Christian Panucci

Christian Panucci (born 12 April 1973 in Savona) is an Italian footballer who is currently plays for Parma F.C. He was a member of the Italian national team. Panucci is a defender who usually plays on the right-hand side, but he can also play on the left or in the centre of defence.

Career

Club career

Christian Panucci started playing with Genoa C.F.C. in 1990 and then moved to A.C. Milan in July 1993. Panucci later moved to Real Madrid (becoming the first Italian to play for the Spanish club), Internazionale Milano, Chelsea (on loan,^[1] scoring once in the UEFA Cup against St Gallen),^[2] and AS Monaco^[3] before moving to A.S. Roma in 2001. He won the Champions League with both Milan and Madrid. In those two stops, as well as Roma, he was coached by Fabio Capello.

After a great deal of travelling throughout his career, Panucci finally settled at Roma. He joined the Roman club in the 2001-02 campaign, the year after the Giallorossi won the national title. He went on to become a key player and one of the leaders of the club.

Panucci, a reliable leader both on and off the field, has often taken the responsibility to speak for the team in moments of difficulty, as seen after Roma's shock elimination from the UEFA Champions League in 2007. In January 2009, Panucci was dropped from Roma's first team squad after refusing to sit on the bench for a league match against S.S.C. Napoli, and was later also excluded from the UEFA Champions League roster. He then announced his intention to leave Roma, but no serious bidder was found in the January transfer window and he ultimately stayed, returning to the first team on 28 February after he apologised to his fellow players and the club management.^[4] He was sent off in the second Rome derby of the 2008-09 season after a heated on-pitch clash with Lazio player Stephan Lichtsteiner following his hard challenge on the Swiss defender. His contract with Roma ended on 30 June 2009, which he had signed in October 2005.

He played a total of 311 matches scoring 29 goals for AS Roma, becoming the defender who scored most goals in Roma's history.

On 30 July 2009 Parma F.C. signed the former AS Roma defender on a one year deal^[5].

On 13 December 2009, he scored his first goal for Parma against Bologna.

International career

Panucci made his debut in September 1994 against Slovenia in a UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying match. However, he missed out on the final squad following a dispute with Italian national coach Arrigo Sacchi and was not a regular in the Italian national team until the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He has 48 caps and two goals as of the end of 2004. He has represented his country at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2004.

In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Panucci was widely blamed^[6] for failing to clear a pass that led to the equalizing goal for South Korea by Seol Ki-Hyun in the dying minutes of the round of 16 match.

Panucci had not played for Italy for over three years after Euro 2004 in Portugal, having been ignored by Marcello Lippi, with whom he had fallen out with in his days at Inter, for the period of the 2006 World Cup. However, the 34 year-old was given a second chance by coach Roberto Donadoni, who called him up for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers against Georgia, Scotland, and the Faroe Islands.

Panucci then expressed his delight at earning his 50th Italy cap in the stadium where he began his career for the Azzurri in the 2-0 win over Georgia in their Euro 2008 qualifying tie in Genoa. Panucci came through the port club's youth ranks before joining A.C. Milan in 1993.

"It was really emotional for me to play in an arena where I grew up. It may have seemed a little scripted but I'll never forget the standing ovation I received."

Panucci currently has 55 caps for the Azzurri, with four goals. He managed to score his first international goal for Italy since April 2002, when he headed a crucial injury-time winning goal against Scotland on 17 November 2007 in their Euro 2008 qualifying Group B match. Italy then managed to clinch their place at the European Championship finals.

On 13 June 2008, Panucci scored Italy's first goal against Romania at the Euro 2008^[7] and became the oldest player to score in outfield play in the competition.

Personal life

Panucci owns a restaurant in the Dominican Republic called "Café Milano".

Honours

Milan

• Serie A:
  • 1993-94, 1995-96
• Supercoppa Italiana
  • 1993, 1994
• UEFA Champions League
  • 1993-94
• UEFA Super Cup
  • 1994

Real Madrid

• UEFA Champions League
  • 1997-1998
• Intercontinental Cup
  • 1998

Roma

• Coppa Italia
  • 2006-07, 2007-08
• Supercoppa Italiana
  • 2007

Career statistics

^[8]

International goals

Christian Panucci: International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	8 October 1994	Tallinn, Estonia	Estonia	2-0	Win	UEFA Euro 1996 Qual.
2.	17 April 2002	Milan, Italy	Uruguay	1-1	Draw	Friendly
3.	17 November 2007	Glasgow, Scotland	Scotland	1-2	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
4.	13 June 2008	Zurich, Switzerland	Romania	1-1	Draw	UEFA Euro 2008

References

External links

• archivio.inter.it
• asromacalcio.it
• uefa.com
• Christian Panucci career stats at Soccerbase

Italy squad v • d • e Italy squad – 1996 Summer Olympics 1 Pagliuca • 2 Panucci • 3 Nesta • 4 Cannavaro • 5 Galante • 6 Fresi • 7 Ametrano • 8 Crippa • 9 Branca • 10 Brambilla • 11 Delvecchio • 12 Buffon • 13 Pistone • 14 Tommasi • 15 Pecchia • 16 Morfeo • 17 Lucarelli • 18 Bernardini • 19 Sartor • Coach: Maldini v • d • e Italy squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Buffon • 2 Panucci • 3 Maldini • 4 Coco • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Zanetti • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Inzaghi • 10 Totti • 11 Doni • 12 Abbiati • 13 Nesta • 14 Di Biagio • 15 Iuliano • 16 Di Livio • 17 Tommasi • 18 Delvecchio • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Montella • 21 Vieri • 22 Toldo • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Trapattoni v • d • e Italy squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Buffon • 2 Panucci • 3 Oddo • 4 Zanetti • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Ferrari • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Vieri • 10 Totti • 11 Corradi • 12 Toldo • 13 Nesta • 14 Fiore • 15 Favalli • 16 Camoranesi • 17 Di Vaio • 18 Cassano • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Perrotta • 21 Pirlo • 22 Peruzzi • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Trapattoni v • d • e Italy squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Buffon • 2 Panucci • 3 Grosso • 4 Chiellini • 5 Gamberini • 6 Barzagli • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Toni • 10 De Rossi • 11 Di Natale • 12 Borriello • 13 Ambrosini • 14 Amelia • 15 Quagliarella • 16 Camoranesi • 17 De Sanctis • 18 Cassano • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Perrotta • 21 Pirlo • 22 Aquilani • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Donadoni