Simone Bracalello (born October 21, 1985), also known in Italy as Bracca, 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 ...

who played as a forward.

Career

Italy

Born in

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

, Bracalello was a member of the youth academy at famed Italian club

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, ...

before making his professional debut in 2002 aged 17 playing with Savona in Serie C2. He went on to play extensively in the Italian lower leagues, including stints with teams such as Vado and Prato in

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 ...

and Lega Pro Seconda Divisione, before leaving Prato at the end of 2008.

United States

Bracalello trained with Serie C1 side

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 ...

, and with Australian side

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australian ...

in 2008, and attended a combine with the

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its home ...

in 2009, before being signed by the

NSC Minnesota Stars NSC may refer to: Sport and competition * NSC United, an American soccer team * National Scholastics Championship, an American quiz bowl competition * National Scrabble Championship, now known as the Scrabble Players Championship * National Sho ...

of the

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding Un ...

in the United States in early 2010. During his first season with the Stars, Bracalello was used primarily as a substitute, often having an immediate impact on the match. On June 9, 2010 during a home game against the Montreal Impact, he assisted on Melvin Tarley's game-winning goal in the 87th minute. Six days later, Bracalello scored his first goal for the Stars in a 4–2 win over the

KC Athletics KC Athletics is an American amateur association football, soccer team based in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Founded in 2001, the team plays in Region II of the United States Adult Soccer Association, a network of amateur leagues at the ...

in the U.S. Open Cup. On January 6, 2015 the

Carolina Railhawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games ...

announced that they had signed Bracalello.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bracalello, Simone 1985 births Living people Italian men's footballers Men's association football forwards UC Sampdoria players Como 1907 players AC Prato players Minnesota United FC (2010–2016) players North Carolina FC players USSF Division 2 Professional League players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Italian expatriate men's footballers Footballers from Genoa Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States FS Sestrese Calcio 1919 players FC Vado players