Alessio Cerci
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Alessio Cerci (; born 23 July 1987) is an Italian 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 le ...
who plays as a winger. Cerci started his professional football career at
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
, playing four times for the first team before serving periods on loan at
Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...
,
Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
and
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 ...
. He returned to Roma in 2009, where he sporadically played under
Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri Grande Ufficiale OMRI (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian football manager and former player. He will be the new head coach of club Cagliari from 1 January 2023. Ranieri began his managerial career in the lower leagues in It ...
and was sold to
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 fo ...
in August 2010. After two seasons in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, he transferred to
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 June 2012. In September 2014, he was sold to Atlético Madrid, before returning to Italy to play for
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and Genoa. Internationally, Cerci has represented Italy from under-16 to under-21 youth levels. He made his senior international debut in March 2013 a
friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
against
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and was included in their squads for that year's
Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
and the following year's World Cup, winning a bronze medal in the former competition.


Club career


Roma

Cerci grew up playing football in
Valmontone Valmontone is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome. Geography The historic part of the town is situated on a tuffaceous hill, above sea level, part of a mor ...
before joining the
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
youth system. At this time, he was nicknamed "l'Henry di Valmontone" ("the
Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best players ...
of Valmontone") due to his playing style. On 16 May 2004, he made his 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 Coppa ...
at the age of 16 under
Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which ...
in the 76th minute against
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, ...
, ending 0–0. The following season, he was a key player in the Roma under-19 side that won the Campionato Primavera 2004–05. With the first team, he made an additional two appearances, playing the final minutes against Internazionale and
Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
. On 21 March 2005, Cerci signed his first professional contract with Roma for three years. However, he mostly continued to play with the youth team (winning the second edition of the Wojtyła Cup) and making just one appearance for the first team against Chievo on 30 April 2006.


Brescia, Pisa and Atalanta

On 18 August 2006, Cerci was loaned to
Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...
in
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 ...
. He made his debut in the cadets on 15 September in a 1–1 draw 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 ...
. He played 21 times for Brescia (mostly as a substitute), helping the team finish the season in sixth place. Cerci returned to Roma at the end of the season, before being loaned to
Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
in 2007. Pisa was then a newly promoted side in Serie B and coached by
Gian Piero Ventura Gian Piero Ventura (; born 14 January 1948) is an Italian football manager. His playing career as a midfielder was spent in the lower leagues, having not made the grade at Sampdoria, where he began his coaching career with the youth team in 1 ...
, who quickly made Cerci a starter in his formation against Bari and
Frosinone Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the Va ...
. On 9 September 2007, Cerci scored his first official goal, in a 1–2 victory away to
Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. History Cesena was o ...
. On 25 September, he scored again against
Triestina Unione Sportiva Triestina Calcio 1918, commonly referred to as Triestina, is an Italian football club based in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Originally founded in 1918, the club has been re-established several times in its history. As of the ...
before repeating himself against
Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...
,
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 ...
and AlbinoLeffe. On 30 October 2007, he scored the first brace of his career during a 3–3 draw to
Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...
, scoring another two against Cesena on 9 February 2008. On 12 February, however, he suffered a knee injury against his former club Brescia that sidelined him for two months. He returned on 12 April, but after just seven days back, was stretchered off the field after a bad fall.
Magnetic resonance imaging Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio wave ...
highlighted that Cerci had broken his
meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) The meniscus (plural: ''menisci'', from the Greek for "crescent") is the curve in the upper surface ...
and had inflammation to his
anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...
. On 26 April 2008, he was operated on in
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 ...
by the same doctor that had operated on Francesco Totti just days before, sidelining him for four months. His first season was ended prematurely with ten goals in 26 appearances, along with seven assists. Returning to Roma, Cerci was prepared to stay in the capital to play in Serie A, but on 25 July 2008, was loaned 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 ...
for €250,000 with the right to purchase the player in co-ownership for €2.75 million. Cerci once again selected the number 11 shirt, making his debut for the ''Nerazzurri'' against Chievo. However, numerous injuries throughout the season limited him just to 11 appearances with no goals scored.


Return to Roma

Cerci returned to play for Roma in the 2009–10 season, scoring his first official goal for the club on 27 August 2009, a 4–0 victory against
Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...
in the
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
playoffs (7–1 on aggregate). In the league, Cerci played the first four matches against
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
and Napoli, but
Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri Grande Ufficiale OMRI (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian football manager and former player. He will be the new head coach of club Cagliari from 1 January 2023. Ranieri began his managerial career in the lower leagues in It ...
would later bench him and mostly play him in the Europa League. On 16 December 2009, he scored a brace during CSKA Sofia–Roma (0–3), the final match of the group stages. He made a further appearance for the club in the second round against Greek side
Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
, providing an assist in the first round for
David Pizarro David Marcelo Pizarro Cortés (born 11 September 1979) is a Chilean former professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Chilean Primera División club Universidad de Chile. He is usually deployed as a central midfielder, althoug ...
. Cerci finished the season with a total of 19 appearances for Roma in Europe and Serie A, with three goals.


Fiorentina

On 26 August 2010,
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 fo ...
signed Cerci outright from Roma for €4 million to be paid over the next three seasons. Cerci made his debut for Fiorentina in the 29 August 2010 match against Napoli, ending 1–1, and scored his first goal in Serie A on 7 November 2010 against Chievo (1–0). Near the end of the season, Cerci scored six goals in five games, with two braces. He concluded the season with 26 appearances and seven goals in the league, plus one goal in
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 ...
against
Reggina Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo. They are nic ...
. However, Cerci had a difficult rapport with Fiorentina and its supporters. During his time at
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, he was accused of overindulging in the city nightlife and was famous for illegally parking his
Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...
around the city centre. On one occasion, he was fined for refusing to move his car after he parked it in a space reserved for police. In the summer of 2011, Cerci became the focus of a transfer to
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
under the direct request of its manager,
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 Samp ...
. Just as the deal seemed imminent, however, Cerci decided to stay in Florence, having resolved his issue with the fans. In the 2011–12 season, Cerci scored his first goal during Coppa Italia against Cittadella (2–1), and the first of two goals against
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= 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 150 different nat ...
(2–0) in the opening round of the league. He repeated himself against
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 ...
,
Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
and
Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...
, but erratic performances and a difficult relationship with the fans called into question his permanence in Florence.


Torino

On 23 August 2012, Cerci was sold to
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 ...
under a co-ownership agreement for €2.5 million. At
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, 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 ...
, he was reunited with
Gian Piero Ventura Gian Piero Ventura (; born 14 January 1948) is an Italian football manager. His playing career as a midfielder was spent in the lower leagues, having not made the grade at Sampdoria, where he began his coaching career with the youth team in 1 ...
, who had already coached him at Pisa. He made his debut for Torino on 1 September 2012 against
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 30 September 2012 was a key player against Atalanta, with three assists created. He scored his first goal for the ''Granata'' on 25 November, producing the first goal in a 2–2 draw against Fiorentina. On 13 January 2013, he scored his second goal of the season in a 3–2 home victory to
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 ...
. He repeated himself in the next round, scoring the 2–0 away against Pescara. He scored his fourth goal for Torino on 17 February, a match won 2–1 against Atalanta. He concluded his first season at Torino with eight goals and eight assists, also scoring in the final two matches of the 2012–13 season against Chievo and Catania. On 20 June 2013, the co-ownership agreement between Torino and Fiorentina was resolved in favour of Torino for €3.8 million, confirming him for the next season, and taking Marko Bakić permanently to Fiorentina. For the 2013–14 season, Gian Piero Ventura began fielding Cerci as a second striker rather than a right winger, a role in which he began to score with greater continuity. He scored his first goal of the season in the opening round against
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 ...
, won 2–0. He scored again in September against Bologna and
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, before scoring his first brace for Torino against Hellas Verona on 25 September. He scored again on 6 October in a 2–2 draw away to Sampdoria, also providing two assists and a goal against
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
on 30 October. On 3 November, Cerci ended Roma's record ten-match winning streak, scoring the 1–1 at home for Torino. On 22 December, Cerci ended his mini goal drought, scoring the 4–1 against Chievo, also providing two assists. On 26 January 2014, he scored a decisive penalty against Atalanta to give Torino the win 1–0, and on 17 February, scored the second Torino goal in a 3–1 win away to Hellas Verona, breaking his personal record for goals scored during his season at Pisa. With teammate Ciro Immobile suspended, Cerci was the difference in a 2–1 against
Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
, assisting the first goal and scoring the second on 30 March. On 13 April, Immobile and Cerci scored in stoppage time, Cerci with the last kick of the match, to secure a 2–1 win against
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
. However, on the last match–day of the season, Torino initially missed out on an UEFA Europa League playoff spot to Parma in sixth–place when Cerci missed a decisive injury–time penalty in a 2–2 away draw against his former club Fiorentina. Nevertheless, Parma failed to obtain a UEFA licence, which meant that Torino, who finished seventh in Serie A, progressed to the third qualifying round of the 2014–15 Europa League in their place. This was the first time in 20 years that Torino had qualified for an UEFA club competition, with their last participation occurring in the
1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1993–94 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by English club Arsenal, who beat defending champions Parma in the final. The tournament would be renamed to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup the following season. Teams Lithuania, Latvia, Es ...
. Cerci ended his season with 13 goals and also 11 assists, the most 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 Coppa ...
.


Atlético Madrid

On 1 September 2014, Cerci signed a three-year deal with
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's ...
title holders
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...
for a transfer fee believed to be around €16 million. He debuted for the club 19 days later, replacing Raúl Jiménez for the final eight minutes of a 2–2 home draw against
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 ...
. Alessio Cerci scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 win over Malmö FF in the Champions league. On 4 October, after coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3–1 defeat at
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, he was sent off for handball. The decision was taken to terminate Cerci's contract on 30 June 2017.


Loans to Milan and Genoa

On 5 January 2015, Cerci returned to Serie A to join Milan on an 18-month-long loan deal. On the same day the loan was agreed, Fernando Torres went the opposite way to Atlético in exchange. Cerci made his debut the next day in a 2–1 defeat at the hands of Sassuolo. He scored his first goal as a Milan player on 4 April 2015 in a 2–1 away win against
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 22 January 2016, Cerci was loaned to Genoa.


Verona

On 10 July 2017, Cerci was signed by
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
.


Ankaragücü

On 17 August 2018, Cerci signed a three-year contract with Ankaragücü.


Salernitana

On 7 August 2019, Cerci signed with
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 ...
club Salernitana.


Arezzo

On 9 October 2020, Cerci signed for
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 ...
club
Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...
. In March 2021, he was banned from training by the club after an altercation during training. On 23 April 2021, his contract was terminated by mutual consent.


International career

He played in all the Italian national youth teams, from Italy U-16 to Italy U-21. After his positive start to the season at Pisa, Cerci was called up to the Italy under-21 by coach Pierluigi Casiraghi. He debuted 16 November 2007 in against
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
(5–0), scoring the 3–0 goal on an assist from
Sebastian Giovinco Sebastian Giovinco (; born 26 January 1987) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A quick and creative player on the ball, Giovinco was a versatile forward capable of playing in multiple offensive positions. Gio ...
. Due to injury, Cerci was not called up to the National Olympic side for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. From 2007 to 2009, he was part of the Italy U-21 biennium, with whom he took part in the
2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship The 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship began on 15 June 2009, and was the 17th UEFA European Under-21 Championship. This was the first tournament after the competition reverted to a two-year format, following the single-year 2006–07 compe ...
in Sweden, but never played. On 17 March 2013, Cerci was called up for the first time to the Italian senior team by
Cesare Prandelli Claudio Cesare Prandelli (; born 19 August 1957) is an Italian football coach and former player. He was most recently head coach of Fiorentina. Career Player Prandelli was a midfielder who moved from Atalanta to Juventus in 1979. His first game ...
for a friendly against
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and a
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...
match against
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. He made his debut in the latter match on 21 March, replacing
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in the 46th minute of a 2–2 draw with Brazil in Geneva. On 16 May 2013, he was included in the list of 31 provisional players ahead of the
2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourna ...
in Brazil, with his place confirmed in the final list submitted on 3 June. He made his only appearance in the competition on 16 June, in Italy's opening group match, a 2–1 win over
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at the
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, coming on as a second–half substitute for
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; Italy finished the tournament in third place. On 11 April 2014, he was included in the list of 30 provisional players by
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for the
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in Brazil, with his place confirmed in the final 23–man squad on 1 June. He made his only appearance in the tournament in Italy's second group match on 20 June, a 1–0 defeat to
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, coming on as a second–half substitute for Marchisio; Italy ultimately suffered a first–round exit.


Style of play

Cerci is a naturally left footed player, with excellent technique, vision and remarkable quickness, playing mainly as a winger or as an
attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...
on the flank. He can play on both wings, but prefers the right, from which he can cut inside and shoot or provide
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and assists with his stronger foot. His playing style has drawn comparisons to Arjen Robben. During the 2013–14 Serie A season with Torino, he began to be used regularly in a creative, supporting role as a second striker, alongside the club's more offensive–minded centre-forward or striker Ciro Immobile. He was also used as an outright
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on occasion under Torino manager Gian Piero Ventura.


Career statistics


Club


International


Honours


Club


Youth

;A.S. Roma *
Campionato Nazionale Primavera The Campionato Nazionale Primavera – Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti, was an Italian football youth competition. It is organised by the Lega Serie A and the participating teams that take part in Serie A and Serie B: the first edition was held in th ...
: 2004–05


International

;Italy *
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: Third Place
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Notes


References


External links

*
Torino profile


* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cerci, Alessio 1987 births Living people People from Velletri Italian footballers Atalanta B.C. players A.S. Roma players Brescia Calcio players Pisa S.C. players ACF Fiorentina players Torino F.C. players Atlético Madrid footballers A.C. Milan players Genoa C.F.C. players Hellas Verona F.C. players MKE Ankaragücü footballers U.S. Salernitana 1919 players S.S. Arezzo players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players La Liga players Süper Lig players Association football forwards Italy youth international footballers Italy under-21 international footballers Italy international footballers 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players Italian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Italian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Italian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Footballers from Lazio Sportspeople from the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital