Michele Paolucci (born 6 February 1986) 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 ...
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 plays as a
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 ...
for Canadian club
FC Manitoba
FC Manitoba is a Canadian soccer team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system. The club was founded in 2010 as WSA Winnipeg. In 2020, the club was acquired by a ...
.
Club career
Juventus and loans
Paolucci came through the ranks at
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 ...
. After graduating from their ''Primavera'' youth team. However, despite being called up to the first team he never made an official Serie A appearance for the ''Old Lady''. He played with Sebastian Giovinco and Claudio Marchisio.
In 2006–07 season he was loaned to
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 ...
, made his team and Serie A debut on 10 September 2006, against
Atalanta
Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology.
There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...
. After his successful spell at Ascoli where he would go on to score 6 goals in 32 Serie A appearances, he returned shortly to Juventus.
Udinese and loans
In mid-2007, he moved to
Udinese
Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...
on a
co-ownership deal, as part of the
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 ...
's deal to sign
Vincenzo Iaquinta
Vincenzo Iaquinta (; born 21 November 1979) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Prior to joining Juventus in 2007, he initially played for several smaller Italian clubs, and subsequently moved to Udinese in ...
. The price tag of Paolucci's 50% registration rights, was €1.355 million at that time. He made his official game debut in the
Italian Cup
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 ...
, scored two goals against
Bari
Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
on 29 August 2007. He made just 2 appearances in 5 months at Udinese.
In January 2008 Juventus and Udinese loaned him out to
Atalanta
Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology.
There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...
, where he would play until 30 June 2008.
In June 2008,
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 ...
and Udinese again loaned Paolucci out, this time to Sicilian club,
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 ...
. He scored 7 goals that season, in the Serie A and had been regularly included in first team action, under 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 ...
. He made a total of 28 starts for the club.
Siena and loans
In June 2009, Paolucci returned to
Udinese
Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...
, but was immediately bought back fully by Juventus for €3.3 million.
[ On 8 July 2009 he joined ]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 co-ownership for the same price. He signed a 5-year contract. Paolucci did not manage to hold down a regular starting place at Siena, making just 10 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 ...
appearances, and scoring just twice.
After not obtaining a regular starting place and also due to Juventus' striker injury crisis, he was loan back by 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 16 January 2010, by Juve paying Siena €500,000. Originally acquired as addition to an injury-ridden team, Paolucci never broke into the first team and ended his second Juve stint with only four league appearances before to return to Siena, now relegated to Serie B.
After a disappointing period at Siena, with only one second-division appearance with the Tuscans, Paolucci accepted a loan move to 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 ...
on 31 January 2011, replacing the left of former Siena teammate Massimo Maccarone
Massimo Maccarone (; born 6 September 1979) is an Italian football coach and former player, who played as a striker. He was nicknamed ''Big Mac'' during his playing days.
He is currently in charge as head coach of Serie D amateurs Ghiviborgo.
...
. He made his debut with the Sicilians only two days later, replacing Fabrizio Miccoli
Fabrizio Miccoli (; born on 27 June 1979) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
He scored 103 goals in 259 matches in Serie A across nine seasons, representing Perugia, Juventus, Fiorentina and Palermo, also spen ...
in the final minutes of a home game against his former team Juventus, ended in a 2–1 win for Palermo. Siena elected to loan him out once again 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 the 2011–12 season after the club acquired the residual 50% rights from Juve for free.
Latina
On 28 January 2014, Paolucci left Siena for 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 Latina
Latina or Latinas most often refers to:
* Latinas, a demographic group in the United States
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America.
*Latin Americans
Latina and Latinas may also refer ...
, signed a four-and-a-half-year contract. In 2015, he was released by Latina.
Petrolul
On 9 December 2015, Paolucci signed a six-month contract with Romanian side Petrolul, with an option to extend it by a further year.
Catania and Ancona
In July 2016 he returned to Italy and moved to 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 ...
; in January 2017 it was sold to 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 ...
.
Monopoli and Floriana
Paolucci joined Italian side Monopoli
Monopoli (; Monopolitano: ) is a town and municipality in Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Bari and region of Apulia. The town is roughly in area and lies on the Adriatic Sea about southeast of Bari. It has a population of 49,24 ...
in mid-2017, and then Maltese side Floriana
Floriana ( mt, Il-Furjana or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a fortified town in the South Eastern Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014. Floriana ...
on 18 January 2018.
Valour FC
On 16 July 2019, Paolucci signed with Canadian Premier League
The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...
side Valour FC
Valour Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home matches at IG Field.
The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned thro ...
.
FC Manitoba
On 10 September 2020, Paolucci signed with USL League Two
USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...
side FC Manitoba
FC Manitoba is a Canadian soccer team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system. The club was founded in 2010 as WSA Winnipeg. In 2020, the club was acquired by a ...
as a player and assistant manager.
International career
Paolucci made his U-21 team debut against Luxembourg U-21, 12 December 2006, replacing Nicola Pozzi at half time.
Career statistics
References
External links
FIGC
Profile at gazzetta.it
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paolucci, Michele
Living people
1986 births
Association football forwards
Italian footballers
People from Recanati
Italian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Romania
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Romania
Expatriate footballers in Malta
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Malta
Expatriate soccer players in Canada
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Canada
Juventus F.C. players
Ascoli Calcio 1898 F.C. players
Udinese Calcio players
Atalanta B.C. players
Catania S.S.D. players
A.C.N. Siena 1904 players
Palermo F.C. players
L.R. Vicenza players
Latina Calcio 1932 players
FC Petrolul Ploiești players
U.S. Ancona 1905 players
S.S. Monopoli 1966 players
Floriana F.C. players
Tarxien Rainbows F.C. players
Valour FC players
FC Manitoba players
Serie A players
Serie B players
Liga I players
Serie C players
USL League Two players
Maltese Premier League players
Canadian Premier League players
Italy youth international footballers
Italy under-21 international footballers
Sportspeople from the Province of Macerata
Footballers from Marche