Bruno "Brunillo" Cirillo (born 21 March 1977) is a former Italian

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

centre-back 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 moved clubs frequently throughout his career, spending two spells at

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelf ...

and a further three years at PAOK, both in Greece, in addition to brief spells in Spain, Cyprus and France. Cirillo played for Italy at under-21 level and was included in their squad for the

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug language, Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport ...

Club career

Italy

Born in

Castellammare di Stabia Castellammare di Stabia (; nap, Castiellammare 'e Stabbia) is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region, in southern Italy. It is situated on the Bay of Naples about southeast of Naples, on the route to Sorrento. History ...

, Cirillo started his career in the ranks of Reggina, and started enjoying regular first-team football after a 1996–97 switch to

Serie C2 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of ...

Tricase Calcio. In the summer of 1998, he returned to Reggina and helped them to promotion to

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 Copp ...

. The following season was even better, with Cirillo scoring twice in 32 matches and catching the eye of F.C. Internazionale Milano, joining in 2000. He appeared 24 times in his sole season in Milan before moving to U.S. Lecce for 6,000 million lire in co-ownership dealFC Internazionale Milano SpA ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2002
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
along with Giorgio Frezzolini for 2,500 million lire in co-ownership dealFC Internazionale Milano SpA ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2001
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
(swapped with

Erminio Rullo Erminio Rullo (born 19 February 1984) is an Italian association football, footballer who plays for Pol. Olympia Agnonese, Olympia Agnonese as a Defender (association football), centre back. Club career Lecce Born in Naples, Campania, Rullo sta ...

of Lecce for 3,000 million lire in co-ownership deal and 5,500 million lire cash). In June 2002 Lecce acquired Cirillo (€306,000), Frezzolini (free) and Rullo (€151,000) outright. Cirillo then returned to Reggina in 2002–03, rejoined Lecce and was loaned to A.C. Siena in quick succession.

AEK Athens

12 months later he switched again, this time to

, and proved influential for the Greek runners-up spot in 2006 and 2007. He was a big fan favorite in Athens for his passion, and was under contract until 2008. However, on 29 April 2007 Cirillo played his last match with AEK against Skoda Xanthi in the

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

. Right after the game, for which Cirillo was given the Man of the Match award, the much-spread rumours that he was leaving the club at the end of the season were confirmed.

Later career

On 4 July 2007, Cirillo signed a two-year deal for Spanish outfit

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a Spanish football club in Valencia, in the namesake autonomous community. Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante play in Segunda División, holding home games at Ci ...

. In January 2008, due to Levante's inability to pay agreed wages he, alongside countryman Marco Storari left the club, with Cirillo signing for Reggina, the club where he grew as a player. Cirillo mutually terminated his contract with Reggina in June 2009, and later that month

PAOK FC P.A.O.K. FC ( el, ΠΑΕ ΠΑΟΚ, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινουπολιτών, '' Panthessaloníkios Athlitikós Ómilos Konstadinoupolitón'', "Pan-Thessalonian Sports club, Athlet ...

signed him until June 2011 on free transfer. On 28 January 2013, Cirillo signed a six-month deal for French club

FC Metz Football Club de Metz, commonly referred to as FC Metz or simply Metz (), is a French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 2, the second division in the French football league ...

, with the option of a further year. This option was not taken, and on 26 August 2013, Cirillo signed a one-year private agreement for

, returning to the club after six years away. On 21 August 2014, Cirillo was the first pick in the Indian Super League Inaugural International Draft, signed by

FC Pune City Football Club Pune City was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra, which last participated in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football league system, under licence from AIFF. The club was founded ...

. In 2015, he returned to Reggina, the club in which he started his career to finish his career there. He retired in 2015 and now he plans on becoming a manager in the future.

International career

Cirillo played every second of Italy's campaign at the 2000 Olympics in Australia, in which they reached the quarter-finals before elimination by Spain.

Personal life

Cirillo is married with the Greek actress and model Elena Asimakopoulou, and they have one daughter named Maria Rozaria (born: 13 December 2010).

Honours

International

; Italy U-21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Football 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 ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Club

;

* Football League 2:

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 wat ...

(6th Group)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cirillo, Bruno 1977 births Living people People from Castellammare di Stabia Footballers from Campania Association football defenders Italian footballers Inter Milan players Reggina 1914 players U.S. Lecce players A.C.N. Siena 1904 players AEK Athens F.C. players Levante UD footballers PAOK FC players Alki Larnaca FC players FC Metz players FC Pune City players Serie A players Serie B players Super League Greece players La Liga players Cypriot First Division players Indian Super League players Italy under-21 international footballers Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Italy Italian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Greece Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in India Italian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Italian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Italian expatriate sportspeople in France Italian expatriate sportspeople in India