Christian "Bobo" Vieri (; born 12 July 1973) is an Italian former professional
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 centre forward.
Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning to Italy to pursue his professional career at a young age. He then spent the bulk of his career playing in 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 Cop ...
.
Vieri was named in the
FIFA 100
The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fou ...
, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations. A prolific goalscorer, for a number of years, he was regarded as one of the best strikers in Europe, leading to him becoming the world's most expensive player in 1999 when
Inter Milan
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...
£32 million (€43 million) for his services. Something of a footballing nomad, Vieri played for no fewer than 12 clubs throughout his career, mainly in Italy, but also in Spain and France. He started his career with
Torino
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...
in 1991, but his most notable and successful spells were those at Juventus, Atlético Madrid, Lazio and Inter, clubs with which he won several honours.
As well as picking up several winners medals during his career, Vieri also claimed many individual awards including the
Pichichi Trophy
In Spanish football, the Trofeo Pichichi is awarded by the sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno, the trophy has been awarded annually since the ...
and ''
Capocannoniere
The ''Capocannoniere'' award (; literally "head gunner"), known as Paolo Rossi AwardSerie A Italian Footballer of the Year twice. At international level, Vieri scored 23 goals in 49 appearances 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 ...
between 1997 and 2005, and is the joint ninth-highest goalscorer for his national team, alongside
Francesco Graziani
Francesco "Ciccio" Graziani (; born 16 December 1952) is an Italian football manager and former football player who played as a forward.
He began his career with Arezzo in 1970, and later joined Torino in 1973, where he remained until 1981 ...
Paolo Rossi
Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a forward. He led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot as top goalscorer, and the Golden ...
, with a combined nine goals from nine matches at the
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
and 2002 editions of the tournament; he also took part at
Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...
.
Early life
Born in 1973 in
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
, Italy, to active professional footballer
Roberto Vieri
Roberto Vieri (born 14 February 1946) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker, and also as a central attacking midfielder or winger. Active in both Italy and Australia, Vieri made nearly 300 professional career lea ...
and Christiane "Nathalie" Rivaux, Christian spent the first years of his life in the capital of the
region while his Prato-born father played for Bologna FC. With Roberto Vieri's 1977 transfer to
Marconi Stallions FC
Marconi Stallions Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Fairfield, Sydney, New South Wales. The club has been crowned Australian champion four times.
The Stallions are the soccer team of Club Marconi, a social ...
, the family moved to Sydney, Australia, residing in the suburb of
Wetherill Park
Wetherill Park is a suburb in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wetherill Park is located 34 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield.
...
in
South Western Sydney
South Western Sydney is a region of the metropolitan area in southwest Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the predominantly working class area of Greater Western Sydney. The region lies in the Cumberland Plain.
Local government ...
where young Christian attended Prairiewood High School. It is from his father that he inherited his nickname ''Bobo'' which he carried with him throughout his career.
During his time in Australia, Vieri developed a love for both football and
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
, a sport he still follows to this day. He stated in an interview that he would have liked to have been a professional cricketer. His brother, Massimiliano Vieri, was also a professional footballer and was an Australian international in 2004. Vieri played for Marconi Juniors and WS Wanderers Juniors when he was a child but his family subsequently moved back to Italy.
Club career
Early career
Vieri started his playing career at
Marconi Stallions
Marconi Stallions Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Fairfield, Sydney, New South Wales. The club has been crowned Australian champion four times.
The Stallions are the soccer team of Club Marconi, a social ...
. Upon his return to Italy in 1988, his first club was A.C. Santa Lucia, a team from Prato, where his first coach was Luciano Diamanti, the father of the player
Alessandro Diamanti
Alessandro Diamanti (; born 2 May 1983) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for A-League club Western United. At club level, he has previously played for Prato, Empoli, Fucecchio, Fiorentina, AlbinoLeffe, West Ham Uni ...
Torino
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...
after being spotted by Serino Rampanti, who recommended him to the coach Sergio Vatta. The president of the Prato, Andrea Toccafondi, did not want to sell the promising striker. To convince him to sell Vieri to Torino, the ''Granata'' also had to buy the son of Toccafondi, Paolo, who was a goalkeeper. After a year in the Torino youth ranks, Vieri was given his first team debut at age 18, on 30 October 1991 in the 1991–92 Coppa Italia under
Emiliano Mondonico
Emiliano Mondonico (9 March 1947 – 29 March 2018) was an Italian professional footballer and coach. He played as a winger.
His playing career was spent mostly with Cremonese, where it began and ended. Mondonico's 31-year-long managerial care ...
; he scored the second goal in a 2–0 win for Torino against
. On 15 December of the same year, he made his official debut in
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 Cop ...
during the final minutes of 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 fol ...
(2–0). He would later score his first goal in the league in a match won 4–0 against
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 ...
. At the end of the 1991–92 season, Vieri would pick up a runners up medal as an unused substitute in the
1992 UEFA Cup final
The 1992 UEFA Cup Final was played on 29 April 1992 and 13 May 1992 between Ajax of the Netherlands and Torino of Italy. Ajax won on away goals after a 2–2 draw in the first leg in Turin and a 0–0 draw in the second in Amsterdam. The victor ...
, lost on away goals to
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
.
In November 1992, Vieri was sold to
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie 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. It had been ...
club Pisa, scoring two goals in 18 appearances. He would only stay in Pisa for one season, moving to fellow Serie B side
Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...
for the 1993–94 season, where he scored 12 goals in 32 appearances. He was subsequently transferred to another Serie B club for the 1994–95 season,
Venezia
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...
, where he scored 11 goals in 29 appearances.
Serie A
After three seasons in Serie B, Vieri returned to Serie A for the 1995–96 season, when he joined
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 (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...
, scoring 9 goals in 21 appearances.
His first big move came when he was signed by Juventus from Atalanta for a fee of €2.5 million for the 1996–97 season. He made 23 appearances and scored 8 goals in Serie A, and six goals in ten matches in Europe, making him joint top scorer for Juventus that season along with
Alen Bokšić
Alen Bokšić (; born 21 January 1970) is a former Croatian professional footballer. A forward who spent most of his career in France and Italy, he was renowned for his technique and power, and is regarded as one of the greatest players in the ...
. He ended his season at Juve by winning the Scudetto'' and starting in the 3–1
UEFA Champions League final
The UEFA Champions League is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the tournament was named the European Cup. The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of Europea ...
loss to
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...
.
Atlético Madrid
Vieri's form for Juventus attracted the attention of Spanish side, Atlético Madrid who paid £12.5 million to sign the striker in 1997. He was part of a £45 million spending spree for the club owned by
Jesús Gil
Gregorio Jesús Gil y Gil (12 March 1933 – 14 May 2004) was a Spanish businessman and politician. He served as Mayor of Marbella between 1991 and 2002, and presided for a 16-year tenure as president of the football club Atlético de Madrid ...
that season, alongside
Juninho Paulista
Osvaldo Giroldo Júnior (born 22 February 1973), known as Juninho or Juninho Paulista, is a Brazilian former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder and is now the national team co-ordinator of the Brazil national football team. During ...
.
Vieri made his debut for Atlético on 30 August 1997 in a 1–1 draw with Real Madrid at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ( es, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, ) is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947. It is the second-larg ...
on the first day of the
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
season. He scored his first goal on 16 September, a penalty in a 2–1 home win against
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
in the first round of the
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 solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
. Eleven days later he opened his league account with two goals in a 3–3 home draw with
Celta de Vigo
Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues ...
. In October, he scored back-to-back hat-tricks in a 5–1 win at
Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at L ...
and a 5–2 home win over PAOK in the quarter-finals of the European competition. On 21 March 1998, he scored four times away to
Salamanca
Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...
, but the ''Rojiblancos'' lost 5–4.
He scored a total of 24 goals in 24 league appearances for Atlético and finished the season with 29 goals from 32 appearances, which saw him receive the
Pichichi Trophy
In Spanish football, the Trofeo Pichichi is awarded by the sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno, the trophy has been awarded annually since the ...
as the league's top scorer.
Vieri stated in his 2015 autobiography that his 1997 transfer to Atlético was motivated purely by financial reasons—revealing that Juventus would only pay him an annual salary of L.2 million while the Spanish club were offering the equivalent of L.3.5 million. He furthermore asserted: "If I could have turned back time, I’d have stayed in Turin".
Vieri also revealed a funny story about the aforementioned back-to-back hat-tricks against
Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at L ...
and PAOK. Before the match with PAOK, Vieri made a bet with
Jesús Gil
Gregorio Jesús Gil y Gil (12 March 1933 – 14 May 2004) was a Spanish businessman and politician. He served as Mayor of Marbella between 1991 and 2002, and presided for a 16-year tenure as president of the football club Atlético de Madrid ...
: if he had scored a hat-trick, the President would have given him a Ferrari. The striker did find the net three times, with the third goal, scored from the goal line, being one of the most iconic moments of his career, and Gil made him choose his gift car. However, Vieri never picked up his Ferrari at the end of the season, as he felt he had betrayed the President leaving Atlético after just one year.
Lazio
After his performances for Atlético and at the 1998 World Cup, Vieri returned to Serie A with Lazio for a fee of €25 million. He partnered Chilean international
Marcelo Salas
José Marcelo Salas Melinao (; born 24 December 1974), nicknamed ''Matador'' (due to his goalscoring celebrations), ''El Fenómeno'' and ''Shileno'', is a Chilean former footballer who played as a striker. Salas is considered the best strik ...
for the
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
-based club, managed by Sven-Göran Eriksson. He had a successful season, scoring 14 goals in 28 appearances and won the
Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
. He scored the first goal of the 2–1 win over Mallorca in
the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
at
Villa Park
Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...
on 19 May, the last match in the tournament's history.
Inter Milan
The following season Vieri was the subject of a then
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
transfer of €49 million (90 billion
Italian lire
The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually f ...
, £32 million) to
Inter Milan
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...
after drawing the attention of chairman
Massimo Moratti
Massimo Moratti (born 16 May 1945) is an Italian billionaire petroleum businessman, the former owner of Inter Milan and chairman of the Saras Group, founded in 1962 by his father, industrialist Angelo Moratti. The main production site of the Sar ...
and manager Marcello Lippi, who had requested the player after their successful season together at Juventus. Inter would be Vieri's ninth club in his ninth season of being a professional footballer, and the only one where he would play for more than one season, for a total of six.
At Inter, Vieri formed a potentially dangerous partnership with
Ronaldo
Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People
Notable people known as Ronaldo include:
As ...
up front, but because of injuries to both players, they were not able to play together often. He was impressive in his first couple of seasons, but constant managerial changes meant that Inter could not challenge for the ''Scudetto''. It was under disciplined Argentinian coach
Héctor Cúper
Héctor Raúl Cúper (; born 16 November 1955) is an Argentine football manager and former player.
As a player, he was a defender who spent most of his career at Club Ferro Carril Oeste, where played 463 games. His nickname was "Cabezón" ("Big ...
, that Vieri and Inter really began to flourish and challenge for honours. Vieri was made the focal point of the attack and scored 22 goals in 25 games in the 2001–02 season as Inter narrowly missed out on the title after their last-day defeat to Lazio. The following season, he was Serie A ''
Capocannoniere
The ''Capocannoniere'' award (; literally "head gunner"), known as Paolo Rossi AwardChampions League campaign and formed a potent partnership with
Hernán Crespo
Hernán Jorge Crespo (; born 5 July 1975) is an Argentine professional football coach and former player. He is the current manager of Qatari club Al-Duhail.
A prolific striker, Crespo scored over 300 goals in a career spanning 19 years. At in ...
. He scored both of Inter's goals in the quarter-final victory over
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
. Vieri was injured during the second leg of this game and therefore played no part in the semi-final defeat to city rivals
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 ...
.
The following year, Cúper was sacked only a few games into the season and was replaced by
Alberto Zaccheroni
Alberto Zaccheroni (; born 1 April 1953) is an Italian football manager, formerly in charge of the United Arab Emirates and Japan national football teams.
He has managed a number of top clubs in Serie A, the high point of his career being his s ...
. Vieri did not get along with his new manager and also had many of the Inter fans turn on him after his dip in form. In addition, he had shown his discontent at the sale of strike partner Crespo to
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
. When
Roberto Mancini
Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the Italy national team.
As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for his time at Sa ...
replaced Zaccheroni in the summer of 2004, Vieri played the majority games upfront with
Adriano
Adriano or Adrião is the form of the Latin given name ''Hadrianus'' commonly used in the Italian language; the form Adrian is used in the English language. Notable people with the name include:
* Adriano Banchieri, Italian composer, music theor ...
. It was clear to many though that the injury he had sustained against Valencia had taken its toll on Vieri and he was no longer as sharp in front of goal, despite his respectable goal output. On 6 January 2004, he scored his 100th goal for the club in a 3–1 home against Lecce, being celebrated by his teammates with a crown.
Later career
In July 2005, Vieri and Inter came to a mutual agreement to terminate his contract with the club. He was then signed by cross-town rivals A.C. Milan on a two-year deal, amidst interest from Newcastle United. He scored his only goal for them on 26 October to wrap up a 3–1 win at Empoli. Due to his poor performances throughout the season, he won the Bidone d'Oro Award in 2005, which is given to the worst Serie A player during a particular season.
In January 2006, he moved on a free transfer to
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, on a two-and-a-half-year deal, being brought in by compatriot manager
Francesco Guidolin
Francesco Guidolin (; born 3 October 1955) is an Italian football manager and former player, most recently the manager of Premier League team Swansea City. He has coached various Italian club sides in Serie A, winning the 1996–97 Coppa Ital ...
who had also loaned an Italian strike partner in the form of
Marco Di Vaio
Marco Di Vaio (; born 15 July 1976) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. A prolific goalscorer, in his long club career, Di Vaio scored over 200 league goals ...
. On 26 March, he suffered a knee injury through a collision with
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
's
Bernard Mendy
Bernard Mendy (born 20 August 1981) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He was known for his blistering pace and constant overlapping runs. He most recently served as the assistant manager of Paris Saint-Germain ...
, which eventually ruled him out of a place in Italy's squad that won the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
.
Vieri agreed a one-year deal with
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, ...
on 6 July 2006, however he returned to Atalanta on 29 August, signing a one-year minimum wage contract worth €1,500 per month. Although he received a paltry salary, Vieri was to earn another €100,000 for every goal he scored, leaving chairman Ivan Ruggeri to comment, "If things go well, Vieri will cost me €2 million." Vieri scored two goals in seven substitute appearances, including one spectacular long-range effort.
In June 2007, Atalanta announced they would not offer a contract extension to Vieri. His contract therefore ended on 30 June. Vieri signed a one-year deal with Fiorentina in the summer of 2007 and he was officially presented to the press on 21 July 2007. He signed a one-year-contract for Atalanta on 30 June 2008; however, in early April, both Atalanta and Vieri mutually agreed that the contract was to be rescinded after only making nine appearances for the club. He announced his retirement from professional football on 20 October 2009.
International career
Vieri scored 23 goals in 49 matches 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 ...
between 1997 and 2005. He played for his country at the 1998 World Cup, scoring five times, and the
2002 World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...
, scoring four times. He endured a less successful tournament at
Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...
, whilst he missed
Euro 2000
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe.
The finals tournament was ...
and
2006 World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
through injury. Vieri is generally considered to be Italy's greatest pure striker of recent times, despite strong competition, and is one of Italy's most prolific World Cup goal scorers. Appearing in a total of nine World Cup games in 1998 and 2002, he found the net nine times, making him one of the most feared strikers in those tournaments along with Ronaldo and
Miroslav Klose
Miroslav Josef Klose (, pl, Mirosław Józef Klose; born 9 June 1978 as Mirosław Marian Klose) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Austrian Bundesliga club Rheindorf Altach. A striker, Klose ...
, and Italy's joint-highest World Cup goalscorer, alongside Roberto Baggio and
Paolo Rossi
Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a forward. He led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot as top goalscorer, and the Golden ...
Francesco Graziani
Francesco "Ciccio" Graziani (; born 16 December 1952) is an Italian football manager and former football player who played as a forward.
He began his career with Arezzo in 1970, and later joined Torino in 1973, where he remained until 1981 ...
, he is Italy's ninth-highest goalscorer of all time.
Vieri received his first international cap during the 1996–97 season after some impressive displays for Juventus; he made his Italy senior debut on 29 March 1997, at the age of 23, in a 3–0 win over
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...
, in which he also scored his first international goal, which was also the 1000th goal scored by the Italian national team. He scored a key goal for Italy in a 1–1 draw in the away leg of the team's play off against
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
during their
qualification
Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to:
* Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
campaign for the 1998 World Cup. At the finals of the tournament in France he formed a strong partnership with Roberto Baggio. Vieri opened the scoring against
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
after an assist from his strike partner. He went on to score three more goals during the
group stage
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
: two against
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, and one against
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Vieri scored Italy's only goal in the round of 16 match against
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 the ...
. He scored Italy's fourth penalty in the quarter-final shootout against hosts and eventual champions
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, but
Luigi Di Biagio
Luigi Di Biagio (; born 3 June 1971) is an Italian professional football manager and former player.
A former defensive midfielder, Di Biagio last played for Ascoli Calcio 1898 in 2007, and previously also played for several other Italian clubs ...
missed the fifth spot-kick, and Italy were eliminated. The aforementioned quarter-final showdown against France, which had ended in a 0–0 draw following extra time, was the only game of the tournament in which Vieri was unable to score.
Vieri missed out
Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian national team in the 1982 tournament, at th ...
's squad for Euro 2000 after suffering a recurrence of an old thigh injury, following a collision with
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...
during the Serie A fourth place playoff for the final Champions League spot with Inter, against
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...
, at the end of the 1999–2000 season; Buffon would later also miss out on the tournament through injury.
Italy played Vieri as a lone striker in the 2002 World Cup under manager
Giovanni Trapattoni
Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a p ...
, scoring an impressive four goals in four games. He managed a brace in the opening game against
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
, and scored Italy's only goal in the 2–1 defeat to
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
despite having a previous goal incorrectly ruled out for offside. In the round of 16 match against co-hosts
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
, he opened the scoring in the 18th minute, scoring a powerful header from a
Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti (; born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional footballer who played solely for Roma and the Italy national team. He is often referred to as ''Er Bimbo de Oro'' (The Golden Boy), ''L'Ottavo Re di Roma'' (The Eig ...
corner. Italy led the game until the Koreans equalised two minutes before the end. Just one minute after the Korean equaliser, Vieri missed an open goal which would have put Italy in front. Italy were eventually eliminated by South Korea by a
golden goal
The golden goal or golden point is a rule used in association football, lacrosse, field hockey, and ice hockey to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the end of normal time. It is a type of sud ...
. The only game in which he failed to find the net was against
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
in a 1–1 draw.
Vieri was once again the main striker in Italy's ill-fated Euro 2004 campaign. This time he did not fare so well, however, scoring no goals as Italy were eliminated in the first round. It was during this tournament that his now infamous "more of a man" press conference took place following Italy's 1–1 draw against Sweden, where he hit back at his critics in the Italian press by insulting them, and stated that he was "more of a man" than any of them, and accused them of publishing false news stories, after a rumour concerning a supposed quarrel between Vieri and his teammate
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...
had been leaked in the press. It is worth noting that Euro 2004 occurred at a particularly painful period of Vieri's life, when he was being spied upon by his own club Inter and
Telecom Italia
Gruppo TIM, legally TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.), also known as the TIM Group in English, is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples, (with the Telecom Italia Tower) which provides fixed ...
at the request of club owner Massimo Moratti. In September 2012, Inter and Telecom Italia were ordered by a Milan court to pay Vieri damages amounting to €1 million for this case of phone tapping.
More disappointment occurred when he missed the 2006 World Cup after suffering a knee meniscus injury in a Ligue 1 match with Monaco against
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
on 26 March 2006. Although Vieri would not necessarily have been a starter for Marcello Lippi's side, Lippi admitted that he would have picked him had he been fit, and even encouraged him to move to France in order to gain more playing time ahead of the tournament. He played in three tournaments, but failed to win a medal in each of them, missing out on the Euro 2000 runners-up medal and the 2006 World Cup winners medal due to injury. His final appearance for Italy had come against Moldova, the team against which he had also made his debut, on 12 October 2005, under Lippi; he marked the occasion by scoring his final international goal in the 2–1 home win.
Style of play
Vieri was a complete, quick, prolific and opportunistic striker, with a keen eye for goal. Due to his notable goal-scoring prowess, Vieri is regarded by pundits as one of the greatest Italian strikers of all time and one of the top strikers of his generation. Although he was considered to be more of a physical rather than talented player in his youth, who lacked strong technical ability, he was able to refine his touch on the ball in training as his career progressed, showing significant improvements to his technique. In his prime, his unique and direct offensive style of play, which blended power with pace and solid technical skills, led him to be compared to
Luigi Riva
Luigi "Gigi" Riva (; born 7 November 1944) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward.
Considered to be one of the best players of his generation, as well as one of the greatest strikers of all time, Riva enjoye ...
and
Roberto Boninsegna
Roberto Boninsegna ( born 13 November 1943) is an Italian former football player, who mainly played as a forward. After retiring, he worked as a football manager. As a player, he represented the Italian national side at two World Cups, reachin ...
, as well as earning him the nickname of ''"Il Toro"'' ("The Bull"). Despite his goalscoring ability, he was also injury prone throughout his career, however, which greatly affected his pace, fitness and mobility in later years. Vieri was predominantly left-footed, although he was capable of scoring with both feet, as well as with his head, and from volleys. He has often been described as a large, old fashioned centre forward, due to his powerful physical presence and outstanding aerial ability; he is the all-time top scorer of headed goals in Italian league history. He also excelled at finding space to anticipate opponents and get on the end of passes. Despite being primarily a goal-scoring striker, he was also capable of providing assists to teammates, which was aided by his ability to use his strength to hold up the ball and play with his back to goal in order to participate in the build-up of attacking plays; he also excelled at beating the offside trap to get on the end of long balls with his runs in behind the defence, which also allowed him to provide depth to his team. Although he was primarily a goal-area threat, Vieri had an accurate and powerful shot from distance as well as inside the area; he was also an accurate
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)
A p ...
taker.
Personal life
Vieri is of Italian and French descent as his mother Christiane was born in Casablanca and raised in Paris. His father,
Roberto
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
, was also a footballer, who played both in Italy and Australia. His brother, Massimiliano "Max" Vieri, played for Australia. In an interview at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Vieri named his all-time sporting hero as Australian
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
er
Allan Border
Allan Robert Border (born 27 July 1955) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test ma ...
, and said that as a child he was better at cricket than football.
Christian Vieri's personal life has been subject to much media attention in Italy. He has been involved in many high-profile relationships, including those with models
Elisabetta Canalis
Elisabetta Canalis (; born 12 September 1978) is an Italian actress and showgirl.
Early life
Canalis was born in Sassari, Sardinia in Italy. Her father, Cesare, is a radiologist in University of Sassari's clinic, and her mother, Bruna, was a te ...
,
Elena Santarelli
Elena Santarelli (born 18 August 1981) is an Italian model, television personality and actress.
Life and career
Born in Latina, the niece of footballer Ubaldo Righetti, Santarelli started her career as a model, and she made her television debu ...
, Debora Salvalaggio,
Fernanda Lessa
Fernanda Lessa (born April 15, 1977, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a Brazilian top model. She is tall and has brown hair and eyes.
She started her career very early and moved to Milan after a few years. She first became famous in the year 2000 b ...
,
Melissa Satta
Melissa Satta (born 7 February 1986) is an Italian television presenter. She was a showgirl in the Italian satirical series ''Striscia la notizia''. Satta has appeared in ''Maxim'' magazine and was featured in the 2010 ''Sports Illustrated'' ...
and Jazzma Kendrick, among others.
Vieri has his own fashion label – Sweet Years – which he runs with friend and former Italy and A.C. Milan teammate
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini (; born 26 June 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left back and centre back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of a ...
. The pair also own a number of restaurants in the city of Milan. Another close friend of his is former forward
Alessandro Matri
Alessandro Matri (; born 19 August 1984) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Club career
Early career
Born in Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, Lombardy, a ''comune'' 30 km away from the city of Milan, Matri starte ...
, with whom he has been seen holidaying in Spain, along with other friends. He also started another clothing brand (Baci & Abbracci) with close friend and footballer
Cristian Brocchi
Cristian Brocchi (; born 30 January 1976) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of Vicenza.
As a defensive midfielder, Brocchi was rated for his durability and tackling. He began his c ...
and model
Alena Šeredová
Alena Šeredová (; born 21 March 1978) is a Czech model and actress who lives and works in Italy.
Career
Šeredová was born Prague. Her modeling career began at the age of 15. Five years later, she was first runner-up of Miss Czech Republi ...
.
Vieri presented a
footvolley
Footvolley ( pt, Futevôlei in Brazil, ''Futevólei'' in Portugal) is a sport which combines aspects of beach volleyball and association football.
Footvolley was created by Octavio de Moraes in 1965 in Brazil. Footvolley combines field rules tha ...
cup with the name ''Bobo summer cup'', in 2018.
In 2017, Vieri began a relationship with Italian showgirl Costanza Caracciolo. On 18 November 2018, Vieri and Caracciolo announced the birth of their daughter Stella on Instagram. On 18 March 2019, the pair were married in a small civil ceremony at Villa Litta Modignani in the Affori ward of Milan. Toward the end of October that year, the couple announced that they were expecting a second child.
Media
Vieri features in
EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network ...
' ''FIFA'' video game series; he was on the cover for the Italian edition of '' FIFA 99'', and was named in the Ultimate Team Legends in ''
FIFA 14
''FIFA 14'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released in September 2013 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStat ...
''.
Vieri featured as
Ivan Drago
Ivan Vasilyevich Drago (russian: Иван Васильевич Драго, ) is a Soviet-Russian fictional character from the ''Rocky'' film series. He first appears in the 1985 film '' Rocky IV'', in which he is the central antagonist and ri ...
in the 2000 Italian film, ''
Picasso's face
''Picasso's Face'' ( it, Faccia di Picasso) is a 2000 comedy film written, directed and starred by Massimo Ceccherini.
Plot
Massimo Ceccherini is looking for a plot for his new movie: the suggestions of the people around him are all the same and ...
''.
In December 2003, Vieri participated in the Italian TV broadcast '' Chi vuol essere milionario?'' forming a memorable duo with
Gennaro Gattuso
Gennaro Ivan Gattuso (; born 9 January 1978) is an Italian professional football coach and former player, who currently serves as manager of La Liga club Valencia.
He was born in Corigliano (Calabria). As a player, he mainly played in the cent ...
during an episode organised for charity purposes. Vieri and Gattuso succeeded in answering correctly to 13 questions in a row, retiring after having read the second-to-last question, winning an outstanding amount of €150.000. The thirteenth question represented a dramatic yet hilarious moment of Italian television: being the duo doubtful about the correct answer,
Vincenzo Montella
Vincenzo Montella (; born 18 June 1974) is an Italian retired footballer and current manager, who played as a striker. He is current manager of Süper Lig club Adana Demirspor.
Montella's nickname during his playing career was "Aeroplanino", i ...
, one of the football players who were in the audience, invited Vieri and Gattuso to walk away with the already collected amount of €70.000 without risking to reduce the final prize to €16.000 answering incorrectly. Vieri playfully suggested to sell the player ("Ma vendetelo!"), while Gattuso jokingly asked for getting Montella out of the studio as he was behaving like a jinx ("Porta una sfiga Montella, mandatelo via!").
Having retired from professional football, Vieri currently works as a pundit, consultant, for
beIN Sports
beIN Sports ( ) is a global network of sports channels owned and operated by the Qatari media group beIN. It has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its CEO is Yousef O ...
.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Vieri goal''.
Honours
Torino
*
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 ...
:
1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
Juventus
*
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 Cop ...
UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
*
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...
UEFA Under-21 European Championship
The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial Association football, football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. ...
:
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
Pichichi Trophy
In Spanish football, the Trofeo Pichichi is awarded by the sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno, the trophy has been awarded annually since the ...
ESM Team of the Year
The European Sports Media (ESM), formerly European Sports Magazines, is an association of football-related publications in Europe.
Members
European Sports Media was established in 1989 as an international body for football journalism. Its nine fo ...
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
*
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game.
Awards
*There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA ...
: 1998 (Reserve)
*
Légion d'Honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
Serie A Footballer of the Year
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used in ...
FIFA XI
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
: 1999
*
Guerin d'Oro
The Guerin d'Oro ''(Golden Guerin)'' was an annual award which was handed out by the Italian magazine ''Guerin Sportivo'' to the best Serie A football player.
The first winner of the award was Claudio Sala, while the last was Carlos Tevez.
Hist ...
FIFA 100
The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fou ...
* World Soccer: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time
*
Gazzetta Sports Awards
The Gazzetta Sports Awards and the Gazzetta Referendum are surveys conducted annually by the Italian sports newspaper '' La Gazzetta dello Sport'' to reward the best sportsmen and sportswomen of the calendar year.
Winners Italian
Worldwide
O ...