Stefano Fiore

Stefano Fiore
Personnel
birthday	April 17th 1975
place of birth	Cosenza ,  Italy
size	181 cm
position	midfield
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1992-1994	AS Cosenza Calcio	11 0(1)
1994-1995	AC Parma	8 0(1)
1995-1996	Calcio Padova	24 0(1)
1996-1997	Chievo Verona	38 0(2)
1997-1999	AC Parma	54 0(2)
1999-2001	Udinese Calcio	67 (18)
2001-2004	Lazio Rome	95 (17)
2004-2007	Valencia CF	20 0(2)
2005-2006	→  Fiorentina  (loan)	38 0(6)
2006-2007	→  FC Turin  (loan)	19 0(1)
2007	→  AS Livorno  (loan)	16 0(2)
2007-2008	AC Mantova	24 0(3)
2009-2011	AS Cosenza Calcio	44 0(9)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1995-1997	Italy U-21	8 0(0)
1997	Italy Olympia	3 0(1)
2000-2004	Italy	38 0(2)
1 Only league games are given.

Stefano Fiore (born April 17, 1975 in Cosenza ) is a former Italian football player .

He played as a central midfielder , but also partly as a winger and was known for his creative style of play, his extraordinary passing game and his important goals.

Career

In the club

Stefano Fiore in his time at Chievo Verona

Stefano Fiore started professional football in 1992 at his home club AS Cosenza Calcio . Back then, he only made eleven appearances before moving to AC Parma in 1994 . In 1995 Parma won the UEFA Cup , but Fiore was not used in any international match. Since he was hardly substituted in Parma during the season by coach Nevio Scala , he was forced to switch to the direct competitor in the Italian Serie A , Padova Calcio . In the 1995/96 season, Fiore scored one goal in 24 games. In the following season he moved back to Serie B to Chievo Verona , where he achieved a first flight of fancy. With two goals and several assists in 38 games, Fiore again caught the attention of his former club, AC Parma. In 1997 the midfielder signed a two-year contract with the Gialloblu . Again Fiore was hardly used in Parma under Carlo Ancelotti and was mostly only substituted on as a substitute for the aging Dino Baggio . So he did at least 54 missions, but in the long term he was not satisfied with being a reservist. 1997/98 Fiore played with Parma in the UEFA Champions League and came up with six appearances. The following season, AC Parma won the UEFA Cup again and Fiore scored two goals in ten games. In 1999 they won the Coppa Italia , but Fiore was not a substitute in the cup.

The first highlight of his career was Fiore in the 1999/2000 season. After a move to Udinese Calcio , he finally got the coach's trust and played 33 games in his first season in northern Italy, scoring a total of nine goals, each of which was spectacular. After his good performances at the EM 2000 transfer rumors about Fiore became loud. But the midfielder rejected offers from big clubs such as Juventus Turin , Lazio Rome or Inter Milan and stayed at Udinese Calcio for the next season. His outstanding form did not let him down in the championship either. He again scored nine goals in 34 games. In the two seasons at Udinese, Fiore also took part in the UEFA Cup twice and scored one goal in nine games.

In 2001 Fiore moved to Lazio for 25 million euros . His teammate Giuliano Giannichedda followed him. But Fiore could not find his form for the Biancocelesti , as coach Alberto Zaccheroni only used him on the left side of midfield. He also lost his place on the national team and was just a spectator at the 2002 World Cup . When Zaccheroni was fired in 2002, Fiore regained his original form under new coach Roberto Mancini . He was used again in central midfield and led Lazio to fourth place in the Italian first division. Lazio secured a place in the Champions League . Fiore played in sensational form for Lazio the following season, but the club was weakened by a few sales in the summer. Nevertheless, the Romans won the Coppa Italia . Fiores good performances in the cup as well as in the championship brought him a call-up to the national team for the EM 2004 .

Due to financial problems at Lazio, Stefano Fiore and some of his teammates were sold to Valencia CF in Spain in 2004 . After a promising start to the season under coach Claudio Ranieri , the Spanish club suffered a long series of defeats in October. After leaving the Champions League, the coach Ranieri was sacked in February 2005. Under the new coach, Fiore, who could not get used to Spanish football quickly, was transferred to the bench more and more often.

In summer 2005 he returned to the Italian Serie A and was loaned by Fiorentina for a year. Fiore felt good again in Italy and immediately found his shape again. Together with striker Luca Toni , he led the Fiorentina back to a higher level. Surprisingly, Fiorentina didn't sign the midfielder despite being offered by Valencia for just € 2m. After his return to Spain he trained with the Valencia team, but the club was looking for a club that showed interest in the midfielder and found an Italian club in Turin . Fiore, who says he would like to play in Italy again, was loaned out to Turin for a year .

In January 2007, Valencia FC loaned Fiore for half a year to AS Livorno , where he immediately became a regular. In the summer of 2007 Fiore moved to AC Mantova for two years . Then he joined his hometown club AS Cosenza Calcio .

In the national team

Because of his outstanding performance at Serie A club Udinese Calcio , Fiore was appointed to the Squadra Azzurra in 2000 . He made his debut in Italy's 1-0 win against Sweden in February of this year. As a replacement for Dino Baggio, who always referred him to the bench at Parma, Fiore was used at the 2000 European Championships . The tournament was very successful for the Italian and in the 2-0 win over Belgium Fiore scored the goal that many described as the goal of the tournament. The Squadra Azzurra ultimately failed only in the final.

His low form at Lazio also meant that Fiore was not considered for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea . he himself admitted that because of his current form he did not deserve to play for the Italian national team.

Two years later, Fiore was again considered for the national team, as he had found his form again at Lazio. At the 2004 European Championship in Portugal, however, he was rarely used by coach Giovanni Trapattoni , as this preferred Mauro Camoranesi . The national team shone especially in the games with Stefano Fiore, who turned a spectacular volley in the last group game against Bulgaria . Italy said goodbye, undefeated, but prematurely from the EM, as the two previous games had only been played in a draw.

After good performance at Fiorentina, a call-up to the national team was taken for granted by many. Marcello Lippi did not include Fiore in his 23-man squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany , and so he was once again only a spectator at a World Cup and could not celebrate the world title with the Squadra Azzurra .

successes

• 2 × Coppa Italia : 1998/99 , 2003/04 (AC Parma, Lazio Rome)
• 2 × UEFA Cup : 1994/95 , 1998/99 (AC Parma)
• 1 × UEFA Intertoto Cup : 2000 (Udinese Calcio)
• 1 × EM finalist: 2000 (Italy)

Web links

Commons : Stefano Fiore  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Stefano Fiore in the database of weltfussball.de
• Mission data at the Italian Association (Italian)