Marcello Gazzola (born 3 April 1985) 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 defender.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Borgo Val di Taro Borgo Val di Taro, usually referred to as Borgotaro, (Parmigiano: ; locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in Emilia, Italy, in the Province of Parma, from the city of Parma. Borgo Val di Taro is an important centre for cattle husbandry in Emilia and ...

, Gazzola started his youth career at

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

in 1995. The defender remained within the youth system of the

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

based club until 2004 and began to earn first team call-ups during the 2003–2004 season, but never made his first team debut. Prior to the 2004–2005 season, Gazzola was sold to

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 ...

side

S.S. Sambenedettese Calcio A.S. Sambenedettese S.r.l. is an Football in Italy, Italian association football club, based in San Benedetto del Tronto, Marche. Sambenedettese currently plays in Serie D. History Foundation The club was founded in 1923 as ''U.S. Sambened ...

in a joint-ownership deal.

S.S. Sambenedettese Calcio

Gazzola joined the

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 in July 2004, at the age of 19. During his first season, he went on to make five full appearances and 14 appearances in 2005–06, before going out on two short loan spells to

S.S.C. Venezia Venezia Football Club, commonly referred to as Venezia, is a professional football club based in Venice, Italy, that currently plays in Serie B. Originally founded as Venezia Foot Ball Club in 1907, the club have spent a large part of their his ...

, one at the second half of the 2005–06 season and the second at the beginning of the 2006–07 season. At Venice, the young left back made just 2 appearances for the then-

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 ...

club. Gazzola transferred to

Sassari Torres 1903 Torres is an Italian football club based in the city of Sassari. It plays in Serie C, the third division of the Italian football league system. Re-founded in 2017, the club is the continuation of the Società per l'Educazione Fisica Torres, bor ...

in January 2007.

Sassari Torres

Following his transfer to

Sassari Torres Torres is an Italian football club based in the city of Sassari. It plays in Serie C, the third division of the Italian football league system. Re-founded in 2017, the club is the continuation of the Società per l'Educazione Fisica Torres, bor ...

, Gazzola played 14 games and scored 1 goal in his brief spell. After performing at an impressive level with the third division club, he was sold 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 ...

side

Calcio Catania Catania S.S.D., commonly known as Catania, is an Italian football club based in the city of Catania, Sicily, that plays in . Originally founded in 1908 as ''Associazione Sportiva pro Educazione Fisica'', the club boasts 17 appearances in the ...

at the start of the

2007–08 Serie A The 2007–08 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 106th season of top-tier Italian football, the 76th in a round-robin tournament. It started on 25 August 2007 and ended on 18 May 2008. Internazionale successfully ...

season.

Calcio Catania

officially announced the signing of the player during the 2007 summer transfer window for an undisclosed fee. During his first season in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, however, Gazzola found playing time very limited due to his lack of experience and due to the presence of experienced full backs Cristian Silvestri, Gennaro Sardo and

Rocco Sabato Rocco Sabato (born 19 April 1982) is an Italian former footballer who last played for Maceratese in the Serie D. He played as a defender, usually at left-back. He was a set piece specialist and scored his first Serie A goal from a free-kick ...

. On 1 August 2008, it was confirmed that Gazzola would spend the 2008–2009 season on loan at

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 US Avellino. With the club, Gazzola managed to obtain a starting position and made over 30 appearances in all competitions, but his efforts were not enough to save the club from relegation to 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� ...

, although the club were later relegated to 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 ...

, following bankruptcy. He returned to

on 1 June 2009.

Ascoli Calcio

On 25 June 2009,

officially announced the signing of centerback Giuseppe Bellusci from

Ascoli Calcio Ascoli Calcio 1898 F.C., commonly referred to as Ascoli, is an Italian football club based in Ascoli Piceno, Marche. The club was formed in 1898 and currently plays in Serie B. The team traditionally play in vertical black and white stripes. H ...

. In part exchange for the player, Ascoli received 50% of the contracts for both, Gazzola and

Vito Falconieri Vito Falconieri (born 18 June 1986) is an Italian footballer who plays for Martina in Eccellenza. Club career Early career Born in Brindisi, Apulia, Falconieri was a player of Torino Calcio's reserve team in 2004–05 season. He also wore no. ...

. During his season with Ascoli, he made 33

appearances alone.

Sassuolo

On 1 July 2015, Gazzola signed a new one-year contract with

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 ...

. He renewed again on 27 May 2016.

Parma

On 16 January 2018, Gazzola left Sassuolo to join his former youth club

in Serie B for a reported £222,000 (€250,000) fee.

Loan to Empoli

On 24 August 2019, Gazzola joined

club

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 ...

on loan with an option to buy.

References

External links

Marcello Gazzola
at Goal.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Gazzola, Marcello 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from the Province of Parma Men's association football defenders Italian men's footballers Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Parma Calcio 1913 players Empoli FC players US Sambenedettese players Catania FC players US Avellino 1912 players Ascoli Calcio 1898 FC players US Sassuolo Calcio players SEF Torres 1903 players Footballers from Emilia-Romagna