Vincenzo Iaquinta (; born 21 November 1979) 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 striker. Prior to joining Juventus in 2007, he initially played for several smaller Italian clubs, and subsequently moved to

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 ...

in 2000, where he spent seven seasons, representing the club in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

. After failing to make an appearance under new manager Antonio Conte during the first half of the 2011–12 season, in January 2012, he was sent on a half-season loan to

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. ...

; he returned to Juventus the following season, but once again made no appearances due to injury as the club won the league title; he subsequently retired from football in 2013. Iaquinta played 40 matches for the

Italy national football team The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing bo ...

between 2005 and 2010, scoring 6 goals. He was included in their squad which 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 ...

, as well as the team for the 2010 edition of the tournament, scoring a goal on each occasion; he also took part at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup with Italy.

Club career

Reggiolo

Iaquinta was born in

Cutro Cutro ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Crotone, Calabria region, Italy. It's called "City of chess". It is the place of birth of Vincenzo Iaquinta, World Cup-winning footballer who played for Serie A club Juventus. Histo ...

, in the

province of Crotone The province of Crotone ( it, provincia di Crotone) is a province in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It was formed in 1992 out of a section of the province of Catanzaro. The provincial capital is the city of Crotone. It borders the province ...

. Like many Calabrians in the 1980s, his parents migrated to

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

in Northern Italy for better job opportunities. Iaquinta played with his brother in the lower divisions for ''Reggiolo'' for the 1996–1997 season, before transferring 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 Calcio Padova in January 1998, after 33 appearances and 6 goals in his first professional season and a half.

Padova

Iaquinta moved to

Padova Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

in January 1998, a club where his future Juventus teammate and Italian legend

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 ...

thrived, but his spell with

was short-lived as after only 6 months, just 13 appearances and 3 goals, Iaquinta was surprisingly sold to Serie C1 club,

Castel di Sangro Calcio Castel di Sangro Cep is an Italian association football club from Castel di Sangro in the Province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo. They currently play in Eccellenza Molise. Their moment of greatness came in 1996, when they were promoted to Serie B, a n ...

Castel di Sangro

Following his short spell in the

, Iaquinta went on to spend two seasons in the Italian Serie C1, with

Castel di Sangro Castel di Sangro (locally ''Caštiéllë'') is a city and '' comune'' of 6,461 people (as of 2013) in the Province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo, Central Italy. It is the main city of the Alto Sangro e Altopiano delle Cinque Miglia area. Geography Ca ...

from 1998 and 2000. It was with his new club where Iaquinta established himself, making 52 appearances as he became a key part of the starting line-up, and netting 8 goals. Following several impressive performances, Iaquinta was signed by

Udinese Calcio 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 foo ...

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 ...

Udinese

In June 2000,

completed the signing of the young prospect and in his first season with the club, Iaquinta made 16 appearances and scored 2 goals. The following season, he made 26 appearances with 3 goals, before breaking into the starting eleven in his third season. He scored 8 goals in 28 appearances and the following season (2002–03), in which Udinese finished in 6th and qualified for 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 ...

. Iaquinta made 32 appearances and scored 11 goals during the 2003–2004 season, as his team again reached the

, this time in 7th. During the 2004–05 season, he made 39 appearances and scored 15 goals, as Udinese came in fourth in Serie A and therefore qualified for the

. That following season, Iaquinta made 34 appearances with 17 goals, including a hat-trick in his first UEFA Champions League group stage match against

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 ...

. Although he refused to sign a contract extension at the start of the season, on 30 September he agreed terms for a further 3 years. In his final season, 2006–07, he scored 14 goals for his club in 30 appearances, and formed a partnership with

Antonio Di Natale Antonio Di Natale (; born 13 October 1977) is an Italian fotball coach and former professional player who played as a striker. After being a member of the Empoli youth side since 1994, Di Natale started his professional career with the Empol ...

. Following a string of impressive seasons with Udinese, he was signed by Juventus.

Juventus

Iaquinta celebrating a goal for Juventus, 2007 Juventus signed Iaquinta on a five-year contract on 19 June 2007 for a fee of €11.3 million. (cash plus

Michele Paolucci Michele Paolucci (born 6 February 1986) is an Italian footballer who plays as a forward for Canadian club FC Manitoba. Club career Juventus and loans Paolucci came through the ranks at Juventus. After graduating from their ''Primavera'' yout ...

), to become the

Turin 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. The ...

giant's first signing for the new campaign. Udinese also bought back Fabio Quagliarella from Sampdoria on 21 June; Sampdoria then bought Andrea Caracciolo from Palermo on 22 June and Palermo bought

Fabrizio Miccoli Fabrizio Miccoli (; born on 27 June 1979) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He scored 103 goals in 259 matches in Serie A across nine seasons, representing Perugia, Juventus, Fiorentina and Palermo, also spen ...

from Juventus on 5 July. During the 2007–08 season, Iaquinta made only a handful of starts for Juventus, mostly being used as back-up to the experienced strike partners

and

David Trezeguet David Sergio Trezeguet (born 15 October 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Trezeguet began his career in Argentina with Club Atlético Platense at the age of eight, progressing through their youth sys ...

, who combined to score 41 goals between them in the

alone. He did however still manage 29 appearances with 9 often crucial goals, such as his last minute winner versus

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

in April 2008. It appeared that he might be surplus to requirements after the signing of Brazilian striker Amauri, leading to rumours about a possible move out of Juventus. However, nothing materialised, and Iaquinta remained for the 2008–09 season. Iaquinta also signed a new 4-year contract near the end of 2008–09 season. Iaquinta started the season as fourth-choice striker, but enjoyed a particularly impressive string of performances when both Amauri and Trezeguet were injured, gaining a more regular place 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 ...

. Most notably, he scored the first goal against

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 ...

in the second leg of the first knockout stage of the

, which was also Juventus' 600th goal in European competition. Despite this, Juve could only draw the match 2–2, and were eliminated. After that, Iaquinta also played regularly in

games, his situation helped by a falling-out between Trezeguet and head coach

. In his second season in Piedmont, the striker managed 38 appearances with 16 goals. Following the sacking of Ranieri, and the appointment 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 ...

for the 2009–10 season, Iaquinta became an undisputed starter, before a major injury side-lined him for 6 months between October 2009 and March 2010. In 2010–11 Serie A, Juventus renewed its squad by selling Trezeguet but also signing Quagliarella. That season Iaquinta made only 8 starts (7 in first half season). Despite the injury of Quagliarella in mid-season, the arrival of

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 ...

made Iaquinta was a substitute in the second half of season. Under new coach

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 ...

in 2011, Iaquinta, Amauri and Luca Toni did not play a single minute on the pitch and Iaquinta was the third one to leave Turin on 31 January.

Cesena loan and Juventus return

On 31 January 2012, Iaquinta joined

on loan until the end of the 2011–12 season. He made his debut for them on 9 February away at

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

, and assisted

Adrian Mutu Adrian Mutu (; born 8 January 1979) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is in charge of Liga I club Rapid București. During his playing career, he was deployed as a forward or an attacking midfielder. Mutu star ...

for the first goal and scored a penalty to put Cesena 2–0 up at half-time, but they eventually lost 3–2. In total he made 7 appearances for the club, although his time with Cesena was once again characterised by injuries, and he was unable to save the club from relegation. At the end of the season he returned to his home club Juventus, who had just won the league title, although he continued to struggle with injuries, and once again failed to make a single appearance under Conte during the

2012–13 Serie A The 2012–13 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 111th season of top-tier Italian football, the 81st in a round-robin tournament, and the 3rd since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...

season, as Juventus won a second consecutive league title. On 22 July 2013, following the end of his contract with the club, he announced his retirement, stating his intention to pursue a coaching career.

International career

Iaquinta made his international debut for

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

on 30 March 2005, as a half-time substitute for Luca Toni in a 0–0 home friendly draw against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

at the Stadio Euganeo in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. Iaquinta was a member of the Italian squad that won the

under manager Marcello Lippi. His first international goal came in his nation's opening match of the tournament, on 12 June: Iaquinta scored Italy's second goal in the 2–0 victory against

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. He played in 5 out of 7 of Italy's matches, including the victorious semi-final against hosts

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

and

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 ...

against

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 ...

on 9 July, in which he came on after 61 minutes for Simone Perrotta. Iaquinta missed out on

Roberto Donadoni Roberto Donadoni (; born 9 September 1963) is an Italian football manager and former midfielder. Donadoni was capable of playing on either flank, or in the centre. He began his career with Atalanta, and he later became a pillar of the powerhous ...

's Italy squad for

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...

due to injury. He later took part at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and he also played for Italy in the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

, in which he scored a penalty in a 1–1 draw against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the second group match. His 40th and final international appearance came in the last group game on 24 June, in which Italy were defeated 3–2 by

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

and eliminated from the tournament. In total he scored six goals for Italy.

Style of play

In his prime, Iaquinta was a tall, physically strong, opportunistic, and extremely fast striker, who excelled in the air and at finishing off chances inside the penalty area. Due to his great pace, athleticism, work-rate, tenacity, and good movement off the ball, he was also known for his ability to make attacking runs to beat the defensive line and either get on the end of his teammates' passes or provide depth and create space for his team; his speed and timing also made him a dangerous offensive threat on counter-attacks. Although his preferred role was that of a striker, he was a versatile forward who was capable of playing in several offensive positions, and was also used as a

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, or as a winger. Due to his strength, he excelled at playing with his back to goal, and at holding the ball up for teammates. Iaquinta was often injury-prone throughout his career, which frequently limited his playing time.

Personal life

Iaquinta has been married to Arianna Cucinotta since 14 June 2003. He and his wife have four children, two sons and two daughters: Giuseppe, born on 17 December 2002, Edoardo, born on 28 June 2004, Carlotta, born on 20 May 2008, and Ginevra, born on 23 April 2015.

Criminal allegations and conviction

During the Aemilia antimafia investigation, on 4 February 2015 illegal weapons were found at Iaquinta's

Quattro Castella Quattro Castella ( Reggiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about southwest of Reggio Emilia. Quattro Castella borders the following munic ...

home and his father Giuseppe's home. On 21 December 2015, they were both sent to trial for the illegal possession of firearms, aggravated by the aiding of the Calabrian Mafia organization 'Ndrangheta expand to Northern Italy, of which his father was charged with association with the 'Ndrangheta through the

'Ndrina The 'ndrina (, plural: ; , plural: ) is the basic unit of the 'Ndrangheta of Calabria, made up of blood relatives, and is the equivalent of the Sicilian Mafia’s "family" or ''cosca''.Varese, How Mafias Migrate'Gratteri & Nicaso ''Fratelli di s ...

of Nicolino Grande Aracri. On 31 October 2018, Iaquinta was found guilty of illegal possession of firearms, and sentenced to two years imprisonment; his father was found guilty of mafia association, and received 19 years imprisonment.

Career statistics

Club

*Source:

International

*Source:

International goals

:''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first.'' , - , 1. , , 12 June 2006 , , FIFA WM Stadion Hannover,

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, Germany , , , , align=center , 2–0 , , align=center , 2–0 , ,

, - , 2. , , 1 April 2009 , , Stadio San Nicola, Bari, Italy , , , , align=center , 1–0 , , align=center , 1–1 , , 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification , - , 3. , , rowspan=2, 10 June 2009 , , rowspan=2, Atteridgeville Super Stadium,

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

, South Africa , , rowspan=2, , , align=center , 3–3 , , rowspan=2 align=center , 4–3 , , rowspan=2, Friendly , - , 4. , , align=center , 4–3 , - , 5. , , 9 September 2009 , , Stadio Olimpico,

, Italy , , , , align=center , 2–0 , , align=center , 2–0 , , 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification , - , 6. , , 20 June 2010 , ,

Mbombela Stadium The Mbombela Stadium is a football and Rugby union all-seater stadium in Mbombela in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa was built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, It was one of 10 venues for the tournament and one of 5 newly constructed stadiums ...

, Nelspruit, South Africa , , , , align=center , 1–1 , , align=center , 1–1 , ,

, -

Honours

Club

;Juventus *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

International

;

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

: 2006

Individual

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 ...

top-scorer: 2007–08

Orders

CONI The Italian National Olympic Committee ( it, Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the development and management of sports activity in Italy. ...

: ''Golden Collar of Sports Merit'': 2006 :* ITA OMRI 2001 Uff BAR

4th Class / Officer: '' Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana'': 2006

References

External links

*
FootballDatabase.com provides Iaquinta's profile and statsLega Serie A Profile

FIGC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iaquinta, Vincenzo 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from the Province of Crotone Italian footballers Association football forwards Italy international footballers Italy under-21 international footballers Italy youth international footballers A.S.D. Castel di Sangro Calcio players Calcio Padova players Udinese Calcio players Juventus F.C. players A.C. Cesena players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players 2010 FIFA World Cup players Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Footballers from Calabria Sportspeople from the Province of Reggio Emilia Footballers from Emilia-Romagna