Domenico "Mimmo" Criscito (Italian pronunciation:[doˈmeːnikoˈmimmoˈkriʃʃito]; born 30 December 1986) is an Italian former professionalfootballer who played as aleft-back. A versatile player, Criscito was effective both offensively and defensively[3] and was also capable of playing as awing-back orcentre-back, a position which he often occupied in his early career.[4][5]
 Criscito withGenoa in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Domenico Criscito[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1986-12-30)30 December 1986 (age 38)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Cercola, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Left-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1996–2002 | Sporting Volla | ||
| 2002–2004 | Genoa | ||
| 2004–2006 | Juventus | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2004 | Genoa | 1 | (0) |
| 2004–2009 | Juventus | 8 | (0) |
| 2006–2009 | →Genoa (loan) | 87 | (7) |
| 2009–2011 | Genoa | 65 | (2) |
| 2011–2018 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 156 | (15) |
| 2018–2022 | Genoa | 104 | (17) |
| 2022 | Toronto FC | 15 | (1) |
| 2023 | Genoa | 16 | (1) |
| Total | 452 | (43) | |
| International career | |||
| 2003 | Italy U17 | 5 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Italy U18 | 5 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Italy U19 | 6 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | Italy U20 | 4 | (1) |
| 2006–2009 | Italy U21 | 26 | (1) |
| 2008 | Italy Olympic | 4 | (0) |
| 2009–2018 | Italy | 26 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Criscito played forSerie A clubsGenoa andJuventus, making over 200 appearances across four spells for the former. He also played for seven years in theRussian Premier League forZenit Saint Petersburg, making 225 total appearances and winning two league titles for the team. A full international from 2009 to 2018, he played for theItaly national team at the2010 FIFA World Cup.
Club career
editEarly career
editA native of southern Italy, Criscito moved up north at age 13 to pursue his football career.[6][7] He started his professional career atGenoa, for whom he made his debut inSerie B in June 2003 at the age of 16. In the summer of 2004, Genoa sold 50% of Criscito andFrancesco Volpe contracts toJuventus for €1.9 million, with 50% contract ofAntonio Nocerino was sold to Genoa for €450,000.[8]
Juventus
editCriscito played for Juventus'sPrimavera team alongside Italy U-21 teammatesClaudio Marchisio,Paolo De Ceglie andSebastian Giovinco, and together they won the 2005–06Campionato Nazionale Primavera. In the 2006–07 season, he returned to Genoa and established himself as one of the top young defenders inSerie B. In January 2007, Juventus bought his remaining 50% registration rights for €7.5 million. This was paid by the co-ownership ofMasiello andKonko toGenoa, and €5.25 million cash.[9] He also signed a new contract with Juventus that would last until 30 June 2011 and remaining on loan at Genoa.
Criscito made hisSerie A debut forJuventus on 25 August 2007, in Juve's comeback game in Serie A versusLivorno, a crushing 5–1 victory. However, he endured a difficult time at the Turin club. He was deemed "too soft" to be a centre-back afterFrancesco Totti scored twice in six minutes in the September game, a 2–2 draw, againstRoma from his side of the pitch. Criscito was substituted at half-time.[6] After that, he found himself behindNicola Legrottaglie andGiorgio Chiellini in the pecking order due to their outstanding form.
Return to Genoa
editNot happy to remain on the bench, Criscito opted to return toGenoa on loan in the opening days of the 2007–08 winter transfer window. On 3 July 2008, he was sent on loan to Genoa again for €1 million[10] with the Ligurian club having the option to purchase half of his contract for €5.5 million. In February 2009, he scored his first goal since returning to Genoa, the winner againstPalermo. In June 2009 Genoa excised the option to sign him in a co-ownership for pre-agreed price.[11] He was very impressive after re-joining Genoa, who were back inSerie A by then, and he retained a place in the starting line-up asGian Piero Gasperini's first choice left-back.[12] However, he did not rule out a return to Juventus after being linked to a permanent return to replaceFabio Grosso.[13] In September againstNapoli, Criscito was shown a straight red card for allegedly swearing at the referee after being penalized for a foul onChristian Maggio, but Gasperini later defended the 23-year-old saying that he was angry at himself, not the referee. The appeal to rescind the red card was turned down, but his ban was reduced to two to three matchdays.[14]
On 25 June 2010, Juventus announced that the Criscito's remaining 50% registration rights were sold for another €6 million fee.[15] However co-currently 50% registration rights ofLeonardo Bonucci was signed from Genoa viaBari for €8 million.
Zenit
edit.jpg)
On 27 June 2011, Criscito signed for Russian Premier League clubZenit for €11 million fee.[16] He penned a five-year contract with the club.[17] He made his debut for the club on 6 August in a 2–0 away victory againstCSKA Moscow, providing an assist for teammateAleksandr Kerzhakov. He ended theseason as a league champion, his first career silverware.
On 12 July 2015, he scored the winning penalty in a 4–2 shoot-out victory in the2015 Russian Super Cup overLokomotiv Moscow.[18]
On 8 May 2018, he announced that he will be leaving Zenit upon the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2017–18 season. A game againstFC SKA-Khabarovsk was his official farewell game for Zenit.[19]
Third spell in Genoa
editIn May 2018, it was reported that Criscito had announced to sign for his former clubGenoa via his personalInstagram account.[20][21] His return was officially announced by the club on 24 May.[22] A few days later he was assigned number 4 shirt.[23]
Criscito's contract with Genoa was terminated by mutual consent on 24 June 2022.[24]
Toronto FC
editOn 29 June 2022,Toronto FC announced the signing of Criscito on a TAM contract.[25] The signing followed the arrival of former Italy teammate and good friend,Lorenzo Insigne. A move to the club was initially speculated in March 2022, but fell through.[26] Despite receiving offers to join other Italian clubs, Criscito opted for a move to Canada to avoid playing against Genoa in the future.[27] He made his debut for Toronto FC on 9 July against theSan Jose Earthquakes in a 2–2 home draw.[28] In the2022 Canadian Championship Final againstVancouver Whitecaps FC on 26 July atBC Place, following a 1–1 draw, he converted a penalty in the resulting shoot-out, although Toronto ultimately lost 5–3.[29] He scored his first goal for the club on 17 August, the equalizing goal, from avolley, of a 2–2 home draw againstNew England Revolution.[30][31] In November 2022, he announced his retirement.[32]
Fourth spell at Genoa and retirement
editOn 27 December 2022, Genoa announced that Criscito would come out of retirement and return to the club on 2 January 2023.[33]On 19 May 2023, after the 4-3 match win over Bari, he announced his retirement from football at the age of 36, after scoring the winning goal from a penalty kick in the 94th minute and securing Genoa’s promotion to Serie A.[34][35]
International career
editOn 14 November 2006, Criscito made his debut for theItaly Under-21 squad in a match against theCzech Republic. He appeared in twoEuropean Under-21 Championships, in2007 and2009, reaching the semi-finals of the latter tournament. In 2008, he also represented Italy at theSummer Olympics.
On 12 August 2009, he made his seniornational team debut in a friendly againstSwitzerland inBasel.[36] After a promising season, he was named inMarcello Lippi's 23-man squad for the2010 World Cup in South Africa, where he was the starting left-back; Italy were eliminated in the first round of the tournament following a 3–2 loss toSlovakia in their final group match on 24 June.[37]
Criscito was named to Italy'sEuro 2012 squad byCesare Prandelli, but withdrew from the team after he came under investigation due to theScommessopoli match fixing scandal.[38] Criscito went on to criticize theItalian FA for the decision to drop him despite the limited selection of left-backs.[39] Several months later he was cleared of all charges.[40]
Criscito was unused by Italy between March 2014 and May 2018, when he returned in a 2–1 friendly win overSaudi Arabia underRoberto Mancini.[41][42] On 4 June, he was sent off for a foul onRyan Babel in a 1–1 friendly draw with theNetherlands in Turin.[43]
Style of play
editCriscito was a tactically versatile player, who was capable of being both an effective attacking and defensive threat as afull-back.[3] He began his career as a left-footedcentre-back, but he was moved to the position of left-back while playing forGenoa, where he was also employed as awing-back or as awide midfielder on occasion under managerGian Piero Gasperini in Genoa's 3–4–3 formation.[4] Criscito was described as a quick defender, with good technique, distribution, and man-marking ability.[5]
Personal life
editCriscito is married to Pamela Chiccoli and they have two sons and one daughter.[44][45][46]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Genoa | 2002–03 | Serie B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| Juventus | 2005–06 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| Genoa (loan) | 2006–07 | Serie B | 36 | 4 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 39 | 4 | ||
| 2007–08 | Serie A | 16 | 0 | – | – | – | 16 | 0 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 35 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 37 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 87 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 7 | ||
| Genoa | 2009–10 | Serie A | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | – | 35 | 3 | |
| 2010–11 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 37 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 65 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 3 | ||
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2011–12 | Russian Premier League | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | 33 | 1 | |
| 2012–13 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 18 | 3 | ||
| 2013–14 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | 26 | 1 | |||
| 2014–15 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 1 | – | 40 | 3 | |||
| 2015–16 | 23 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 35 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1[a] | 0 | 33 | 5 | ||
| 2017–18 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | – | 40 | 6 | |||
| Total | 156 | 15 | 9 | 1 | 57 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 225 | 20 | ||
| Genoa | 2018–19 | Serie A | 35 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | 26 | 8 | 2 | 2 | – | – | 28 | 10 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 24 | 1 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 21 | 7 | ||||
| Total | 104 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 109 | 20 | ||
| Toronto FC | 2022 | Major League Soccer | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 1 | ||
| Genoa | 2022–23 | Serie B | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 17 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 452 | 43 | 23 | 4 | 63 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 541 | 52 | ||
- ^abcAppearance inRussian Super Cup
International
edit| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2009 | 4 | 0 |
| 2010 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 26 | 0 | |
Honours
edit- Zenit Saint Petersburg[48]
Italy U21
References
edit- ^ab"FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010: List of Players: Italy"(PDF). FIFA. 4 June 2010. p. 15. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 18 April 2020.
- ^"Domenico Criscito". Toronto FC. Archived fromthe original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved21 August 2022.
- ^ab"domenico criscito". Archived fromthe original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved17 September 2014.
- ^ab"Domenico Criscito". vivoazzurro.it. Retrieved17 September 2014.
- ^abStefano Bedeschi."Gli eroi in bianconero: Domenico CRISCITO" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved17 September 2014.
- ^ab"Criscito e Marchisio come Cabrini-Tardelli".La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 11 August 2009.
- ^"Criscito torna a Napoli. Per il matrimonio".Corriere del Mezzogiorno (in Italian). 8 July 2009.
- ^"Reports and Financial Statements at 30 June 2005"(PDF). Juventus F.C. 25 October 2005. Retrieved22 January 2017.
- ^"Agreements with Genoa C.F.C. S.p.A."(PDF). Juventus FC. 25 January 2007. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 7 December 2008. Retrieved14 September 2009.
- ^"Agreements with Genoa C.F.C. S.p.A."(PDF). Juventus FC. 3 July 2008. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 5 March 2017. Retrieved4 March 2017.
- ^"Criscito al Genoa anche la prossima stagione" (in Italian).Corriere dello Sport. 24 June 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^"Criscito: "Giusto lasciarla, ma per lo scudetto tifo Juve"" (in Italian).Tuttosport. 2 September 2009. Archived fromthe original on 5 October 2009.
- ^"Criscito: "La Juve è sempre una grande"" (in Italian).Corriere dello Sport. 10 February 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^"Genoa, per Criscito squalifica confermata" (in Italian).Corriere dello Sport. 17 September 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^"Agreements with Genoa C.F.C S.p.A"(PDF).Juventus FC. 25 June 2010. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 6 June 2015. Retrieved25 June 2010.
- ^Genoa C.F.C. S.p.A.bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2011, PDF purchased in ItalianC.C.I.A.A. (in Italian)
- ^"Official: Zenit St Petersburg sign Domenico Criscito from Genoa". goal.com. 27 June 2011. Retrieved27 June 2011.
- ^Report
- ^«Не уверен, что смогу сдержать слезы»: Доменико Кришито попрощается с «Зенитом» 13 мая (in Russian).FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. 8 May 2018.
- ^"Criscito: "Genoa rieccomi"".La Repubblica (Genoa edition) (in Italian). GEDI Gruppo Editoriale. 16 May 2018. Retrieved24 May 2018.
- ^Criscito, Domenico (16 May 2018)."Domenico criscito on Instagram: "7 giugno 2003: esordivo con questa maglia a 16 anni.. una maglia che è sempre rimasta nel mio cuore, un club che mi ha dato la possibilità…"" (in Italian). Instagram. Archived fromthe original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved24 May 2018.
- ^"CRISCITO DAL RITORNO AL GENOA ALLA NAZIONALE" (Press release) (in Italian). Genoa CFC. 24 May 2018. Retrieved12 June 2018.
- ^IL GENOA PER GENOVA, CON MIMMO CRISCITO (video) (in Italian). hosted in youtube. Genoa CFC. 6 June 2018. Retrieved8 June 2018.
{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^"Il Genoa Cfc comunica la risoluzione consensuale del contratto con Mimmo Criscito" (in Italian). Genoa CFC. 24 June 2022. Retrieved28 June 2022.
- ^"Toronto FC sign veteran Italian defender Domenico Criscito". Major League Soccer. 29 June 2022. Retrieved29 June 2022.
- ^"Genoa's Domenico Criscito Will Not Join MLS Side Toronto FC — At Least For Now".Forbes. 7 March 2022. Retrieved29 June 2022.
- ^"Criscito raggiunge Insigne: l'ex difensore del Genoa ha firmato con il Toronto" (in Italian). Tutto Mercato. 24 June 2022. Retrieved29 June 2022.
- ^Grossi, James (10 July 2022)."Reds take lessons from home draw vs. San Jose".
- ^"Vancouver Whitecaps beat Toronto FC on penalties to lift Canadian Championship".90min. 27 July 2022. Retrieved29 July 2022.
- ^Khoury, Anthony (17 August 2022)."Recap: Domenico Criscito stunner salvages point for Toronto FC against New England Revolution".Waking the Red.
- ^"Criscito scores 1st goal as TFC, Revolution play to draw".The Score. 17 August 2022.
- ^"Domenico Criscito announces retirement". Toronto FC. 15 November 2022. Retrieved15 November 2022.
- ^"Bentornato Mimmo!" (in Italian).Genoa. 27 December 2022. Retrieved28 December 2022.
- ^"Genoa, Criscito dice addio al calcio: saluta Marassi col gol vittoria". 19 May 2023. Retrieved19 May 2023.
- ^"Genoa-Bari 4-3, le pagelle: festival del gol a Marassi. Criscito saluta in grande stile". 20 May 2023. Retrieved20 May 2023.
- ^"Nazionale: c'è Marchisio, Fuori Toni e Montolivo" (in Italian).Gazzetta dello Sport. 8 August 2009.
- ^"Slovakia 3 Italy 2: match report".The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived fromthe original on 25 September 2010.
- ^"Italy's Euro 2012 camp hit by dawn police raid".The Guardian. 29 May 2012.
- ^"Criscito: I should have gone to Euro 2012". Goal.com. 1 June 2012. Retrieved11 June 2012.
- ^"Criscito anger missed Euro chance".espn.com. 12 September 2012. Archived fromthe original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved13 September 2012.
- ^Curro, Enrico (25 May 2018)."Nazionale, la terza vita in azzurro di Criscito:Una ferita aperta, ora una sfida da vincere".La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved21 April 2020.
- ^"Mancini, partenza ok: Italia-Arabia Saudita 2-1, riecco Criscito" (in Italian). Primo Canale. 28 May 2018. Retrieved21 April 2020.
- ^"Netherlands score late to draw with Italy 1-1 in Turin".USA Today. Associated Press. 4 June 2018. Retrieved21 April 2020.
- ^"Criscito, un difensore col cuore a tre punte" (in Italian).sport.sky.it. 23 April 2010. Archived fromthe original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved9 July 2015.
- ^"Pamela Criscito: "Mimmo – Peter Pan"" (in Italian).fc-zenit.ru. 25 April 2014.
- ^"Fiocco rosa in casa Criscito, dopo due maschietti è arrivata la piccola Alice - Genova 24". 26 December 2021.
- ^"Domenico Criscito".National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved30 November 2019.
- ^"D. Criscito". Soccerway. Retrieved21 December 2015.
- ^"Regulations of the UEFA"(PDF).UEFA. September 2007. Retrieved18 August 2023.
External links
edit
- Profile onGenoa official website
- ProfileArchived 21 September 2011 at theWayback Machine onItalian FA official website(in Italian)
- Domenico Criscito –FIFA competition record (archived)
- Profile onZenit official website
- ProfileArchived 6 September 2018 at theWayback Machine onLega Serie A official website