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Cristiano Lucarelli
Cristiano Lucarelli (Italian pronunciation: [kriˈstjaːno lukaˈrɛlli]; 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.
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 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. The news resulted in a flood of negative responses from fans on his official website. He replied to the furore at a press conference, "I am going, but I didn't hold a gun to anyone's head... Shakhtar signed me for a figure that was below the buy-out clause of my contract. That means the club made its considerations and thought that £6m was good for a player going on 32."[citation needed]
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Cristiano Lucarelli
Cristiano Lucarelli (Italian pronunciation: [kriˈstjaːno lukaˈrɛlli]; 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.
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 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. The news resulted in a flood of negative responses from fans on his official website. He replied to the furore at a press conference, "I am going, but I didn't hold a gun to anyone's head... Shakhtar signed me for a figure that was below the buy-out clause of my contract. That means the club made its considerations and thought that £6m was good for a player going on 32."[citation needed]