Giuseppe Mascara (; born 22 August 1979) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

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 ...

and former player who played as a

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 ...

or a wide forward.

Club career

Ragusa

Mascara started out playing for the youth side of Sicilian amateurs

Comiso Comiso ( scn, U Còmisu), is a comune of the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. As of 2017, its population was 29,857. History In the past Comiso has been incorrectly identified with the ancient Greek colony of Casmene. Under the Byza ...

before transferring to nearby club

Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to: Places Croatia * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...

to start his professional career. There, he earned some valuable experience over a two-season period, turning out for the first team and scoring 5 goals in 29 appearances.

Battipagliese

Successively, Mascara moved to the mainland, joining

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

n side

Battipagliese Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Battipagliese is an Italian football club from Battipaglia, Campania. The club currently plays in Serie D. History Foundation The history of Battipagliese can be traced back to the founding of the comune ...

in 1997, and remained with the then-

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 ...

club until June 2000, playing just under 50 games for them also scoring 67 goals. Following his impressive three-season stint with the club, he transferred to another Campanian team,

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. ...

Avellino and Salernitana

Following his 2000 transfer to Avellino, Mascara was soon a big hit at the southern Italian club, where he strongly impressed during his lone season with the club, securing 16 goals in 29 games. He then briefly moved to nearby rivals

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919, commonly referred to as Salernitana, is an Italian football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recentl ...

, scoring in his only appearance for the club, before moving back to Sicily with

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 ...

Palermo

In January 2001, Mascara officially transferred to Palermo, who had just been promoted back into

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 ...

. He began his career well in the Sicilian capital, grabbing 8 Serie B goals in 38 league appearances. In his second and final season with Palermo, Mascara was sent on loan to

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

, where he made just 13 league starts, scoring twice. He returned to Palermo but was transfer listed and soon signed for Sicilian rivals,

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

Catania

In July 2003, Mascara joined Catania. In his first season with the club, then playing in Serie B, he was an undisputed starter, making 41 league appearances and scoring 13 goals. Following an impressive first season in Catania, however, the player was surprisingly sent out on loan for the

2004–05 Serie B The 2004–05 Serie B is the 73rd season since its establishment in 1929. It is the second highest football league in Italy. Teams Arezzo, Catanzaro, Cesena and Crotone had been promoted from Serie C, while Perugia, Modena, and Empoli had been ...

season, playing for

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 ...

. During his season-long loan, he made 37 league appearances, scoring four goals. Mascara returned to Sicily for the

2005–06 Serie B The 2005–06 Serie B is the 74th season since its establishment in 1929. It is the second highest football league in Italy. Teams Cremonese, Rimini, Mantova and Avellino had been promoted from Serie C, while Bologna, Brescia and Atalanta ha ...

season, where Catania went on to finish second in the league, earning promotion 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 ...

. He contributed with 14 goals in 36 appearances following his return. In his first Serie A season, the 26-year-old formed a formidable partnership with

Gionatha Spinesi Gionatha Spinesi (born 9 March 1978) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Career Born in Pisa, Spinesi started playing for Pisa Calcio. In November 1995 he signed for Inter Milan, however, he was not able to mak ...

, as the duo led Catania to an impressive 13th-place league finish. Mascara ended his season with 6 league goals in 28 starts. In his second Serie A season, Mascara again impressed, making 35 league appearances and scoring four goals, playing the season as a second striker. The player shined during the

2008–09 Serie A The 2008–09 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 107th season of top-tier Italian football, the 77th in a round-robin tournament. It began on 30 August 2008 and ended on 31 May 2009, with the announcement of the ...

campaign, scoring 12 goals in just 34 appearances. That tally also increases to 15 goals, including the

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 of ...

; to date, it was his most successful season under then-coach

Walter Zenga Walter Zenga (; born 28 April 1960) is an Italian manager (association football), football manager and former player who last managed Serie A club Cagliari Calcio, Cagliari. He was a long-time Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for In ...

. On 1 March 2009, Mascara scored a remarkable goal in the Sicilian derby away to Palermo at

Stadio Renzo Barbera Stadio Renzo Barbera (commonly known as La Favorita) is a football stadium in Palermo, Italy. It is currently the home stadium of Palermo F.C. team. The stadium was inaugurated during the fascist era on 24 January 1932, and was originally name ...

, taking a long-lobbed shot on the volley from around 55 metres out which left

Italian international The Italian International in badminton is an international open held in Italy since 1994. It was halted between 1996 and 1998, and in 2000. The tournament belongs to the EBU Circuit. Previous winners Performances by nation References {{reflis ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Marco Amelia Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish co ...

falling back into his own net. Catania went on to win that match 0–4 courtesy of goals from

Pablo Ledesma Pablo Martín Ledesma (born 4 February 1984) is a retired Argentine professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A well balanced player, who was able to play both on the right wing and in the centre. He was mainly known for his speed and ...

Takayuki Morimoto is a Japanese professional association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for Taiwan Football Premier League club Taichung Futuro F.C., Taichung Futuro. He holds the record for the youngest Japanese playe ...

, Mascara and

Michele Paolucci Michele Paolucci (born 6 February 1986) is an Italian footballer who plays as a forward for Canadian club FC Manitoba. Club career Juventus and loans Paolucci came through the ranks at Juventus. After graduating from their ''Primavera'' youth ...

. The goal was later nominated as Serie A goal of the season. The 2009–10 season also proved to be a successful one, as his club finished well above the relegation zone, in 12th, also reaching the club's record points total in Serie A. With eight goals scored, Mascara was his club's fourth-top goalscorer, behind

Maxi López Maximiliano Gastón López (born 3 April 1984) is an Argentine former professional association football, footballer who played as a second striker. He holds both an Argentine passport, Argentine and an Italian passport. He is known as ''El Rubio ...

(12), Takayuki Morimoto (12) and Jorge Martínez (9). He played over 150 matches and also served as the captain of the ''Rossazzurri''.

Napoli

On 31 January 2011, the final day of the January transfer window, Mascara signed for

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 ...

for a €1.3 million transfer fee, signing a contract lasting until 2013. He made his debut on 6 February 2011 against

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 ...

, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute for midfielder

Marek Hamšík Marek Hamšík (; born 27 July 1987) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor. He formerly captained the Slovakia national team. After beginning his club career with Slovan Bratislava in 20 ...

. In this game, he supplied an assist to

José Sosa José Ernesto Sosa (born 19 June 1985) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Argentina Primera Division club Estudiantes de La Plata. Club career Estudiantes 140px, left, Sosa with Estudiantes Sosa played for ...

to make the score 2–0. Mascara made his European debut on 17 February in a 0–0 draw with

Villareal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

, a game in which he also started. Mascara's first goal for the ''Azzurri'' came on 10 April 2011, the first in a 0–2 victory over

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

Novara

On 11 January 2012, Mascara signed for

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

on a contract lasting until 2014.

Al Nasr

On 24 June 2012, Mascara joined Emirati club Al Nasr on a one-year deal pending a successful medical. He was targeted by the club's boss Walter Zenga after Al Nasr striker

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 ...

asked to leave the club after a poor form in the first six months of his one-year stay in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

. The contract for Mascara was understood to include an option for a further season. On 5 July 2012, Novara announced that his contract was finally terminated, leaving him free to join the Dubai-based club. On 5 October 2012, Mascara broke the deadlock and scored his first two goals with Al Nasr to help his team in an eventual away 4–2 victory over Al Shabab.

Pescara

Post-professional clubs

In 2014 Mascara joined amateur club

A.S.D. Città di Siracusa Siracusa Calcio 1924 SSD, commonly referred to as Siracusa, is an Italian football club based in Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse, Sicily. ( it, Siracusa, Sicilia) The club currently plays in Serie D, the fourth-tier of football in Italy. History For ...

and won

Eccellenza Sicily Eccellenza Sicily ( it, Eccellenza Sicilia) is the regional Eccellenza football division for clubs in Sicily, Italy. It is competed amongst 32 teams, in two different groups (A and B). The winners of the Groups are promoted to Serie D. The clubs w ...

in 2015.

International career

Following his impressive performances with Catania in the 2008–09 season, Mascara received his first call-up to the Italy national team for the 6 June 2009 friendly game against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, together with teammate

Marco Biagianti Marco Biagianti (born 19 April 1984) is an Italian footballer , with a midfielder role. After previously playing for Catania from 2006 to 2013 and having captained the club from 9 July 2011 to 2013, he moved to Livorno in 2013 where he remaine ...

. Mascara played the entire first half of the game, becoming the first Catania player to mark an appearance with the Italian team.

Coaching career

After retiring in 2016, he accepted an offer from

as youth coach of their Under-15 team. On 24 October 2017, he was named new head coach of

amateurs

Giarre Giarre ( scn, Giarri) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily. The town is located about southeast of Palermo and around north of Catania. Geography Giarre is bounded by the municipalities of Acireale, Mascali ...

. In June 2018 he was named head coach of Sicilian

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 ...

club Sancataldese, a role from which he resigned later in December of the same year due to poor results. On 12 October 2019 he was appointed head coach of Serie D club Biancavilla, exactly one day before his new club hosting Sicilian powerhouse

. He left the club at the end of the season. On 29 December 2020 he was named new head coach of Serie D club Troina. He left the club by the end of the season. On 20 September 2021, he was hired as the new head coach of Eccellenza club Siracusa. After guiding the club to fifth place in the league table, he was confirmed for the 2022–23 season, but was fired on 24 October 2022 due to negative results.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mascara, Giuseppe 1979 births Living people US Avellino 1912 players US Salernitana 1919 players Palermo FC players Genoa CFC players Catania FC players AC Perugia Calcio players SSC Napoli players Novara FC players Al-Nasr SC (Dubai) players Delfino Pescara 1936 players Italian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Serie A players Serie B players Serie D players Italian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates People from Caltagirone People from Comiso Italy men's international footballers UAE Pro League players Siracusa Calcio players Footballers from Sicily Sportspeople from the Metropolitan City of Catania