Vincenzo Iaquinta

Football player infobox
playername= Vincenzo Iaquinta
fullname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1979|11|21
cityofbirth = Cutro
countryofbirth = Italy
currentclub = Juventus
height = height|m=1.91
clubnumber = 9
position = Striker
years = 1996–1997 1998 1998–2000 2000–2007 2007–
clubs = Reggiolo Padova Castel di Sangro Udinese Juventus
caps(goals) = 30 (8) 13 (3) 52 (8) 176 (58) 28 (8)
nationalyears = 2001–2002 2005–
nationalteam = Italy U-21 Italy
nationalcaps(goals) = 10 (1) 24 (1)
pcupdate = September 30 2008
ntupdate = September 10 2008

Vincenzo Iaquinta, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI [ [http://www.fifa.com/en/organisation/president/index/0,4095,129202,00.html?articleid=129202 FIFA.com] ] [ [http://www.ascotsportal.com/news/newsdtl.aspx?PID=89262e2c-3beb-4080-bd5e-949f498ecbcc&CID=4ca0fc99-f8bf-4260-b379-ee5bca3085eb&NID=e47baa4d-fe98-4feb-a0ff-a007b8e62e87 AscotSportal.com] ] , (born November 21, 1979 in Cutro, Crotone) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. He is a tall, strong striker who possesses a good and powerful shot and is great in the air. He can also play on the wing.

Early Career

Like many Calabrians in the 1980s, his parents immigrated to Emilia-Romagna, in Northern Italy, because of better job opportunities. Prior to joining Udinese in 2000, Iaquinta played with his brother in the lower divisions for "Reggiolo" (1996-97), Padova (1998), and Castel di Sangro (1998-2000).

Udinese

In 2005, for the first time he was called up for the Italian National Team. In his, and Udinese's first ever Champions League game, he scored 3 goals, which was quite a start to his European season. Iaquinta also clashed with Udinese management over his salary and him moving to another club. However, he remained in Udinese for 2006-2007 season.

Juventus

Owner of Udinese Calcio Giampaolo Pozzo recently revealed that FC Barcelona had sought the player in January 2006, but Juventus F.C. signed Iaquinta on a five-year contract in the summer of 2007 [ [http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/feb10e.html channel4.com - Football Italia ] ] for a fee reported to be €11.3 million.

During the 2007-2008 season he didn't appear for Juventus as much as he nor the fans would have liked, playing second fiddle to that of experienced strikers Del Piero and Trezeguet. It appears as if he may be surplus to requirements next season due to the recent signing of Brazilian striker Amauri and the potential of the uprising star Raffaele Palladino. This has lead to rumours that Juventus may attempt to cash in on him this summer with suitors such Newcastle United, whom are stated to be looking for an established striker, and even a return to Udinese being rumoured. The Juventus fans have also made it known that they would like to keep Iaquinta on their team at all costs. It is well established that Iaquinta would be hesitant to leave Juventus after just one season but the ability to play first team football may prove to be too alluring to resist after being unable to be part of the Italian Euro 2008 squad due to a lack of match fitness from an injury.During the 2008-09 pre-season, Iaquinta has been one of the most in form players, impressing in most all of the matches he took part in. [cite news|url=http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=537121.html|title=Juventus sign Iaquinta|date=2007-06-19|accessdate=2007-07-14|publisher=FIFA.com]

International Career

He was a member of the Italian squad that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He scored Italy's second goal in their opening match against Ghana. He played in 5 out of 7 of Italy's matches including the semi-final and final. Iaquinta missed out on Euro 2008, due to an injury suffered over a month before.

Personal

He and his wife Arianna have two children.

References

External links

*FIFA player|234927
* [http://www.footballdatabase.com/site/players/index.php?dumpPlayer=6483 FootballDatabase.com provides Iaquinta's profile and stats]