Chiellini Giorgio
Giorgio Chiellini is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team. A physically strong, aggressive, and versatile defender, although he is usually deployed as a centre-back, he is also capable of playing as a left-back, both in a three or four-man defence. At club level, Chiellini began his career with Livorno in 2000, also later playing for Roma and Fiorentina, before moving to Juventus in 2005. With Juventus, he has won six consecutive Serie A titles from 2012 to 2017, as well as three consecutive Coppa Italia titles, and three Supercoppa Italiana titles. He made his international debut for Italy in 2004, and has since earned over 90 caps, making him currently Italy’s ninth-highest appearance holder. He was selected in the nation’s squads for the 2004 Olympics, winning a bronze medal, as well as for three UEFA European Championships, two FIFA World Cups and two FIFA Confederations Cups, helping the Azzurri to reach the final of UEFA Euro 2012 and a third-place finish at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. Chiellini is considered to be one of the footballing world’s top defenders: in 2012, The Guardian named him the 50th Best Player in the World, and in 2013 he was ranked as the seventh-best footballer playing in Europe by Bloomberg.
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Chiellini made his debut for the Italian national team on 17 November 2004 against Finland under Marcello Lippi, at the age of 20, and has since become a regular squad member. He previously represented Italy at all youth levels, and he won the European Under-19 Championship with Italy in 2003, and was also a member of the Italy team that won the bronze medal at the football tournament of the 2004 Summer Olympics. He participated in the 2006 and 2007 U-21 Championships as Italy’s captain, scoring 2 goals over both tournaments, although Italy were eliminated in the group stage on both occasions. He was named in the ‘UEFA Team of the tournament’ of the 2007 U-21 Championships held in the Netherlands, where Italy also obtained qualification for the 2008 Summer Olympics. In total, he made 26 appearances for the Under-21 side, scoring 6 goals. He scored his first goal for Italy on 21 November 2007, against the Faroe Islands, in Modena, in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match.
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Chiellini was signed by Juventus in the summer 2004 for €6.5 million from Livorno, but was immediately sold in a co-ownership deal to Fiorentina for €3.5 million, and played on the Florentine team during the 2004–05 Serie A season. The complex deal actually meant Juventus bought Roma’s half for €3 million and Fiorentina bought Livorno’s half for €3.5 million. In his loan season with the club, Chiellini was a regular in the club’s starting XI, making 42 official appearances, also scoring three goals. After an excellent first season in Serie A, Chiellini was recalled for the 2005–06 season and Juventus paid €4.3 million for the rest of his contract. He became a regular under Fabio Capello and made 23 appearances in his first season with the club, also helping the Old Lady to their 29th scudetto (which was later assigned to Inter following the 2006 “Calciopoli” scandal). While in the Serie B, he started playing at centre back, partnering Nicola Legrottaglie, Jean-Alain Boumsong and Robert Kovač at various stages of the season. Juventus won the 2006–07 Serie B title, gaining Serie A promotion with the best goal difference, conceding only 30 goals and scoring over 80 in 42 matches. He scored a double in a 5–1 thrashing at Arezzo in May, a result that mathematically sealed promotion for Juventus.
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Chiellini was called up to Italy’s squad for UEFA Euro 2008 under manager Roberto Donadoni, and injured captain Fabio Cannavaro in a collision during a training session, that resulted in Cannavaro missing out on the tournament. He was sidelined in the opening game against the Netherlands, which Italy went on to lose 3–0. He subsequently received the nod to partner Christian Panucci at centre-back from the second game onwards, cementing his place in the Azzurri defence; in the second group match of the tournament, he assisted Panucci’s equaliser in a 1–1 draw against Romania. While he also featured in the final group game, keeping a clean-sheet in a 2–0 win against France, his most impressive display was arguably against Spain in the quarter-finals, where he famously neutralised the threat of the Spanish attacking duo of David Villa and Fernando Torres. The game ended 0–0, with Italy eventually losing 4–2 on penalties.
Match Worn & Signed Shin Pads
FIFA World Cup “SOUTH AFRICA 2010”
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During 2010 World Cup qualifying, Chiellini cemented his place as an undisputed first-choice in Marcello Lippi’s squad. He played the full 90 minutes in all three group matches at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup but Italy were eliminated at the group stages on goal difference.[65] He was also the starting Italy centre back, along with Cannavaro, in the 2010 World Cup, although Italy disappointed and exited in the first round, finishing in last place in their group with two points, and failing to win a match or keep a clean sheet.
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Under Cesare Prandelli, Chiellini was once again the starting centre back during Italy’s UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. Along with Juventus teammates Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci, and also Daniele De Rossi, he started in defence for Italy in the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament, after recovering from an injury he had encountered during the final Serie A game of the season.
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The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men’s national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in 2007. It was the second time that Brazil staged the competition, the first being in 1950, and the fifth time that it was held in South America. Thirty-one national teams advanced through qualification competitions to join the host nation in the final tournament. A total of 64 matches were played in 12 venues located in as many host cities across Brazil. For the first time at a World Cup finals, match officials used goal-line technology, as well as vanishing foam for free kicks. FIFA Fan Fests in each host city gathered a total of 5 million people, and the country received 1 million visitors from 202 countries. Every World Cup-winning team since the first edition in 1930 – Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Uruguay – qualified for this tournament. Spain, the title holders, were eliminated at the group stage, along with England and Italy. Uruguay were eliminated in the round of 16, and France exited in the quarter-finals. Host nation Brazil, who had won the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, lost to Germany 7–1 in the semi-finals and eventually finished in fourth place. In the final, Germany defeated Argentina 1–0 to win the tournament and secure the country’s fourth world title, the first after the German reunification in 1990, when as West Germany they also beat Argentina in the World Cup final. Germany became the first European team to win a World Cup staged in the Americas, and this result marked the first time that sides from the same continent had won three consecutive tournaments (following Italy in 2006 and Spain in 2010).
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During the 2014 World Cup, in Italy’s final group stage game against Uruguay, replays appeared to show Luis Suárez biting Chiellini on the shoulder before Suárez fell and clutched his face, in Suárez’s third career biting incident. As the Italian players protested to the Mexican referee Marco Antonio Rodríguez for not penalizing Suárez, Uruguay won a corner and scored, winning 1–0 to qualify for the last 16 and eliminating Italy. As a result, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee launched an investigation into the incident. On 26 June, The FIFA Disciplinary Committee announced that Suárez would be suspended for nine matches and banned from any football activity (including entering any stadium) for four months. Suárez was also fined CHF100,000 (approx. £65,700/€82,000/US$119,000). Even so, Chiellini expressed his view that the four-month ban for Suárez was “excessive”.
ITALY NATIONAL TEAM
Fifa World Cup “QATAR 2022” Qualifiers
March 25th 2021
Italy vs Northern Ireland
Match Worn Unwashed Shirt
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This shirt has been worn by Giorgio Chiellini during the Fifa World Cup “QATAR 2022” qualifying game between Italy and Northern Ireland which took place in Parma, “Ennio Tardini” Stadium, on March 25th 2021. Italy defeated Northern Ireland 2-0 and at the end of the game Chiellini swapped his shirt with an opponent player whom we got it from. On 25 April 2022, Chiellini announced that he would retire from the Italy national team after the 2022 Finalissima against reigning Copa América champions Argentina on 1 June.
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Chiellini began his career as a left-back, but made his name as an aggressive, physical, and hard-tackling centre-back, with a penchant for scoring headers from set-pieces, due to his aerial prowess and strength. A versatile, consistent and dependable left-footed defender, with good awareness, positional sense, and an ability to read the game, he is capable of playing both in a three or four-man defence. A hard-working player, he is also known for his ability to cover ground and put pressure on or anticipate opponents in positions higher up on the pitch. Regarded as one of the best defenders in world football, Walter Mazzarri once labeled him as “a force of nature”, also adding “he’s a universal player that any coach would love to have on his team. He is from another planet; he can mark three players by himself.”Due to his tenacious, no-nonsense playing style, Chiellini has been described as an “old-fashioned” centre-back, who primarily serves as a ball-winner; his physicality and aggression as a defender, as well as his goal celebration, which involves him beating his chest, have earned him the nickname “King Kong”. Although he is not particularly skillful or elegant from a technical standpoint, he possesses good vision and reliable distribution, which allows him to play the ball out or launch attacks from the back after winning back possession. A popular figure with fans, he is also known for his dedication and vocal leadership on the pitch, and is Juventus’s vice-captain, behind Gianluigi Buffon. Despite his ability as a defender, he has often struggled with injuries in recent seasons
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This shirt was worn by Giorgio Chiellini during the “Euro 2020” game between Italy and Spain which took place in London, “Wembley Stadium”, on July 6th 2021. In June 2021, Chiellini was included in Italy’s UEFA Euro 2020 squad. In their second group match against Switzerland in Rome on 16 June, he had a goal disallowed for an apparent handball and was later forced off in the first half due to injury; Italy won the match 3–0, allowing them to advance to the round of 16 of the tournament. He recovered from his injury and in the semi-final, Chiellini received considerable media attention for his antics on Spanish captain Jordi Alba during the draw for the penalty shootout. Italy beated Spain on penalties to reach the Euro 2020 final after an enthralling semi-final at a noisy Wembley.
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This set has been issued for Giorgio Chiellini for the “Finalissima 2022”. This was the last Chiellini’s appearance with Italy National Team. On 25 April 2022, Chiellini announced that he would retire from the Italy national team after the 2022 Finalissima against reigning Copa América champions Argentina on 1 June. During the match, he made his final and 117th international appearance, equalling Daniele De Rossi as the team’s fourth–most capped player of all time; Italy were defeated 3–0 at Wembley Stadium, with Chiellini coming off at half time.
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These Giorgio Chiellini match worn boots were launched by Puma as a Limited Edition boots and they are inspired by the Pop Art movement of 50’s and 60’s. The result is a delightfully gaudy boot covered in swathes of Roy Lichtenstein-esque comic book art. These boots were given only to several Puma sponsored athletes including Yaya Toure, Gianluigi Buffon, Cesc Fabregas, Olivier Giroud and of course…Giorgio Chiellini.
