Stefani Miglioranzi

Football player infobox
playername = Stefani Miglioranzi


fullname = Stefani Miglioranzi
nickname =
height = height|ft=6|in=1
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1977|9|20
cityofbirth = Poços de Caldas
countryofbirth = Brazil
currentclub = Columbus Crew
clubnumber = 15
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1999-02
2002-06
2006
2007-
clubs = Portsmouth
Swindon Town
Los Angeles Galaxy
Columbus Crew
caps(goals) = 035 (2)
123 (8)
003 (0)
035 (3)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = 30 August, 2008
ntupdate = 20:50, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

Stefani Miglioranzi (born September 20 1977 in Brazil) is a football (soccer) midfielder who currently plays for the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer.

Born in Brazil, his family moved to the USA when he was 12. Miglioranzi attended St. John's University in New York City on and athletic scholarship. He was drafted by the Chicago Fire in the 1999 MLS College Draft, but elected to go to England, where he played for Portsmouth and Swindon Town. He came back to the US in September 2006, signing with the Galaxy.

College

Miglioranzi was part of the team at St. John's University that won the 1996 NCAA Championship and also was a member of the 1998 All-American team.He was drafted by the Chicago Fire in 1999, but had already been offered a contract to play in the English Leagues.

Portsmouth

He went to England in 1998 to take part in trials with Everton and Portsmouth, where manager Alan Ball offered a 3 year contract. Everton and Bolton Wanderers were also heavily interested at the time.

windon Town

2002-2003

Miglioranzi signed for Swindon in July 2002, after a successful trial spell prompted Andy King to offer him a deal. [cite news |title=Swindon land Miglioranzi |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/swindon_town/2164512.stm |publisher=BBC Sport |date=2002-07-31 |accessdate=2007-09-01] Due to worries over a serious knee injury he picked up whilst at Portsmouth, his original contract was on a month-to-month basis. He made his debut for the club on the opening day of the 2002/03 season, in a 3-1 win over Barnsley.

Despite the fears for his fitness, Miglioranzi missed just five league games in his first season at the club, and he scored four goals in total - all of which were from the edge of the Penalty area. During this period, there were fears he would be poached, as he remained on a monthly contract - these fears were allayed in May 2003, when, after a good season, he agreed a year's deal, with a second year triggered if a certain number of appearances were reached.

2003-2004

A number of nagging injuries during 2003/04 meant that the extension wasn't automatically triggered. Miglioranzi had another good season, including a game in the Carling Cup match at Leeds United (where he missed one of the penalties in the shootout), and only struggled for form when he was rushed back to the first team after groin and ankle injuries kept him out of the side during January and March. Injury also meant that he missed the final game of the season, and the first leg of the play-off semi-final against Brighton and Hove Albion - nevertheless, he was offered a new two year contract in May 2004, which he signed.

2004-2005

Miglioranzi started the first four games of the 2004/05 season, but went off injured in the first half at Bristol City, and he missed two league games. Worse was to follow at the end of September however, when he ruptured an abductor muscle in a home match with Bradford - an injury that kept him out of the first team for nearly four months - his rehabilitation not helped by a lack of reserve team fixtures during his comeback. Eventually, he played seventy minutes of a Wiltshire Premier Shield semi-final tie against Supermarine in mid-December, giving a performance that he himself described as "appalling". It was another month before he appeared in the first team, coming on as a late substitute in a home game with Blackpool in mid-January, before being recalled to the starting line-up the following week. In truth, it was probably a bit too soon - Miglioranzi looked to lack any sort of match fitness, and he spent most of February back on the substitutes bench. He returned to the starting eleven in mid-March at table-topping Luton Town, and missed just two more matches toward the end of the season with a cyst on the back of his knee, before returning in an unfamiliar central defensive role for the final game of the campaign.

2005-2006

Having declared that the past season had been disappointing for him, both on the pitch and in terms of injuries, Miglioranzi saw a consultant and returned to pre-season training early in a bid to put his injury woes behind him. No sooner as he declared that he was feeling the best he had for a long time during the build-up, a sprained ankle picked up in a friendly at Aylesbury United forced him to miss the opening four matches of the season - and his campaign started as a second half substitute in a 4-2 victory over Yeovil Town at the end of August. Just a month later though, Miglioranzi's injury curse struck again, as he hobbled off part way through a home game with Bradford - the medial ligament strain he sustained keeping him out of action for over a month.

He returned to league action with a great performance in a local derby with Bristol City that the Town won 2-1 - but a dead leg he picked up in that game kept him out of the following match - he returned to action the following week and remained in the side for the rest of the year, helping the Town to an undefeated December. Miglioranzi though failed to produce the form of his first two seasons at the club, and in every match in which he featured for the rest of the season, he was either substitute, or substituted - Gareth Whalley taking over his position in mid-March. A first half substitute appearance versus MK Dons in mid-April proved to be Miglioranzi's last in a Town shirt - a knee injury that lead to surgery preventing him from featuring in any of the Town's last four matches - and come the season's end, it was a mutual decision that he would seek a fresh challenge elsewhere.

Several English clubs were rumoured to be interested in Miglioranzi after the announcement that he would leave Swindon - clubs included the Town's bitter rival Oxford United. However, Miglioranzi rejected the chance to talk to the Non-League outfit.Cite web|url=http://www.thisisstfc.co.uk/news_headlines_Story.asp?NewsID=5521|accessdate=2006-05-09|publisher=Swindon Advertiser|title=Stef’s 'no' to U's]

2006-present

In 2006, Miglioranzi signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer. He was traded to the Columbus Crew in 2007.

Honours

flagicon|USA St. John's University
* NCAA Championship: 1996flagicon|USA Columbus Crew
*Trillium Cup: 2008

ee also

* List of current MLS players

References

External links

* [http://columbus.crew.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t102&player=miglioranzi_s&playerId=mig380002&statType=current Stefani Miglioranzi's profile at Columbus Crew's official site] en
*soccerbase|16467|Stefani Miglioranzi