Melania Gabbiadini (born 28 August 1983) 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

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 ...

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 ...

. After beginning her career with

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

in 2000, she later joined

AGSM Verona Società Sportiva Dilettantistica Women Hellas Verona, known as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a women's football club based in Verona, Italy, currently playing in Serie B. Founded in 1995, the team won the Serie A championship five times a ...

in 2004 and went on to

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 ...

the team, until her retirement in 2017. She won five ''Scudetti'' with the club. A fast winger, with an eye for goal, Gabbiadini was an experienced player at international level, who made over 100

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 ...

for the

Italy women's national football team The Italy women's national football team () has represented Italy in international women's football since their inception in 1968. The team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for football in Italy. Form ...

. She is a veteran of Italy's

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA confederation. The competition is the women's equivalent ...

campaigns, being voted to the Squad of the Tournament in the 2013 edition of the tournament. She was voted the Serie A Female Footballer of the Year in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, and was inducted into the

Italian Football Hall of Fame The Italian Football Hall of Fame ( it, Hall of Fame del calcio italiano) is the hall of fame for association football players that have had a significant impact on Italian football. It is housed at the '' Museo del Calcio'' in Coverciano, Ital ...

in 2016.

Club career

Gabbiadini began her career with Bergamo in 2000, winning the Serie B title with the club in 2002. After the club's bankruptcy in 2004, she moved to

, the club with which she remained until her retirement in 2017. With Bardolino Verona, she won the

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 ...

title during the 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, and 2014–15 seasons, as well as 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 ...

during the 2005–06, and 2006–07 seasons, and the Supercoppa italiana in 2005, 2007, and 2008; she was also voted the Serie A Female Footballer of the Year in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. With Verona, she also reached the semi-finals of the 2007–08 UEFA Women's Cup.

International career

After representing her country at under-21 level on 5 occasions, Gabbiadini made her senior debut for

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 re ...

on 16 April 2003, in a 5–0 away friendly win over the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Included in the squad for

UEFA Women's Euro 2005 The 2005 UEFA Women's Championship, also referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2005, was a football tournament for women held from 5 June to 19 June 2005 in Lancashire, England and Cheshire, England. The UEFA Women's Championship is a regular tournament ...

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

, she scored twice in a 5–3 defeat to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

as Italy made a group stage exit. At

UEFA Women's Euro 2009 The 2009 UEFA Women's Championship, or just Women's Euro 2009, was played in Finland between 23 August and 10 September 2009. The host was appointed on 11 July 2006, in a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Berlin and the Finnish proposal won over ...

in Finland, Gabbiadini played in all four games and scored in a 2–0 win over

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

as the Italians reached the quarter-finals. Four years later, national

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 ...

Antonio Cabrini Antonio Cabrini (; born 8 October 1957) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player. He played left-back, mainly with Juventus. He won the 1982 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national team. Cabrini was nicknamed ''Bell'Ant ...

named Gabbiadini in his selection for

UEFA Women's Euro 2013 The 2013 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as Women's Euro 2013, was the 11th European Championship for List of women's national association football teams#UEFA, women's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament ...

in Sweden. After scoring two goals in the group stage against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and hosts

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, she played the entire match in the Italians' 1–0 quarter-final defeat to perennial champions

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. She was voted to the Squad of the Tournament for her performances. On 16 February 2016, ahead of the 2016 UEFA Women's Champions League Final media launch held in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

, she was awarded a commemorative cap and medal by

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

for having obtained over 100 caps for the Italian national team. In November 2016, she was included in Italy's squad for the

2016 International Women's Football Tournament of Manaus The 2016 Torneio Internacional de Manaus de Futebol Feminino (also known as the 2016 International Tournament of Manaus) is the eighth edition of the Torneio Internacional de Futebol Feminino, an invitational women's football tournament held ever ...

, which was held from 7 to 18 December. She retired after the

UEFA Women's Euro 2017 The 2017 UEFA European Women's Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2017, was the 12th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UEFA for the women's national team ...

. However, she finished her international career with 114 appearances and 45 goals.

Style of play

A quick

and a prolific goalscorer, Gabbiadini was known for her technical ability and her pace on the ball, and was often deployed as a winger or as a main striker. She also stood out for her leadership and work-rate throughout her career.

Personal life

As well as being a footballer, Gabbiadini is a

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...

designer. Her younger brother

Manolo Manolo, a form of Manuel (name), is a male given name which may refer to: People: * Manolo Álvarez Mera (1923–1986), Cuban-born bel canto tenor *Manolo Badrena (born 1952), Puerto Rican percussionist *Manolo Blahnik (born 1942), Spanish fashion ...

plays as a forward for

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, ...

and has represented the Italy men's national team. Gabbiadini's participation at

was widely noted by

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viewers due to her striking resemblance to former professional footballer

Wim Kieft Willem Cornelis Nicolaas "Wim" Kieft (born 12 November 1962) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Kieft went into punditry in 2001, occasionally appearing on football talk show ''Voetbal Inside'' A prolific ...

, who coincidentally played in the Italian

around the time of her conception. Television show

Voetbal Inside ''Voetbal Inside'' (previously named as ''Voetbal Inside'' (2001-2007), ''RTL Voetbal Inside'' (2007-2008) and ''Voetbal International'' (2008-2015)) is a Dutch football talk show that has aired on TV channel RTL 7. In a studio, host Wilfred Gen ...

mentioned this and jokingly questioned whether he would be her actual father.

Honours

Club

;

: 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2014–15 *

: 2005–06, 2006–07 *Supercoppa italiana: 2005, 2007, 2008 ;Bergamo *Serie B: 2001–02

Individual

* Serie A Female Footballer of the Year: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 * UEFA Women's Euro 2013 Squad of the Tournament *

: 2016 *

Pallone Azzurro The Pallone Azzurro ("Azure Football") is an individual award assigned by the FIGC to the best Italian player according to the votes of the fans registered to ''Vivo Azzurro'', the official fan club of the Italy national football team. The fans v ...

: 2016

References

External links

* *
Verona player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabbiadini, Melania 1983 births Living people Italian women's footballers Italy women's international footballers Serie A (women's football) players A.S.D. AGSM Verona F.C. players Sportspeople from the Province of Bergamo Women's association football forwards FIFA Century Club People from Calcinate Footballers from Lombardy UEFA Women's Euro 2017 players