtaining the

. On the last transfer market day he signed for the 2013 season by

Huesca Huesca (; an, Uesca) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and of the comarca of Hoya de Huesca. In 2009 it had a population of 52,059, al ...

. He spent 2 excellent seasons with the Aragonese club, culminating with his presence at

Camp Nou Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Barc ...

King's Cup __NOTOC__ King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King Cup (sometimes named King's Cup), Saudi Arabian men's football nat ...

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 ...

against

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

of Iniesta,

Pedro Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

and Mascherano and the promotion to

Liga Adelante Liga or LIGA may refer to: People * Līga (name), a Latvian female given name * Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter Sports * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga ...

, finishing first in the group 2 and winning the play-offs. In July 2015, following a change of management in the Huesca Club, he decided to terminate his contract. On 9 September of the same year, through a public notice on his social media, he announced his retirement from football. In 2016 he started working as an individual technique coach in Spain.

International career

He played 9 matches with the

Italy national under-18 football team The Italian national under-18 football team represents Italy in international football at an under-18 age level and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (''Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio''), the governing body for football in It ...

, making his debut in the selection of

Francesco Rocca Francesco Rocca (; born 2 August 1954) is an Italian professional football coach and former player, who played as a defender. He spent his entire career with Italian club Roma, where he won the Coppa Italia twice. He was the coach of the Italy ...

on May 10th,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

against Czech Republic U18 as substitute for

Giuseppe Sculli Giuseppe Sculli (born 23 March 1981) is a retired Italian footballer who played in several positions; primarily a striker, he could play anywhere along the front-line, and also played as a winger, as a second striker, and even as a right-side ...

Player profile

Style of play

Central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, occasionally adapted to the role of full back, he had good qualities both from a technical point of view (good at anticipating, marking, positioning) and personally as leader of the dressing room, becoming captain while playing for Cittadella and Huesca.

References

External links

Profile at Football.it

Profile at La Gazzetta dello Sport

Profile at FIGC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scardina, Francesco Italian men's footballers Italy men's youth international footballers Italian expatriate men's footballers Juventus FC players AC Cesena players L'Aquila 1927 players PAOK FC players FC Crotone players LR Vicenza players AC ChievoVerona players AS Cittadella players ASG Nocerina players Serie A players Serie B players Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Italian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Men's association football defenders Footballers from the Metropolitan City of Turin 1981 births Living people