Riccardo Montolivo Young Guns Italian Footballer Plays

Riccardo Montolivo Young Guns Italian Footballer Plays

Riccardo Montolivo (born 18 January 1985 in Caravaggio, Province of Bergamo) is an Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club Fiorentina and the Italian national team. He was appointed club captain during the 2009–10 season despite his relatively young age. Montolivo is a prototypical "regista" (deep-lying playmaker), similar to Andrea Pirlo. Though he prefers to play in the middle, he can play anywhere including defensive midfield but is most comfortable in a more attacking role.

On 10 October 2006, Montolivo scored the winning goal when Italy beat Spain 2–1 and qualified for 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. On 17 October 2007, Montolivo debuted for the Azzurri in a 2–0 friendly win against South Africa. He was also called up for Italy's provisional squad before the Euro 2008 tournament. However Coach Roberto Donadoni would eventually omit him from the final list of 23.

Montolivo was summoned by Pierluigi Casiraghi to participate in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, scoring one goal in the tournament. After playing a bit-part role at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, he started all 3 games at the 2010 FIFA World Cup partnering Daniele De Rossi as a replacement for the injured Andrea Pirlo.

Personal information
Date of birth 18 January 1985 (1985-01-18) (age 25)
Place of birth Caravaggio, Italy
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Fiorentina
Number 18
Youth career Atalanta
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2003–2005 Atalanta 73 (7)
2005– Fiorentina 160 (12)
National team‡
2004–2007 Italy U-21 20 (3)
2007– Italy 16 (0)
2008 Olympic Italy 5 (1)

Luca Antonini Young Guns Footballer Defender Plays A.C. Milan

Luca Antonini Young Guns Footballer Defender Plays A.C. Milan

Luca Antonini (born 4 August 1982) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a fullback for Milan, in Serie A. Antonini started his career at A.C. Milan, originally as a midfielder, playing for 11 years in their youth teams. At the start of the 2001–02 season, he was loaned out to Prato, in Serie C2, where he made his professional debut, collecting 26 appearances and scoring 3 goals. The following year, he collected 17 appearances and scored one goal in his first Serie B season, during a loan spell at Ancona. The team got promoted to Serie A and Antonini's contribution was significant, as he became a regular in the second half of the season.

Antonini made up a total of 5 caps with Italy U-17 and U-18, between 1999 and 2001. However he did not receive any further call-up at higher levels of youth international football. Nine years later, Antonini got his first call-up for the senior team. Newly-appointed coach Cesare Prandelli named him in the squad for a friendly against Côte d'Ivoire, to be played on 10 August 2010. Antonini is a versatile footballer who has been employed either as a winger or as a fullback, playing both on the left or the right side.

Personal information
Full name Luca Antonini
Date of birth 4 August 1982 (1982-08-04) (age 28)
Place of birth Milan, Italy
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Full back
Club information
Current club Milan
Number 77
Youth career
1990–2001 Milan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2000–2003 Milan 0 (0)
2001–2002 → Prato (loan) 26 (3)
2002–2003 → Ancona (loan) 17 (1)
2003–2007 Sampdoria 3 (0)
2004–2005 → Modena (loan) 15 (1)
2005 → Pescara (loan) 22 (3)
2005–2006 → Arezzo (loan) 39 (3)
2006–2007 → Siena (loan) 32 (3)
2007–2008 Empoli 32 (0)
2008– Milan 33 (1)
Total 219 (15)
National team‡
1999 Italy U-17 1 (0)
2000–2001 Italy U-18 4 (0)