Fabio Quagliarella (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfaːbjo kwaʎʎaˈrɛlla]) (born 31 January 1983) is an Italian football striker who currently plays for Serie A club Napoli and the Italian national team.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Early career

Fabio Quagliarella started his career at Torino. He made his Serie A debut against Piacenza Calcio on 14 May 2000 and later made four appearances at Serie A 2001-02 season.

He was then sent on loan to lower division clubs Fiorentina, at that time in Serie C2, and then Chieti. He returned to Torino in 2004, and scored eight goals in Serie B, plus one goal against Ascoli in the promotion playoff's first legs. But financial problems forced Torino to stay in Serie B, which allowed players to leave for free.

[edit] Udinese

Quagliarella joined Udinese on summer 2005, and the club sold half of the registration rights to newly promoted Ascoli, as part of a loan deal.

Quagliarella stayed at Ascoli for just a season, then was loaned to Sampdoria by the transfer of the Ascoli's half of the registration rights. During his time with the blucerchiati, Quagliarella scored 13 goals in the 2006-2007 season, plus one goal in seven matches in the 2006–07 Coppa Italia.

On 22 June 2007, Udinese took the full ownership of the player from Sampdoria by blind auction between the two clubs. He signed an improved contract along with Handanovič and Gyan due to expire on June 30, 2012. He played as a regular for the whole 2007–08 season, scoring a total 12 goals and achieving a place in the Italian squad for the Euro 2008 competition.

[edit] Napoli

On 1 June 2009, Quagliarella signed a five year deal with hometown club Napoli.^[1]

[edit] International career

Following his impressive performances with Sampdoria in 2006–07, Quagliarella was called up to the Azzurri squad for a friendly against Romania in February. However, it was delayed by the match cancellation due to fan riots in Serie A that weekend.

Later he played for the Azzurri in March for a Euro 2008 qualifier against Scotland, and made his debut as a substitute, replacing Luca Toni in the final minutes. In Kaunas on 6 June 2007, on his first start for Italy, he scored his first two goals for them in a 2–0 win over Lithuania in a vital Euro 2008 qualifier. On 6 February, he scored Italy's third goal in their 3-1 triumph over Portugal in an international friendly in Zurich

He was included in the Italian Euro 2008 squad.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Player profile on Napoli's official website

v • d • e Italy squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Buffon • 2 Panucci • 3 Grosso • 4 Chiellini • 5 Gamberini • 6 Barzagli • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Toni • 10 De Rossi • 11 Di Natale • 12 Borriello • 13 Ambrosini • 14 Amelia • 15 Quagliarella • 16 Camoranesi • 17 De Sanctis • 18 Cassano • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Perrotta • 21 Pirlo • 22 Aquilani • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Donadoni

v • d • e Italy squad – 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 Buffon • 2 Santon • 3 Grosso • 4 Chiellini • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Legrottaglie • 7 Pepe • 8 Gattuso • 9 Toni • 10 De Rossi • 11 Gilardino • 12 De Sanctis • 13 Gamberini • 14 Amelia • 15 Iaquinta • 16 Camoranesi • 17 Rossi • 18 Palombo • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Montolivo • 21 Pirlo • 22 Dossena • 23 Quagliarella • Coach: Lippi