Ciro Immobile (born 20 February 1990) 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, rugb ...

who plays as a striker for

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 ...

club

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, which he

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, and the Italy national team. Immobile began his career at

Sorrento Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana rail ...

. In 2009, he was purchased by

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

, and was later loaned out to three

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 ...

clubs, including Pescara, with whom he won the league title as the top scorer, before moving to

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 ...

in 2012. After a season with the club, he moved to Juventus' rivals

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 ...

. At Torino, he won the ''

Capocannoniere The ''Capocannoniere'' award (; literally "head gunner"), known as Paolo Rossi Award 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 ...

for around €18 million in 2014, where they won the DFL-Supercup, before moving to Spanish club

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

in 2015. In 2016, he returned to Torino on loan, and was later sold to Lazio in July of that year. In his second season at Lazio, he won the ''Capocannoniere'' for a second time, with 29 goals in 33 games. The 2019–20 season was the most prolific of Immobile's career; he equalled the record for most Serie A goals in a season with 36, and won a third ''Capocannoniere'' title and first

European Golden Shoe The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football boot. ...

, given to the top scorer in Europe. Immobile has also won a

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 ...

and two

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual association football, football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles ...

titles with Lazio. He is currently Lazio's all-time highest goalscorer. In 2022, he won the ''Capocannoniere'' for a fourth time, with 27 goals in 31 games. Immobile made his debut for the Italy national team in 2014, and was included in the squad for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from ...

and two

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

s (

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

) winning the latter tournament.

Club career

Sorrento and Juventus

Born in

Torre Annunziata Torre Annunziata (; nap, Torr'Annunziata) is a city and commune in the Metropolitan City of Naples, region of Campania in Italy. It is located on the Gulf of Naples at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. History The city was destroyed in the Vesuvius ...

, in the

province of Naples The Province of Naples ( it, Provincia di Napoli; nap, Pruvincia 'e Nàpule) was a province in the Campania region of southern Italy. In 2014/2015, the reform of local authorities (Law 142/1990 and Law 56/2014), replaced the Province of Naples ...

, Immobile began his youth career in the football school "Torre Annunziata '88", before transferring to "Maria Rosa" and finally the youth team of

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919, commonly referred to as Salernitana, is an Italian football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recentl ...

, where however, he failed to emerge. He later joined Sorrento, with whom he scored 30 goals in the under-17 during the 2007–08 season, including a brace against Torino, impressing the observers of Juventus. In 2008, he was signed at the age of 18 for €80,000 by Juventus under the recommendation of

Ciro Ferrara Ciro Ferrara (; born 11 February 1967) is an Italian former footballer and manager. His most recent position was as manager of Wuhan Zall. He had also previously coached Juventus and the Italy national under-21 team. As an assistant coach to M ...

. He went on to play with the ''Primavera'' formation. Ciro Immobile

Immobile joined the Primavera squad in 2009, where he formed a striking partnership with

Ayub Daud Ayub Daud ( so, Ayuub Daaud, ar, أيوب داود; born 24 February 1990) is a Somali professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for the Somalia national team. Club career The son of Daud Hussein, a former member ...

, that led the squad to win the 2009 Torneo di Viareggio, where he scored a total five goals; two of which came in the final. On 14 March 2009, Immobile made his

debut in a 4–1 home win 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 na ...

, replacing Juventus' captain

Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit fo ...

in the 89th minute. On 25 November 2009, Immobile also made his debut in a

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an competition, once again as a second-half substitute for Del Piero in a Champions League game against

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

. In February 2010, he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three w ...

against

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...

in the

2010 Torneo di Viareggio The 2010 winners of the Torneo di Viareggio (in English, the Viareggio Tournament, officially the Viareggio Cup World Football Tournament Coppa Carnevale), the annual youth football tournament held in Viareggio, Tuscany, are listed below. Format ...

final to seal the title for a second consecutive season.

Loans to Siena and Grosseto

On 1 July 2010, Immobile, along with teammate Luca Marrone, were sent on loan to recently relegated

side

A.C. Siena Associazione Calcio Robur Siena 1904, commonly referred to as Siena, is an Italian football club based in Siena, Tuscany. The club was re-incorporated in 2020 after the bankruptcy of the previous legal entity Robur Siena, which itself was the r ...

. In exchange for the two loans, Juventus acquired Niccolò Giannetti,

Leonardo Spinazzola Leonardo Spinazzola (; born 25 March 1993) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a left-sided midfielder or wing-back for Serie A club Roma and the Italy national team. Club career Early years with Siena and loan spells across ...

, and Austrian midfielder Marcel Büchel on loan from the Tuscan club. Immobile never broke into the first team, however, and in January 2011, he left Siena, after just 4 appearances and 1 goal. Following his departure from Siena, he was immediately loaned by Juventus to

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. It is the ...

, another Serie B club for the remainder of the

2010–11 Serie B The 2010–11 Serie B (known as the Serie bwin for sponsorship reasons) is the seventy-ninth season since its establishment in 1929, and the first one under the rule of the new Lega Serie B. A total of 22 teams contest the league, 15 of which retu ...

season.

Loan to Pescara

On 17 August 2011, it was announced that Immobile would join

club Pescara on a season-long loan from Juventus. He scored his first goal for the club on 26 August during his debut for Pescara in the first league match against

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Italy, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in 1984–85. His ...

. By the end of the

2011–12 Serie B The 2011–12 Serie B (known as the Serie bwin for sponsorship reasons) was the eightieth season since its establishment in 1929. A total of 22 teams will contest the league: 15 of which returning from the 2010–11 season, four of which promot ...

''andata'' (first half of the season), Immobile had already scored 14 league goals. On 30 January 2012,

confirmed that they had paid €4 million for half of the player's rights from Juventus, following his mercurial form in Serie B. He completed his season with Pescara in the Italian second division, as the club won the league title and sealed promotion to

. He also went on to become the Serie B season's top scorer with a total of 28 goals, seven more than the second-highest scorer,

Juve Stabia Società Sportiva Juve Stabia is an Italian football club based in Castellammare di Stabia, Campania. Juve Stabia currently plays in Serie C, the third tier of Italian football system. History The football in Castellammare di Stabia From St ...

Marco Sau Marco Sau (, ; born 3 November 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker. Early life Sau has been nicknamed ''Pattolino'' (Duckling) since childhood. His idol growing up was the striker Gianfranco Zola, also from his na ...

. Immobile was also named Serie B's Player of the Year at the 2012 AIC Gran Gala del Calcio, alongside teammates Lorenzo Insigne and Marco Verratti.

Genoa

Immobile formally became a Genoa player on 1 July 2012 after the loan with Pescara expired. On 19 June 2013, Genoa and Juventus again renewed the co-ownership agreements of Immobile and Boakye.

Torino

On 12 July 2013 Juventus bought Genoa's half of Immobile for €2.75 million. On the same day he was sold to city-rivals

under a new co-ownership deal for €2.75 million. He made his debut for Torino during the first round of the

against former club Pescara, scoring his first goal of the season. He provided an assist in his Serie A debut for the club, but did not score until 7 October in a 2–2 draw against Sampdoria. Previously, Immobile had failed to score in Serie A since December 2012. The goal signalled a run of form for Immobile, with the player scoring a further 12 goals in his next 15 matches, including his first brace in Serie A during a game against

Chievo Verona Associazione Calcio ChievoVerona, commonly referred to as ChievoVerona or simply Chievo , is a former professional Italian football club named after and based in Chievo, a suburb of 4,500 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto, and owned by Paluani, a ...

in December. On 22 March 2014, Immobile scored his first Serie A hat-trick, in a 3–1 win 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 ...

. Three days later, he scored a spectacular volley with his left foot against

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 ...

, temporarily bringing the ''Granata'' level at the

Stadio Olimpico The Stadio Olimpico (English: ''Olympic Stadium'') is the largest sports facility in Rome, Italy, seating over 70,000 spectators. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city. The structure is owned by the Italian N ...

. On 6 April, he scored the winning goal against

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 b ...

in a 2–1 victory. On 13 April, Genoa were leading 1–0, when Immobile and Alessio Cerci both scored in stoppage time to give Torino a 2–1 win. He scored again in the following round in a 3–3 draw away to

. On 27 April, Immobile scored for the sixth consecutive match in a 2–0 defeat of

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...

. This took him to 21 goals in the season, equaling the seasonal goal records of Paolo Pulici and Francesco Graziani at Torino. On 11 May, Immobile scored in the penultimate fixture of the season 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 m ...

, but was sent off in the second half and suspended for the final match 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 ...

. He concluded his season with 22 goals in 33 appearances, plus one goal in the

. He became the first Torino player to win the ''

Capocannoniere The ''Capocannoniere'' award (; literally "head gunner"), known as Paolo Rossi AwardFrancesco Graziani in the 1976–77 season.

Borussia Dortmund

On 2 June 2014

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footb ...

club

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 ...

announced the signing of Immobile, despite the co-ownership agreement between Torino and Juventus not being resolved.

Urbano Cairo Urbano Cairo (born 21 May 1957) is an Italian businessman and chairman of Torino F.C. Cairo is a native of Milan. His principal business interest is in Cairo Communication, a business which he founded. At as mid-2016, Cairo via U.T. Communica ...

, the president of Torino, accused Juventus and Dortmund of violating FIFA regulation regarding transfer on 10 May 2014, which

FIGC The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. I ...

also states that such transfers must have mutual consent of the co-owners. Cairo also wanted to keep Immobile for at least a season for sports and for profit. On 18 June 2014, Juventus sold the remaining 50% registration rights of Immobile to Torino for €8.035 million. Torino later revealed in its financial filing, that the transfer fee to the German side was €17.955 million. On 13 August 2014, Immobile made his official debut for Dortmund as a striker in the starting line up for the 2014 DFL-Supercup against Bayern Munich. The match ended in Borussia lifting the cup by the score of 2–0. Immobile made his Bundesliga debut on 23 August in the opening match of Dortmund's

2014–15 Bundesliga The 2014–15 Bundesliga was the 52nd season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. The season started on 22 August 2014 and the final matchday took place on 23 May 2015. Bayern Munich won their 25th German title on 26 Apri ...

campaign which saw them lose 2–0 to

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

at home. On 16 September 2014, Immobile scored his first goal for the club, opening a 2–0 home win over

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

in the group stages of the Champions League. He scored four goals in six Champions League matches, in a 3–0 away win over

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

, in a 4–1 home win over Galatasaray and in a 1–1 home draw vs

, with Borussia qualifying as first from the group. On 17 December 2014, Immobile assisted the first goal and scored the second on a 2–2 home draw with

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's he ...

Sevilla

On 12 July 2015, Immobile joined

on a season-long loan after scoring just three goals in the league in his first season at Borussia Dortmund, with a total 10 goals in 34 matches across all competitions. Sevilla also had an option to sign him outright. He made his debut for the club on 11 August 2015, coming off the bench to replace Kevin Gameiro in the 80th minute of the

2015 UEFA Super Cup The 2015 UEFA Super Cup was a football match between Spanish teams Barcelona and Sevilla on 11 August 2015 at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi, Georgia. It was the 40th UEFA Super Cup, an annual tournament contested by the winners of ...

final, against

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, and assisting

Yevhen Konoplyanka Yevhen Olehovych Konoplyanka ( uk, Євген Олегович Коноплянка; born 29 September 1989) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ekstraklasa club Cracovia and the Ukraine national team. He began ...

's temporary equaliser to send the match into extra-time; Barcelona went on to win the match 5–4. On 31 July 2015, Immobile was stretchered off the pitch wearing an

oxygen mask An oxygen mask provides a method to transfer breathing oxygen gas from a storage tank to the lungs. Oxygen masks may cover only the nose and mouth (oral nasal mask) or the entire face (full-face mask). They may be made of plastic, silicone, or r ...

and a

neck brace A cervical collar, also known as a neck brace, is a medical device used to support and immobilize a person's neck. It is also applied by emergency personnel to those who have had traumatic head or neck injuries, and can be used to treat chronic m ...

after playing just five minutes in a friendly against

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

Vicarage Road Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of championship club Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200. History It has been the home of Watford since 1922, when the club moved from Cas ...

after clashing heads with an opponent. He was taken to the hospital for tests and was in recovering condition. It was later determined his nasal septum ruptured, which looked like a major injury, but turned out to be only minor. On 8 November 2015, Immobile scored his first goal for Sevilla in the 36th minute as they emerged victorious in a 3–2

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 Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...

home win over

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. In November, the obligation to buy clause was exercised when Immobile made his fifth appearance, buying him outright for €11 million plus the €3 million for the loan spell.

Loan to Torino

On 14 January 2016, Immobile returned to Torino on loan until the end of 2015–16 season. Two days later on his return debut, he scored the opening goal of a 4–2 home victory over

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 ...

. On 14 February, he scored a brace, in a 3–1 win away against

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...

. On 22 March, it was determined he sustained a muscular injury at the half time mark in a

derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

with Juventus two days prior, and would be sidelined for a month.

Lazio

On 27 July 2016, Immobile signed with

for a fee of €8.75 million (plus €700,000 commission to agents). On 21 August, Immobile scored on his debut in Lazio's opening match of a 4–3 away win over

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 kno ...

. Immobile finished the season with 23 league goals in 36 appearances plus 3 goals in the Coppa Italia, surpassing his total when he won the ''

Capocannoniere The ''Capocannoniere'' award (; literally "head gunner"), known as Paolo Rossi AwardEdin Džeko of cross-town rivals

, who scored 29 league goals. On 13 August 2017, Immobile scored the opening two goals of the

; Lazio won with a final score of 3–2 over Juventus. On 10 September, in Lazio's third match of the season, he scored a hat-trick and got an assist in a 4–1 home win over

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 ...

. On 21 October, Immobile extended with Lazio until 2022. On 6 January 2018, Immobile scored four goals in the first half away to SPAL, the first Lazio player to score multiple hat-tricks in a season in 16 years; Lazio eventually won the match 5–2. On 22 February 2018, Immobile scored a hat-trick in the Europa League round of 32 second leg home to Steaua București in a 5–1 win, which allowed Lazio to qualify, 5–2 on aggregate, to the round of 16. On 31 March 2018, Immobile scored twice in Lazio's 6–2 home win over

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and '' comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

, his 36th goal of the season, breaking

Giorgio Chinaglia Giorgio Chinaglia (; 24 January 1947 – 1 April 2012) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He grew up and played his early football in Cardiff, Wales, and began his career with Swansea Town in 1964. He later returned to Italy to ...

's previous record for most goals scored by a Lazio player in a single season, by two goals. Immobile ended the season with 29 goals in 33 appearances, winning the ''Capocannoniere'' jointly with Inter's

Mauro Icardi Mauro Emanuel Icardi Rivero (; born 19 February 1993) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Süper Lig club Galatasaray, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. Icardi began his footballing career at the y ...

. On 3 November 2019, he scored his 100th goal for Lazio in a 2–1 away win over Milan. On 26 July 2020, Immobile scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 win against Hellas Verona. Immobile finished the season with 36 goals, winning the ''Capocannoniere'' and equaling

Gino Rossetti Gino Rossetti (; 7 November 1904 – 15 May 1992) was an Italian football Manager (association football), manager and former association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He jointly holds the record for ...

and

Gonzalo Higuaín Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín (; born 10 December 1987) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''El Pipita'' or ''Pipa'', Higuaín was a prolific striker, known for his eye for goal, strong physique, and o ...

's all-time record for most goals in a Serie A season. He also won the

for the first time in his career, becoming the first Italian player or player from Serie A to win the award since

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 ...

in 2007. Moreover, he set a new record for most penalties scored in a single Serie A season, with 14. On 31 August 2020, Immobile signed a five-year contract extension with Lazio. On 20 October 2020, he scored a goal in a 3–1 win over his former club Borussia Dortmund in the

2020–21 UEFA Champions League The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League was the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea def ...

. On 12 May 2021, Immobile scored the only goal of a 1–0 home win over

in Serie A; this was his 150th goal for Lazio across all competitions. On 30 October 2021, the Italian striker netted his 159th career goal for the Biancocelesti in a 2–1 win victory over

, drawing level with

Silvio Piola Silvio Piola (; 29 September 1913 – 4 October 1996) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He is known as a highly prominent figure in the history of Italian football due to several records he set, and he is regarded as one of the ...

’s all-time club goal record. On 4 November 2021, Immobile scored against

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

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. ...

to become

's all-time leading goalscorer, surpassing

, with 160. With this goal, the Italian striker also became the club's all-time top scorer in the Europa League (11); he surpassed former striker

Pierluigi Casiraghi Pierluigi Casiraghi (; born 4 March 1969) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who played as a striker. Casiraghi began his playing career in Italy in 1985, with Monza. He later played for Juventus, and Lazio, before endi ...

, who had scored 10 times in the competition for Lazio. On 7 November 2021 against

(3-0 victory), Immobile became the first Lazio player to score 10+ goals in six consecutive Serie A seasons. On 6 January 2022 against

(3-3 draw), Immobile became just the fourth player in Serie A history to score 15 goals in the league in seven separate seasons. On 5 March 2022 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 ...

(3-0 victory), Immobile made his 200th appearance for Lazio in Serie A. In addition, with his goal against the Rossoblu, he matched

's goal record with Lazio in Serie A (143) and became the third player to ever score 20 or more

goals in six different seasons. On 16 April 2022 against

(1-1 draw), Immobile scored his 180th Serie A goal, matching Sampdoria veteran

Fabio Quagliarella Fabio Quagliarella (; born 31 January 1983) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Sampdoria, whom he captains. Throughout his career, Quagliarella has played for eight different Italian clubs, winning th ...

at 13th in the league's all-time top scorers list. In addition, he became the first Italian player in Serie A history to score at least 25 goals in three separate league campaigns and reached 30+ goals in all competitions for a third time in his career. On 24 April 2022 against

(2-1 defeat), Immobile scored to become just the fourth player in Europe's top five leagues to score more than 25 goals in a league season at least three times since the 2016–17 season, joining

Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski (; born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Barcelona and captains the Poland national team. Recognised for his positioning, technique and finishing, Lewandowski is co ...

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the g ...

, and

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...

International career

On 2 March 2014, he received his first call-up to the senior national 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 g ...

, for a friendly match against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

three days later. He made his debut as a substitute for Alessio Cerci after 69 minutes as Spain eventually won 1–0. On 13 May 2014, Immobile was named in Italy's provisional 30-man squad for the

, and on 1 June he was named in the final 23-man squad. On 8 June, he scored a hat-trick in Italy's final World Cup warm-up match, a 5–3 unofficial win over Brazilian club side

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

. Immobile made his competitive debut in Italy's opening 2–1 win over

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Manaus Manaus () is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is the seventh-largest city in Brazil, with an estimated 2020 population of 2,219,580 distributed over a land area of about . Located at the east center of the s ...

on 14 June, playing the last 17 minutes in place of

Mario Balotelli Mario Balotelli Barwuah (; ''né'' Barwuah; born 12 August 1990) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Swiss Super League club Sion. Balotelli started his professional football career in 2005 at Lumezzane, before ...

who scored the Italian winner. He scored his first official international goal in the third minute of a 2–0 friendly victory against the

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

on 4 September 2014. On 31 May 2016, Immobile was named to

Antonio Conte Antonio Conte (; born 31 July 1969) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Playing as a midfielder, Conte began his career at local club Lecce and later ...

's 23-man Italy squad for

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

. In June 2021, he was included in Italy's squad for

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europ ...

by 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 Sam ...

. In the opening match of the tournament on 11 June, he scored Italy's second goal and assisted Insigne for his team's final goal in a 3–0 win over

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. In the following group match on 16 June, he scored Italy's third goal in a 3–0 win over

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. In the semi-final against Spain on 6 July, he assisted the opening goal scored in the second half by

Federico Chiesa Federico Chiesa (; born 25 October 1997) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Juventus and the Italy national team. He is the son of former footballer Enrico Chiesa. Coming through Fiorentina's youth academy, ...

, of a 1–1 draw, before being substituted by Domenico Berardi; after extra-time, Italy advanced to 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 con ...

of the tournament following a 4–2 penalty shoot-out victory. On 11 July, Immobile won the European Championship with Italy following a 3–2

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

victory over

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

in the

, after a 1–1 draw in extra-time; Immobile started the match, but was once again replaced by Berardi during the second half of regulation time. After the game during celebration, Immobile gained notoriety when he slid on the pitch with his team and his pants fell down, which revealed his underpants.

Style of play

Although primarily a main striker, Immobile is capable of playing anywhere along the front-line. A quick forward, Immobile is primarily known for his offensive movement off the ball, as well as his ability to make attacking runs and exploit spaces. He will often drift wide, from a central position, when making forward runs, allowing him to ghost in behind the defensive line where he can cut in to shoot, usually into the far post. His main characteristics are his eye for goal and finishing ability with either foot, as well as his physical attributes; he also possesses solid technique, and is effective in the air. In addition to his offensive capabilities and goalscoring ability, he is also a hard-working player, known for his willingness to chase down the ball and press opponents when not in possession; he also possesses good link-up play, which enables him to provide assists for teammates, in addition to scoring goals himself. He is 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) * Penal ...

taker. His goalscoring record and efficiency has earned him the nickname "King Ciro" with the Lazio supporters.

Personal life

In June 2013, Immobile welcomed a daughter with long-time girlfriend, Jessica Melena. In May 2014, Immobile and Melena married.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Immobile goal.''

Honours

Juventus Youth *

Torneo di Viareggio The Torneo di Viareggio ( en, Viareggio Tournament), officially named the Viareggio Cup World Football Tournament Coppa Carnevale, is a youth association football tournament held annually in the commune of Viareggio, Italy and its surrounding are ...

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

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Pescara *

: 2011–12 Borussia Dortmund * DFL-Supercup:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

Lazio *

: 2018–19 *

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

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Italy *

Individual *

top scorer:

(10 goals) *

best player:

Serie B Footballer of the Year The AIC Serie B Young Footballer of the Year ( it, Migliore giovane della Serie B ''AIC'') is a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) given to the young footballer who has been considered to have performed the best ov ...

: 2012 *

top scorer: 2011–12 (28 goals) *

Capocannoniere The ''Capocannoniere'' award (; literally "head gunner"), known as Paolo Rossi Award2013–14 (22 goals), 2017–18 (joint – 29 goals), 2019–20 (36 goals), 2021–22 (27 goals) * Serie A Team of the Year: 2013–14, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2021–22 *

top scorer: 2017–18 (joint – 8 goals) *

Squad of the Season: 2017–18 *

Serie A Player of the Month The Serie A Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best player each month in Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. The winner is chosen by an online public vote, in which voters choose fr ...

: October 2019 *

: 2019–20 * Serie A Best Forward: 2019–20, 2021–22 *

Player of the Season: 2019–20 * Italian Sportsman of the Year: 2020

Orders

5th Class / Knight: '' Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana'': 2021

References

External links

* *
Ciro Immobile
at TBPlayers
Ciro Immobile
at FICG.it {{DEFAULTSORT:Immobile, Ciro 1990 births Living people People from Torre Annunziata Italian footballers Footballers from Campania Italy youth international footballers Italy under-21 international footballers Italy international footballers Association football forwards Juventus F.C. players A.C.N. Siena 1904 players F.C. Grosseto S.S.D. players Delfino Pescara 1936 players Genoa C.F.C. players Torino F.C. players Borussia Dortmund players Sevilla FC players S.S. Lazio players Serie A players Serie B players Bundesliga players La Liga players Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games 2014 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2016 players UEFA Euro 2020 players Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Italy Mediterranean Games medalists in football Italian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Spain Italian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Italian expatriate sportspeople in Spain UEFA European Championship-winning players Knights of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic