Luca Antonini (; born 4 August 1982) 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 ...

former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

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who played as a defender. He is best known for his five–season stint at

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

, for which he played from 2008 until 2013. During that time, he made 111 appearances for the club in all competitions, scored one goal, and won the

2010–11 Serie A The 2010–11 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 109th season of top-tier Italian football, the 79th in a round-robin tournament, and the 1st since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B ...

title as the team's starting

left back 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 ...

Club career

Early career

Antonini started his career at

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, originally as a winger, playing for 11 years in their youth teams. At the start of the 2001–02 season, he was loaned out to

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 ...

side

Prato Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 i ...

, where he made his professional debut, totalling 26 appearances and scoring 3

goals A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer to: Sport * Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs ** Goals, the goal frame in ...

. The following year, he made 17 appearances and scored one goal in his first

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 ...

season, during a loan spell at

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 ...

. The team got promoted 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 ...

and Antonini's contribution was significant, as he became a regular in the second half of the season.

Sampdoria (2003–2004)

In June 2003 he moved to

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, ...

in a co-ownership deal with the ''Rossoneri'', 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 ...

2 million. In exchange,

Ikechukwu Kalu Ikechukwu Kalu (born 18 April 1984 in Kaduna) is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker. His name, Ikechukwu, means "Power of God". Football career He started his career at Jasper United in Nigeria. He was signed by U.C. Sampdoria in su ...

moved to Milan in co-ownership deal for €1 million. He did not get much playing time, as he served mainly as a backup winger for Gasbarroni. However, he made his Serie A debut on 14 December, in an away match against

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 ...

Various loan spells (2004–2007)

The following season, he returned to play in

, being first loaned out 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 ...

and then switching, during the January

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...

, to

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 ...

. Still seeking more playing time, for the 2005–06 season he moved to

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

on another loan spell, where he finally managed to play regularly throughout the whole season, making 39 appearances and scoring 3 goals. At the beginning of the 2006–07 season, the then 24-year-old midfielder was sent to

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

on a fourth consecutive loan spell and faced his second

season, which proved much more successful than the first one. He made 32 appearances and scored 3 goals. In particular, his very first goal in the top-tier came on 26 November, in a home game 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 fo ...

Empoli (2007–2008)

Prior to the start of the 2007–08 season, Milan reclaimed Antonini for €1 million and sent him to

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...

also for €1 million, along with his future teammate

Ignazio Abate Ignazio Abate (; born 12 November 1986) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a full-back and manager of AC Milan's under-19 side. On early stage deployed as a winger, he was also capable of playing as a wide midfielder or ...

(the 50 % valued €0.9 million), in a new co-ownership deal. With Empoli, Antonini made his debut in European competitions on 20 September 2007, in a

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

first-round game against

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

, also scoring a

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 ...

. Despite the team being relegated, he had an extremely good season, also showing versatility when coach

Alberto Malesani Alberto Malesani (; born 5 June 1954) is an Italian football manager and former player. As a manager, he is mostly remembered for his successful spell with Parma during the late 1990s, where he won the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup, and the Superc ...

started to employ him as a full-back.

Return to Milan (2008–2013)

On 9 June 2008, Antonini was brought back by Milan and included in their squad for €2.75 million plus €150,000 other fee, in a pure player swap. (Antonini and Abate to Milan for a total fee of €4.75 million, Pozzi and Marzoratti to Empoli for a total fee of €4.75 million) Luca Antonini – A

In his first season with the ''Rossoneri'', he did not get much playing time though, making only 11 league appearances. For the 2009–10 campaign, Milan signed a new head coach

Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...

, who initially did not seem to take Antonini into much consideration. However, as the season progressed,

injuries An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or ...

to first-string players such as Zambrotta and Jankulovski prompted the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian to put him in the line-up. Antonini seized his chance and earned Leonardo's trust by constantly performing well. His valuable performances also persuaded the club to offer him a

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

extension until 2014, which was signed on 11 February 2010. He finished his second year at Milan on a high, scoring his first goal for the ''Rossoneri'' in the last match of the season, a home game against

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

, on 15 May 2010. When new coach Massimiliano Allegri was appointed in the summer of 2010, he kept Antonini at the left-back position and Luca was a regular in the starting XI for the whole of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season, helping Milan win their 18th Scudetto. He continued to be a regular for the 2011–12 season, where Milan disappointingly finished second to Juventus but managed to win the

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...

in the summer of 2011.

Genoa (2013–2015)

At the start of the 2013–14 season, Antonini left Milan to join

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 ...

as part of a deal which saw midfielder

Valter Birsa Valter Birsa (born 7 August 1986) is a retired Slovenian footballer who played as a winger. Club career Born in Šempeter pri Gorici, he spent his childhood in Nova Gorica, Slovenia. Birsa's career began at the age of five, when he started play ...

move the other way. He made 26 appearances in Serie A, scoring two goals, in his first season with the Grifone. The following season, he made just seven appearances and was then released by the club.

Ascoli and Livorno loan (2015–2016)

Antonini joined

side

Ascoli Ascoli may refer to: Places in Italy *Ascoli Satriano, a town and ''comune'' in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region *Province of Ascoli Piceno, a province of the Marche region **Ascoli Piceno, a city which is the seat of the province above ...

on 4 September 2015. On 1 February 2016, he moved to

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

on a half-season loan.

Return to Prato (2016)

On 22 July 2016, Antonini signed with

Lega Pro 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 ...

, the team with which he originally made his professional debut. On 23 November 2016, Prato has announced that Antonini's contract was mutually terminated following his willingness to end his playing career. As revealed in the press release, Antonini will be appointed as a member of staff in the youth sector of the club.

International career

Antonini made up a total of 5

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with Italy U-17 and U-18, between 1999 and 2001. However, he did not receive any further call-up at higher levels of youth international football. Nine years later, Antonini got his first call-up for the senior team; newly appointed coach

Cesare Prandelli Claudio Cesare Prandelli (; born 19 August 1957) is an Italian football coach and former player. He was most recently head coach of Fiorentina. Career Player Prandelli was a midfielder who moved from Atalanta to Juventus in 1979. His first game ...

named him in the squad for a friendly against

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

, to be played on 10 August 2010. However, he was left as an unused substitute.

Style of play

Antonini used to be a dynamic and versatile footballer who had been employed as a winger in his youth and as a full-back later on in his career. Although naturally right-footed, he could play on either flank. His speed and stamina also allowed him to attack and fall back to defence with ease.

Personal life

Antonini is married to Benedetta Balleggi, whom he first met at the time he was in

. The couple have two daughters, Sofia Vittoria (b. 2007) and Viola Maria (b. 2010).

Career statistics

''Updated 31 January 2018''. ¹European competitions include

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

and

²Other tournaments include

and

Coppa Italia Serie C Coppa Italia Serie C ( it, Serie C Italian Cup), formerly named Coppa Italia Lega Pro, is a straight knock-out based competition involving teams from Serie C in Italian football first held in 1972. Format There are a total of six rounds in the c ...

Honours

;Milan *

(1):

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

References

References and notes

External links

Profile
at Assocalciatori.it
International caps
at FIGC.it * {{DEFAULTSORT:Antonini, Luca 1982 births Living people Footballers from Milan Association football midfielders Italian footballers Italy youth international footballers Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players A.C. Milan players U.C. Sampdoria players A.C.N. Siena 1904 players Empoli F.C. players A.C. Prato players A.C. Ancona players Modena F.C. players Delfino Pescara 1936 players S.S. Arezzo players Genoa C.F.C. players Ascoli Calcio 1898 F.C. players U.S. Livorno 1915 players