Cristian Zaccardo (; born 21 December 1981) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender. He mainly played as a centre back, although he was also capable of playing as a full-back or in midfield. He began his club career with Italian club Bologna in 2000, and remained with the club until 2004, aside from a loan spell with Spezia. He subsequently moved to

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , 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 ...

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

title. He returned to Italy the following season, joining Parma, and in 2013 he moved to Milan, before joining

Carpi Carpi may refer to: Places * Carpi, Emilia-Romagna, a large town in the province of Modena, central Italy * Carpi (Africa), a city and former diocese of Roman Africa, now a Latin Catholic titular bishopric People * Carpi (people), an ancie ...

in 2015; he spent the 2016–17 season on loan with Vicenza in Serie B. In October 2017, he joined Maltese Premier League side

Ħamrun Spartans Hamrun (; ) is a town in the Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 9,244 as of March 2014. The people The townspeople are traditionally known as ''Tas-Sikkina'' (literally meaning 'of the knife' or 'those who carry a knife') or as ' ...

. In January 2019, he signed with San Marinese club Tre Fiori, where he won the Coppa Titano, before announcing his retirement in July. At international level, he represented the Italy national football team 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, 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 the ...

Club career

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

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

, 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 VfL Wolfsburg, in which he helped the club to its first ever Bundesliga title, he rejoined Guidolin at Parma 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 Milan, 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 Jonathan Ludovic Biabiany (born 28 April 1988) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for Spanish club San Fernando. During the most notable period of his career (between 2008 and 2014), he was regarded as one of the faste ...

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

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 Serie B club Vicenza Calcio 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 Maltese Premier League side

. 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, 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 that he had signed with San Marinese club Tre Fiori, but that he would be joining the team in March. He won the Coppa Titano 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 a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

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 European Under-16 Football Championship. Scotland hosted the championship, during 26 April – 8 May 1998. 16 teams entered the competition, and Republic of Ireland defeat ...

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. 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 fir ...

held in Tunis. 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 U-21s won the competition for the fifth time. Italy's Al ...

under manager Claudio Gentile. Zaccardo made his senior international debut for Italy under

Marcello Lippi Marcello Romeo Lippi (; born 12 April 1948) is an Italian former professional football player and manager, who led the Italian national team to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was appointed as Italy head coach in the summer of 2004 and 2 ...

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

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 on 12 June, but he scored an own goal 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; 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 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 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 Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

or defensive midfielder, 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 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 ...

-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 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 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 ...

, 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 tattooed on his left arm, while on his right arm he has a tattoo of his wife Alessia Serafini. On 6 March 2008, Zaccardo became an honorary citizen of

Pollina Pollina ( Sicilian: ''Puòddina'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,102 and an area of .All demograph ...

, in the province of Palermo.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goal

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

Honours

Club

VfL Wolfsburg * Bundesliga: 2008–09 Tre Fiori * Coppa Titano: 2018–19

International

Italy U-21 * UEFA European Under-21 Championship:

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 6 ...

Italy * FIFA World Cup:

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Orders

: CONI: 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 Sportspeople from the Province of Modena Italian footballers Italy international footballers Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Spezia Calcio players Bologna F.C. 1909 players Palermo F.C. players Parma Calcio 1913 players A.C. Milan players A.C. Carpi players L.R. Vicenza players Ħamrun Spartans F.C. players S.P. Tre Fiori players 2006 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players Italy youth international footballers Italy under-21 international footballers VfL Wolfsburg players Bundesliga players Italian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Germany Italian expatriate sportspeople in Germany 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 Footballers from Emilia-Romagna