Luca Toni
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| Luca Toni | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Luca Toni Varchetta Delle Cave | |
| Date of birth | 26 May 1977 | |
| Place of birth | Pavullo nel Frignano, Italy | |
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)[1] | |
| Playing position | Striker | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Bayern Munich | |
| Number | 9 | |
| Youth career | ||
| 1990–1994 | Modena | |
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1994–1996 1996–1997 1997–1998 1998–1999 1999–2000 2000–2001 2001–2003 2003–2005 2005–2007 2007– |
Modena Empoli Fiorenzuola Lodigiani Treviso Vicenza Brescia Palermo Fiorentina Bayern Munich |
32 (7) 3 (1) 26 (2) 31 (15) 35 (15) 31 (9) 44 (15) 80 (50) 67 (47) 56 (38) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2004– | Italy | 47 (16) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Luca Toni Varchetta Delle Cave, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI[2] (born 26 May 1977 in Pavullo nel Frignano, Modena) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich.
Contents |
[edit] Club career
[edit] Early career
Toni started his professional career at Modena. This was followed by a number of seasons spent around Serie B and Serie C1 with teams such as Empoli, Fiorenzuola and Lodigiani. After a Serie B season with Treviso in 1999, he moved to Vicenza Calcio, playing in Serie A for the first time. He then moved to Brescia Calcio, playing for two seasons alongside Roberto Baggio.
[edit] Palermo
In 2003 he agreed to join ambitious Serie B club Palermo, being one of the main factors behind the winning team campaign that brought the rosanero back to Serie A after over 30 years, thanks to a record 30 goals scored during the season. He consequently gained his first cap for the Italian national team in a friendly match 18 August 2004 lost 2–0 to Iceland in Reykjavík which also marked Marcello Lippi's debut at the helm of the azzurri.[3]
In the following season, Toni confirmed his prolificity by scoring an impressive 20 goals in Palermo's first Serie A campaign, leading the Sicilian club to a historical first qualification to the UEFA Cup.
[edit] Fiorentina
Toni's move to Florence was marked by controversy as the fans dubbed him a traitor for his departure, which cost his new club €10 million.
In his first season at Florence he scored an incredible 31 goals, making him one of the most prolific Serie A strikers of all time (the most goals ever scored in a season being 35). His goal scoring ability brought Fiorentina to heights never seen since the late 90's when Gabriel Batistuta was playing for them. They would clinch 4th spot and qualify for the Champions League.
However, this league position was revoked in the courts during the Calciopoli scandal. Italian courts recognized Fiorentina as culpable of shady dealings and convicted them to start the 06-07 season with a 19 point deduction. Toni expressed his desire to leave the team several times during the summer to the press, but was eventually convinced by club president Andrea Della Valle to stay and help the club overcome its unfavourable position.
The following season was plagued by injury, limiting Toni's goals to a less considerable, albeit impressive 16 goals.
[edit] Bayern Munich
On 30 May 2007, Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed that Toni had signed a four year contract with the club after agreeing to a deal worth €11 million with Fiorentina. On 7 June Toni was presented at a Bayern Munich press conference along with fellow new signing Franck Ribéry.[4] Toni was given the jersey number nine.
Toni scored four goals in a 19 December 6–0 home win against Aris Thessaloniki to help Bayern win their UEFA Cup group. On 17 February 2008, he scored his first Bundesliga hat-trick (a "perfect hat-trick", with a goal with each foot and a header) against Hannover 96. Bayern won the away fixture 3-0.
In a quarter-final second leg match in the UEFA Cup, Toni scored two dramatic goals on 115th and 120th minutes of extra time, in a game which finished 3-3 and lifted Bayern Munich past Getafe CF on away goals. Eventually Bayern lost to Zenit Saint Petersburg in the semi final. At the UEFA Cup 2007-08 he shared the first place with Pavel Pogrebnyak from Zenit Saint Petersburg at the top scorers list with 10 goals.
He scored two goals in the German Cup final against Borussia Dortmund in a 2-1 win, his second goal was the winner in extra time to give Bayern Munich another cup. Toni finished as top scorer in the 2007–08 Bundesliga season with 24 goals. Overall, Toni finished the season with 39 goals and 12 assists in 46 matches.
In the 2008-09 season, Toni has maintained his high-standard of form for Bayern. In the Bundesliga he has started 13 games as of January, in which he has scored 9 goals, a notable one being a late stoppage-time winner he scored against fellow 1899 Hoffenheim.[5]
Toni battled an achilles tendon injury for most of the 2nd half of the 2008-09 season, but still finished as Bayern's leading scorer in league play, tallying 14 goals in 25 Bundesliga appearances.
[edit] International career
Toni made his debut for the Italian national team as a substitute on 18 August 2004 in a friendly match against Iceland. He scored his first international goal in a World Cup Qualifying match against Norway on 4 September 2004.
On 17 November, Toni made his international start in a friendly match against Finland. On 11 June 2005, he captained the Italian squad for the first time in his career in a friendly match against Ecuador because of the absence of current captain Fabio Cannavaro and other experienced players. On 7 September, Toni scored his first international hat-trick in a 4–1 victory against Belarus in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match.
Toni was selected to Italy's 2006 World Cup squad, and scored two goals in the quarter-finals against Ukraine on 30 June, his only goals of the tournament. In the final against France, he hit the crossbar with a powerful header and later netted another header although the goal was disallowed as the attempt was ruled offside.
Toni scored two goals in Italy's 2–0 win over Scotland in a Euro 2008 qualifier. Due to the aforementioned foot surgery, he missed Italy's next two qualifiers against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania. He returned to the qualification games against Georgia, and assisted Fabio Grosso, who scored the final result (2–0). On 17 November 2007, Toni struck in the first minute of a 2–1 qualifier win over Scotland at Hampden Park, which secured Italy's place at the final stages. Four days later, he scored the second goal against the Faroe Islands, as Italy closed with a 3–1 win.
He was called up to the Italian Squad for Euro 2008, but his form in the tournament was disappointing, with his only goal against Romania being disallowed for offside. Toni's main contribution for the team was winning a penalty kick against France, which ended 2-0. Italy then bowed out of the tournament on penalty kicks to Spain in the quarter-final.
Despite the Euro 2008 disappointment, Toni has been called up by coach Marcello Lippi for Italy's first two 2010 World Cup qualifers. Toni also scored an equaliser against Greece in an international friendly, where the match ended 1-1.
[edit] Statistics
[edit] Club
| Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Italy | League | Coppa Italia | Europe | Total | ||||||
| 1994-95 | Modena | Serie C1 | 7 | 2 | ? | ? | - | - | ? | ? |
| 1995-96 | 25 | 5 | ? | ? | - | - | ? | ? | ||
| 1996-97 | Empoli | Serie B | 3 | 1 | ? | ? | - | - | ? | ? |
| 1997-98 | Fiorenzuola | Serie C1 | 25 | 2 | ? | ? | - | - | ? | ? |
| 1998-99 | Lodigiani | Serie C1 | 31 | 15 | ? | ? | - | - | ? | ? |
| 1999-00 | Treviso | Serie B | 35 | 15 | ? | ? | - | - | ? | ? |
| 2000-01 | Vicenza | Serie A | 31 | 9 | ? | ? | - | - | ? | ? |
| 2001-02 | Brescia | Serie A | 28 | 13 | ? | ? | - | - | ? | ? |
| 2002-03 | 16 | 2 | ? | ? | - | - | ? | ? | ||
| 2003-04 | Palermo | Serie B | 45 | 30 | ? | ? | - | - | ? | ? |
| 2004-05 | Serie A | 35 | 20 | ? | ? | - | - | ? | ? | |
| 2005-06 | Fiorentina | Serie A | 38 | 31 | 4 | 1 | – | 41 | 32 | |
| 2006-07 | 29 | 16 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
| Germany | League | DFB-Pokal | Europe | Total | ||||||
| 2007-08 | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | 31 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 46 | 39 |
| 2008-09 | 25 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 35 | 18 | ||
| Total | Italy | 348 | 161 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Germany | 56 | 38 | 6 | 6 | 19 | 13 | 81 | 57 | ||
| Career Total | 404 | 199 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
[edit] Honours
[edit] Palermo
[edit] Bayern Munich
- Bundesliga: 2007-08
- DFB-Pokal: 2008
- DFB-Ligapokal: 2007
[edit] National team
[edit] Individual
- Serie B Top Scorer: 2003-2004
- European Golden Shoe: 2005-06
- Serie A Top Scorer: 2006
- 2006 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
- Bundesliga Top Scorer: 2008
- UEFA Cup Top Scorer: 2008
[edit] References
- ^ "Bayern Munich FC Profile". Bayern Munich Fc. 2009-01-24. http://www.fcbayern.t-home.de/en/teams/profis/04552.php. Retrieved on 2009-01-24.
- ^ "Italy president hails World Cup winners". AscotSportal.com. 8 January 2007. http://www.ascotsportal.com/news/newsdtl.aspx?PID=89262e2c-3beb-4080-bd5e-949f498ecbcc&CID=4ca0fc99-f8bf-4260-b379-ee5bca3085eb&NID=e47baa4d-fe98-4feb-a0ff-a007b8e62e87. Retrieved on 23 January 2008.
- ^ "Islanda - Italia: 2 - 0" (in Italian). Italia1910.com. 18 August 2004. http://www.italia1910.com/partita.asp?d=8/18/2004. Retrieved on 30 June 2007.
- ^ "FCB unveil star signings Ribéry and Toni". fcbayern.de. 7 June 2007. http://www.fcbayern.t-home.de/en/news/news/2007/12082.php?fcb_sid=98ae92be703fa715524523742fb57cc1. Retrieved on 23 January 2008.
- ^ http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11890_4594254,00.html Sky Sports - "Toni seals last-gasp win"
[edit] External links
- Official Website (Italian)
- National Team statistics at FIGC official site (Italian)
- FootballDatabase.com provides Toni's profile and stats
- Toni al Bayern: "L'ho fatto per Firenze", RealSoccer.it, 30 May 2007 (Italian)
- Bomber italiani.... addio... , Realsoccer.it, 18 July 2007 (Italian)
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