Cristian Zaccardo (; born 21 December 1981) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

former

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 lea ...

who played as a defender. He mainly played as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, although he was also capable of playing as a full-back or in midfield. He began his club career with Italian club

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

in 2000, and remained with the club until 2004, aside from a loan spell with Spezia. He subsequently moved to

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

, where he came to prominence during his four seasons at the club. In 2008, he moved to German club

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

for a season, where he won the

2008–09 Bundesliga The 2008–09 Bundesliga was the 46th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season began on 15 August 2008 with a 2–2 draw between defending champions Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV and ended with the last matches o ...

title. He returned to Italy the following season, joining

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, and in 2013 he moved to

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

, before joining Carpi in 2015; he spent the 2016–17 season on loan with

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as 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 b ...

. In October 2017, he joined

Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League, known as 360Sports Malta Premier for sponsorship reasons with 360Sports (colloquialism, colloquially known as ''Il-Kampjonat Premjer''), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Foot ...

side Ħamrun Spartans. In January 2019, he signed with San Marinese club Tre Fiori, where he won the

Coppa Titano The Coppa Titano is the national football (soccer), football cup of San Marino. It was first awarded in 1937. Cup Winners *1937 : A.C. Libertas, Libertas ''not played from 1938 to 1949'' *1950 : A.C. Libertas, Libertas ''not played from 1951 to 19 ...

, before announcing his retirement in July. At international level, he represented the

Italy national football team The Italy national football team () has represented Italy in men's international Association football, football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for fo ...

on 17 occasions between 2004 and 2007, scoring one goal; he was a member of the Italian side that won the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

Club career

A product of the

youth system, Zaccardo was promoted to the first team in 2000, but was sent on loan to Spezia for the 2000–01 season. He made his debut in

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

and for the Bologna first team on 18 October 2001, in a 1–0 away defeat against

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

, under the direction of coach Francesco Guidolin; he subsequently immediately became a regular for the ''rossoblu'' and Italy's under-21 national team. He left Bologna in 2004 to join his former coach Guidolin in

. He was a regular starter for Palermo, and made his breakthrough with the club, appearing in 142 league matches and scoring eight goals. After a season spent in Germany at

, in which he helped the club to its first ever

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

title, he rejoined Guidolin at

in August 2009. In his three-and-a-half seasons with the side, Zaccardo appeared in 118 league matches and scored ten goals. On 24 January 2013, Zaccardo was signed by

, part of a cashless swap in which Djamel Mesbah moved to Parma. Towards the end of the 2014 summer transfer window, Milan had a deal in place with Parma in which him and Jonathan Biabiany would swap clubs, but the former refused the move. On 1 February 2015, Zaccardo scored his first goal for Milan in a 3–1 home win against Parma. On the expiration of his Milan contract in the summer of 2015, Zaccardo moved to recently promoted Serie A side Carpi on a free transfer. He signed a two-year contract. He made 27 appearances for the club during the 2015–16 Serie A season, scoring one goal, although Carpi were ultimately relegated to Serie B at the end of the season. On 31 August 2016, Zaccardo was signed by fellow

club

Vicenza Calcio L.R. Vicenza S.p.A. (acronym for ''Lanerossi Vicenza''), better known as Vicenza or Lanerossi, is an Italian football club based in the city of Vicenza. It plays in Serie C, the third division of the Italian football league. Founded on 9 March ...

on loan with an obligation to buy. According to ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'', he signed a two-year contract. He wore the number 9 shirt for the team. On 13 July 2017, he announced that he had cancelled his contract with the club, becoming a free agent. In October, he was signed by

side Ħamrun Spartans. On 20 May 2018, he announced that he would be leaving the club, and later became a free agent. In December, he obtained his Sporting Director diploma through the Coverciano Technical Centre. In January 2019, he stated in an interview that he had been linked with several clubs, including his former team Bologna and Canadian side

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

, and that if he did not receive an offer from a team by May, that he would retire from professional football. On 31 January 2019, Zaccardo announced on

facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

that he had signed with San Marinese club Tre Fiori, but that he would be joining the team in March. He won the

with the club. On 9 July 2019, exactly 13 years after he won the World Cup with Italy, he announced his retirement from professional football on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

International career

Zaccardo represented the Italy under-16 squad (equivalent to the current under-17 team) at the age of 15, also taking part in the

1998 UEFA European Under-16 Championship The 1998 UEFA European Under-16 Championship was the 16th edition of UEFA's UEFA European Under-17 Championship, European Under-16 Football Championship. Scotland hosted the championship, during 26 April – 8 May 1998. Players born on or after 1 ...

held in Scotland. During the tournament, he scored the decisive goal in the semi-final which allowed Italy to progress to the final of the tournament, where they were defeated by the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. In 2001, he was a member of the Italian under-23 team that won a silver medal at the

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...

held in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

. Zaccardo has also represented Italy at under-21 level, winning the

2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 14th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Germany between 27 May and 8 June 2004. Italy won the competition for the fifth time. Italy's Alberto ...

under manager

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 ...

. Zaccardo made his senior international debut for

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

under

Marcello Lippi Marcello Romeo Lippi (; born 12 April 1948) is an Italian former professional association football, football player and manager, who led the Italy national football team, Italy national team to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was appoin ...

on 17 November 2004 in Italy's 1–0 home friendly victory over

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. He began to be deployed with more frequency, and on 8 October 2005, he scored his first and only international goal in a 1–0 home win over

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying match; the victory allowed Italy to qualify for the upcoming

in Germany. Zaccardo was included in Italy's 23-man roster for the tournament, and made three appearances in the final competition. He started the first two matches of the group stage, helping Italy keep a clean sheet in their opening 2–0 win over

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

on 12 June, but he scored an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

off an attempted clearance following a free-kick in the ''azzurri's'' second match on 17 June, which ended in a 1–1 draw against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

; this was one of only two goals Italy conceded throughout the tournament. He made one more appearance, his third during the tournament, coming on as a substitute in Italy's 3–0 win over

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

in the quarter-finals on 30 June, as Italy went on to win the 2006 World Cup. Due to his mistake during the World Cup, he was often overlooked by the national team since the tournament's conclusion, and only made two more appearances under Roberto Donadoni. He made his final appearance for Italy in a 2–0 friendly win over

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

on 17 October 2007. In total, Zaccardo made 17 appearances for Italy between 2004 and 2007, scoring one goal.

Style of play

A quick, tactically versatile, and hard-working right-footed footballer, in his prime, Zaccardo was known in particular for his stamina, professionalism, and positional sense as a footballer, as well as his intelligence, versatility, and his strong mental and physical characteristics, which enabled him to play in several positions in defence and midfield along the right flank throughout his career, despite not being the most accurate crosser of the ball. Although he was primarily a right-sided full-back, he was also capable of playing as a wing-back, or in midfield, as a winger, or even as a central or

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, a role in which he was also capable of starting attacking plays after winning back possession; during his time at Parma, his manager, Francesco Guidolin, described him as a "centromediano metodista" (a term which was initially used to describe the position of a

centre-half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

-back in the '' Metodo'' or 2–3–2–3 formation, but which later became used in Italian football jargon to describe a holding midfielder with both creative and defensive responsibilities), due to his unique playing style in this position, which essentially also saw him act both as a ball-winner and as a

deep-lying playmaker In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

in midfield. As he has lost his pace with age in his later career, he has usually been deployed as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, in both a three or four-man defence, due to his anticipation and ability in the air.

Personal life

Zaccardo is married to Alessia Serafini. Zaccardo and his wife have two children, Niccolò and Ginevra Zaccardo. Zaccardo has the names of his two children Niccolò and Ginevra

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

ed on his left arm, while on his right arm he has a

of his wife Alessia Serafini. On 6 March 2008, Zaccardo became an honorary citizen of Pollina, in the province of Palermo.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goal

:''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

VfL Wolfsburg *

: 2008–09 Tre Fiori *

: 2018–19

International

Italy U-21 *

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 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Italy *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Orders

CONI Coni may refer to: *Cuneo, Italy *Coni, Azerbaijan *Italian National Olympic Committee The Italian National Olympic Committee (, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the develop ...

: Golden Collar of Sports Merit: '' Collare d'Oro al Merito Sportivo'': 2006 : ITA OMRI 2001 Uff BAR

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

References

External links

* * * *
LegaSerieA.it profile

FIGC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaccardo, Cristian 1981 births Living people Footballers from the Province of Modena Footballers from Emilia-Romagna Italian men's footballers Italy men's international footballers Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Spezia Calcio players Bologna FC 1909 players Palermo FC players Parma Calcio 1913 players AC Milan players AC Carpi players LR Vicenza players Hamrun Spartans F.C. players Tre Fiori FC players 2006 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players Italy men's youth international footballers Italy men's under-21 international footballers VfL Wolfsburg players Bundesliga players Men's association football defenders Maltese Premier League players Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Italy Mediterranean Games medalists in football Competitors at the 2001 Mediterranean Games Italian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Malta Expatriate men's footballers in San Marino Italian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Italian expatriate sportspeople in Malta Italian expatriate sportspeople in San Marino 21st-century Italian sportsmen