Alessandro Gamberini (; born 27 August 1981) is an Italian former 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

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He is working as

assistant coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hun ...

for Virtus Verona. He spent most of his professional career with

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 ...

, appearing in 224 official games over the course of seven seasons. In

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

, he also appeared for

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

. An Italy international in the late 2000s, Gamberini represented the country at

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 ...

and the 2009 Confederations Cup.

Club career

Bologna

In the 2000 off-season, Gamberini was acquired by

Juventus F.C. )''I Bianconeri'' (The White and Blacks)''Le Zebre'' (The Zebras)''La Signora Omicidi'' (The Killer Lady)''La Gheuba'' (: The Hunchback) , founded = as Sport-Club Juventus , ground = Juventus Stadium , capacity = 41,507 , owner = Agnell ...

alongside Alex Pederzoli and Giacomo Cipriani in a pack deal for €5.16 million, in exchange for the remaining 50% of Jonatan Binotto's registration rights for the same amount, with 50% of Gamberini's rights being priced at €2.32 million. His co-ownership deal was terminated in the favour of Bologna in June 2002, for a peppercorn fee, making 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 ...

side register a loss of €1.5 million (the residual unamortised transfer fee of €4.64 in three years), but with a financial income of €2.32 million as ''Juve'' did not have to pay the remaining 50% registration rights.

Fiorentina

Following Bologna's relegation in 2005, Gamberini moved to ACF Fiorentina for €3.2 million, carving a starting XI niche in his second year as the ''Viola'' eventually qualified twice for 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 ...

. On 4 March 2007, he scored two goals in a 5–1 home win over Torino FC, his first in 134 professional appearances. At the end of 2007–08, Gamberini was voted as Fiorentina's player of the campaign. In February 2010, he was sidelined for three months after undergoing shoulder surgery. In July 2011, Gamberini became Fiorentina's new captain as

Riccardo Montolivo Riccardo Montolivo (; born 18 January 1985) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He most notably played for Fiorentina, AC Milan, and the Italy national team. A versatile and creative player, Montolivo began ...

was stripped of that role.

Napoli

In July 2012, aged 31, Gamberini signed with

S.S.C. Napoli Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli (), is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in the city of Naples ( it, Napoli, nap, Napule), Camp ...

along with teammate Valon Behrami, in a combined deal of around €8.5 million. He spent 2013–14 on loan to Genoa CFC.

Chievo

On 24 July 2014, Gamberini was sold to

A.C. ChievoVerona 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, ...

. He scored his first and only league goal for them on 11 September 2016, helping the hosts earn one point following the 1–1 home draw to Lazio. On 3 July 2018, 36-year-old Gamberini confirmed his retirement from professional football.

International career

Gamberini was a member of the Italian under-21 team that won the

2004 UEFA European Championship The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

under

Claudio Gentile Claudio Gentile (; born 27 September 1953) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a defender in the 1970s and 1980s. Gentile appeared for Italy in two World Cup tournaments, and played for the winning Italian team in ...

. He made his debut with the full side in a 2–0 friendly win against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, on 17 October 2007. Gamberini was not included in the original squad for

UEFA 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 European ...

, but was called up after captain Fabio Cannavaro tore ankle ligaments after a collision with teammate

Giorgio Chiellini Giorgio Chiellini (; born 14 August 1984) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Considered one of the best defenders of his generation, Chiellini is known for his stren ...

in training, on 2 June. Gamberini was selected by Marcello Lippi for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup tournament, but once again failed to make an appearance as the nation was eliminated in the first round.

Style of play

A reliable and physically strong centre-back, Gamberini was known in particular for his tackling ability and aerial prowess.

Coaching career

In July 2020, he was hired by

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 Virtus Verona as assistant coach.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Italy U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

: 2004

References

External links

* *
National team data
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gamberini, Alessandro 1981 births 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players A.C. ChievoVerona players ACF Fiorentina players Association football defenders Bologna F.C. 1909 players Genoa C.F.C. players Hellas Verona F.C. players Italian footballers Italy international footballers Italy under-21 international footballers Italy youth international footballers Living people S.S.C. Napoli players Serie A players Serie B players Footballers from Bologna UEFA Euro 2008 players