Cristiano Lucarelli

Cristiano Lucarelli (born 4 October 1975) is an Italian football manager and a former player who played as a forward.

Lucarelli was born in Livorno, Italy.

A journeyman striker, he had stints with eight different teams (including a brief run in Spain with Valencia) before signing with hometown Livorno in 2003.

While playing for Torino the previous season, he attended a match that saw Livorno emerge victorious and earn promotion to Serie B, and he was among a throng of fans who rushed the pitch afterwards in celebration.

He made an immediate impact in Livorno's return to Serie A in the 2003–04 season, scoring 29 goals in 38 matches and instantly winning a place in the hearts of Amaranto fans.

He won the Golden Boot Award as Serie A's top goalscorer the following season, with 24 in 35 matches as Livorno finished in eighth place.

Lucarelli was capped six times for the Italy senior squad between 2005 and 2007, scoring 3 goals; he was also a member of the team that took part in the 1996 Summer Olympics.

His aforementioned debut was during a 2005 friendly tournament in the United States and Canada, where he scored his first international goal in a 1–1 draw against Serbia and Montenegro at the Rogers Centre in Toronto on 8 June.

A rarity in the football world in terms of club loyalty, he rejected several better-paying offers from other Italian and European clubs (among them a €3 million offer from Zenit Saint Petersburg in July 2006) to remain with Livorno.

He was once quoted as saying, "Some football players pay a billion for a Ferrari or a yacht; with that money, I bought myself Livorno’s shirt. That's all."

He was left off the Italy roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but was recalled by new coach Roberto Donadoni – who had briefly coached Lucarelli at Livorno earlier in the year – for a friendly against Croatia on 16 August 2006.

He scored his 100th Serie A goal as part of a hat-trick in a 4–1 defeat of Catania on 1 April 2007.

Lucarelli's seemingly perfect relationship with the team soured after a conflict with club president Aldo Spinelli arose over the firing of coach Daniele Arrigoni in March 2007, during which he openly stated his desire to leave.

It became permanently damaged a month later when Lucarelli received a frosty reception from supporters after a sluggish 1–1 home draw with Reggina, with many fans going as far as to accuse Livorno of match-fixing.

Lucarelli, hurt by the fans' criticism, reiterated his plans to leave Livorno at the end of the season.

In May, he was quick to snuff out rumours of a move to Serie A rivals Fiorentina and continued to remain ambiguous about his future with Livorno, claiming that he would decide by 6 June; five days later, Lucarelli announced that he would be staying home for next season due to a lack of offers from other teams, despite fresh rumours about Palermo, Parma and Sampdoria being interested in his services.

However, on 13 July, Lucarelli agreed to join Shakhtar Donetsk for £6 million, signing a three-year contract worth £2.8 million a season, thus becoming the first Italian to play in Ukraine.

Lucarelli scored his first European goal for Shakhtar in their 3–1 third qualifying round return game of the 2007–08 Champions League against Red Bull Salzburg on 29 August 2007.

His time at Parma did not prove to be particularly successful, as he scored only four goals in 16 matches in the remaining half of the 2007–08 season, with his side being ultimately relegated to Serie B after a long struggle with results.

He came on as a substitute for Filippo Inzaghi in the 58th minute of Italy's narrow 2–1 victory over the Faroe Islands on 2 June 2007, but did not play in a 2–0 defeat of Lithuania on 6 June.

Lucarelli also substituted for Inzaghi in the 65th minute of a Euro 2008 qualifying match against France on 8 September 2007.

He scored his first brace in Italy's 2–0 friendly win over South Africa on 17 October.

On 15 January 2008, Lucarelli was sold to Parma for ₤4 million, and he signed a three-and-a-half year, ₤1.2 million contract.

His younger brother, Alessandro, joined him at Parma for the 2008–09 season.

He also opted to stay with Parma for the 2008–09 season, aiming to contribute to bringing the team back into the top flight.

During the first part of the season, he initially served as the club's captain and played 19 games, scoring a total of eight goals; however, on 5 February, ahead of the team's away fixture against Ancona, he was ultimately left out of the first team after leaving a training session early.

He was subsequently featured intermittently throughout the second half of the season.

In total, he only made 29 appearances for the club throughout the season (out of a possible 42), scoring 12 goals.

Due to a rash of injuries among the Azzurri, Lucarelli was summoned for a pair of June Euro 2008 qualifiers against Lithuania and the Faroe Islands.

In July 2009, Lucarelli completed a much-publicized comeback at Livorno on a loan move from Parma; he had already played for Livorno from 2003 to 2007.

In June 2010, after Livorno's relegation to Serie B and the end of his loan, he returned to Parma, who continued in Serie A.

On 21 August 2010, it was announced that he had been loaned to Napoli.

After two seasons with the club, he announced his retirement after the end of the 2011–12 season.

Lucarelli became a youth coach at Parma for the 2012–13 season.

Charge of the club's second most senior youth side (the Allievi Nazionale), composed of players aged between 15 and 17 years.

He left Parma in June 2013 to accept an offer to become the new head coach of ambitious Lega Pro Prima Divisione club Perugia, only to be sacked before the start of the season due to disagreements with the board.

He then returned into management in October 2013, to become the new head coach of Viareggio, still in Lega Pro Prima Divisione.

He then left the club in June 2014 to accept an offer from newly promoted Lega Pro club Pistoiese.

In October 2016, he was named the new head coach of relegation-struggling Lega Pro club Messina.

After guiding the club to safety during a period of serious financial struggles followed by a club takeover, Lucarelli and Messina mutually parted company by the end of the season.