Luca_Cigarini

Luca Cigarini

Luca Cigarini

Italian footballer (born 1986)

Luca Cigarini (Italian pronunciation: [ˈluːka tʃiɡaˈriːni]; born 20 June 1986) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie B club Reggiana.

Quick Facts Personal information, Date of birth ...

Club career

Parma

Cigarini was one of the notable youth products in the 2005 Parma squad, alongside Daniele Dessena.[citation needed]

Atalanta

After Parma was relegated to Serie B in June 2008, Cigarini was sold to Atalanta in join-ownership bid, for €4.5 million on 11 July.[1][2]

Napoli

On 3 July 2009, Cigarini signed for Napoli from Atalanta on a five-year deal for €10.5 million.[3] Atalanta paid Parma €3.5 million plus half the registration rights of Alessio Manzoni to sign Cigarini outright.[4]

On 2 August 2010, Cigarini joined Sevilla FC on a loan deal for the 2010–11 season who paid €292,500 for the loan and,[5] upon conclusion of the season, had the option to purchase the midfielder for €7 million.[citation needed]

Return to Atalanta

Cigarini returned to Atalanta on loan in summer 2011 for free.[6] On 4 July 2012, the loan was renewed for €1.25 million loan fee.[7][8]

On 5 July 2013, after spending two seasons on loan with Atalanta, a co-ownership deal was agreed to with Napoli for €2.75 million.[7] Cigarini continued to play for Atalanta for the upcoming 2013–14 Serie A season.[9] Cigarini scored his first goal of the season against Lazio on 20 October. In June 2014 Atalanta acquired Cigarini outright for €2.35 million.[7][10] Atalanta paid €5.75 million transfer fee in total to re-acquire Cigarini.[citation needed]

Sampdoria

After spending five years with Atalanta, Cigarini made the switch from Bergamo to Genoa, signing a permanent deal with Sampdoria.[11]

Cagliari

In 2017, Cigarini moved to Serie A rivals Cagliari in an exchange deal with Nicola Murru.[12]

Crotone

On 8 September 2020, Cigarini signed with Crotone a 2-years contract.[13]

Reggiana

On 23 August 2021, he signed a two-year contract with Reggiana in Serie C, returning to the third tier for the first time since his professional debut season with Sambenedettese.[14]

International career

On 7 September 2007, Cigarini scored his first ever goal (which was also the winning goal) with the Italy U-21 squad in a 2–1 victory over the Faroe Islands in a UEFA U-21 Qualifying match. He was also part of Pierluigi Casiraghi's Olympic team that won the 2008 Toulon Tournament. He also played for Italy in the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

Cigarini received his first call-up to the senior team on 30 August 2010. New coach Cesare Prandelli named him in the squad for the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers as an injury replacement for Claudio Marchisio.[15]

Style of play

Luca Cigarini usually plays as a deep-lying playmaker in midfield, although he is also capable of playing as a central midfielder. He is mostly known for his ability to orchestrate his team's attacking moves, courtesy of his technical qualities and precise long passing. As a youngster, he was nicknamed il Professore (The Professor) by Cesare Prandelli, his Parma youth manager at the time, due to his playmaking abilities and intelligent reading of the game. The Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport has also stated that Cigarini has a similar vision of the game to that of fellow Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo.[16][17][18][19]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 30 April 2022[20][21][22]
More information Club, Season ...

Honours

Italy U21

References

  1. [1]
    "Cigarini all'Atalanta" (in Italian). Atalanta BC. 11 July 2008. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2008.
  2. [2]
    Parma FC SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2009 (in Italian), PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA
  3. [3]
    SSC Napoli FC SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2010 (in Italian), PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA
  4. [4]
    Parma FC SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2010 (in Italian), PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA
  5. [5]
    SSC Napoli FC SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2011 (in Italian), PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA
  6. [6]
    SSC Napoli FC SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2012 (in Italian), PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA
  7. [7]
    SSC Napoli FC SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2013 (in Italian), PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA
  8. [8]
    "Cigarini ancora in nerazzurro" (in Italian). Atalanta BC. 4 July 2013. Archived from the original on 6 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  9. [9]
    "Atalanta Invest in Cigarini". Football Italia. 6 July 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  10. [10]
    "Mercato Nerazzurro, le operazioni chiuse venerdì 20 giugno" (in Italian). Atlanta BC. 20 June 2014. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  11. [11]
    "Samp strengthen further, Cigarini arrives from Atalanta – U.C. Sampdoria". 20 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  12. [12]
    "Official: Cigarini joins Cagliari". Football Italia. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  13. [13]
    "UFFICIALE: Crotone, per il centrocampo ecco Cigarini. Ha firmato fino al 2022".
  14. [14]
    "GIGA IS BACK IN TOWN" (in Italian). Reggiana. 23 August 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  15. [15]
    "Cigarini replaces Marchisio in Italy squad". Yahoo! News via Reuters. 30 August 2010.
  16. [16]
    Andrea Schianchi (22 January 2012). "A Pirlo basta un lampo per accecare l'Atalanta" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  17. [17]
    Scheda di Luca Cigarini, amonapoli.it
  18. [18]
    Cigarini, il nuovo Pirlo: «Napoli nel mio destino»[permanent dead link], corrieredellosport.it
  19. [19]
    Cigarini: «Stregato dal Napoli e da Donadoni»[permanent dead link] Corrieredellosport.it
  20. [20]
    "L. Cigarini". Soccerway. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  21. [21]
    "Luca Cigarini » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  22. [22]
    "Luca Cigarini Statistics". ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
  23. [23]
    http://www.uefa.com/newsfiles/19078.pdf [bare URL PDF]
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