Michele Canini (born 5 June 1985) is an Italian 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.
Club career
Cagliari & early career
After a loan spell in
Serie C1
Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions.
History
Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...
team
Sambenedettese, his first club
Atalanta
Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology.
There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...
sold him to
Cagliari Calcio
Cagliari Calcio, commonly referred to as Cagliari (), is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia, that plays in Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. The club currently plays home matches at the 16,416-sea ...
in co-ownership deal, for €570,000 (with
Simone Loria moved to Atalanta for an undisclosed fee).
[Atalanta B.C. S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2006 (in Italian)]
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> He earned a permanent move to Cagliari in June 2006, for an additional €1.5 million,[ and spent a seven-year spell playing 176 league matches for the team until the 2011–12 season.
]
Genoa
On 12 July 2012, Canini joined Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
on a four-year deal for €2.9 million.
Atalanta return
He returned to former club Atalanta on 9 January 2013 for €1 million in a co-ownership deal on a -year contract,[Atalanta B.C. S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2013 (in Italian)]
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> as part of Thomas Manfredini's deal for €1.25 million.[ In June 2013, Canini's co-ownership was renewed.
]
Chievo (loan)
On 27 January 2014, he was signed by Chievo in a temporary deal. In June 2014, Atalanta acquired Canini outright from Genoa.
FC Tokyo (loan)
On 27 July 2014, he was signed by J1 League
The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system.
Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...
side FC Tokyo in a temporary deal. Canini left Japan on 24 June 2015.
Ascoli (loan)
On 18 September 2015, Canini was signed by Ascoli.
Parma (loan)
On 12 August 2016, Canini was signed by Lega Pro newcomers 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, ...
on another temporary deal.
Cremonese (loan)
On 31 January 2017, Canini left for Cremonese on a temporary deal for seasons.
FeralpiSalò
On 20 July 2018 Canini was signed by FeralpiSalò on a 1-year contract.
Pergolettese
On 12 August 2019 he joined Pergolettese on a 1-year contract. He was released from his contract with Pergolettese for personal reasons on 12 December 2019.
International career
Canini played for Italy at youth level in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship
The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005.
Venues
Qualification
The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Worl ...
, and in the 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 ...
and 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championships.
References
External links
cagliaricalcio.net
FIGC
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canini, Michele
1985 births
Living people
Footballers from Brescia
Italian men's footballers
Atalanta BC players
Cagliari Calcio players
Genoa CFC players
US Sambenedettese players
AC ChievoVerona players
FC Tokyo players
Ascoli Calcio 1898 FC players
Parma Calcio 1913 players
US Cremonese players
Feralpisalò players
US Pergolettese 1932 players
Serie A players
Serie B players
Serie C players
J1 League players
Men's association football defenders
Italy men's under-21 international footballers
Italy men's youth international footballers
Italian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Japan
21st-century Italian sportsmen