Current Parma Striker and Former Livorno Sensation Joins Napoli on a Year-long Loan
Cristiano Lucarelli has an addition to his long list of clubs. After much speculation on his career, Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed that Lucarelli will be on loan from Parma. "The negotiation has been resolved in our favour. I had to keep it a secret for a period of time because I oppose the idea of making it public while negotiations were ongoing because of the complications and uncertainty of [German] Denis' move to Udinese. Now, Lucarelli is ours and I am pleased to welcome him to our family,” the president said. The announcement was also made in Napoli’s official website.
Lucarelli made an announcement last May that he intended to stay in Parma for season 2010-11. The veteran striker is under the ownership of Gialloblu but he was loaned out to Livorno, his former club where he stayed the longest (2003-2007). Lucarellie was Livorno’s hero but he was not too successful at the end of the season; also, his club was relegated. “I will return to Parma, where they still must decide the coach for next season. I think whoever the coach will be next season, that I will stay with the Gialloblu,” Lucarelli told itasportpress.it.
Lucarelli’s career is pretty colourful. He switched clubs practically every year from 1992 to 2003 (Cuoiopelli, Perugia, Cosenza, Padova, Atalanta, Valencia, Lecce, Torino) before finally landing in his hometown’s club, Livorno. He stayed there for 5 years. Other clubs proposed better-paying offers to him but his love for his hometown was far greater than the money from the other clubs. He was quoted saying: "Some football players pay a billion for a Ferrari or a yacht; with that money I bought myself Livorno’s shirt. That's all.”
Lucarelli was his hometown’s hero. The striker’s love for his hometown equaled his love for football. Livorno is known to be the birth place of Communism in Italy and no club in Serie A wears its political colours more proudly than Livorno. Lucarelli is a cult-hero among Livorno fans because of his love for his club and communism. One of the unforgettable moments in Lucarelli’s early career was when he played for Italy’s Under-21 team in the 1990s, he peeled the back of his jersey and revealed a Che Guevarra shirt to celebrate his goal. It got the ire of Italy’s junior coaches but it endeared him to the residents of Livorno. Lucarelli celebrates his goal with a dual clenched-fist salute and his ringtone is the Communist Bandiera Rossa. Many think that his unquenchable revolutionary spirit limited his international career but his passion on the field has not been tamed. One of his notable achievements was a hat-trick against Catania in a 4-1 victory. When the club was relegated to Serie B, he stayed in the club and lifted it to the top with his 25 goals.
He moved to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2007 because of a conflict with his Livorno’s president and his fans’ criticism. A year later, he moved back to Italy to play for Parma. When Parma was relegated to Serie B, he offered to stay to help the club move up but he was not totally successful. He was put on loan to Livorno from 2009-2010.
There had been talks of Lucarelli moving to Fiorentina when talks surfaced that he is a surplus to Parma’s requirements but nothing materialised. Moreover, Lucarelli expressed his interest in joining Napoli. Napoli has been unable to book any other striker to its team. De Laurentiis also wanted a young striker but so far, no young striker has been linked with the club. With his veteran experience, Lucarelli is more than delighted to be part of Napoli.
"I'm glad the deal is finally done. It gives me great satisfaction to be able to play in the Napoli shirt at the San Paolo in front of the club's exceptional fans. It's a dream come true and to be able to achieve this at 34 years of age is even more beautiful,” Lucarelli said with happiness.
Napoli’s first match with Lucarelli in the club will be against Fiorentina. No statements have been made as to whether Lucarelli will be in the field or not. Nonetheless, it would be wonderful if the Livorno legend will provide the same happiness to Napoli. He may be 34 and could be nearing the end of his career but passion has never been hindered by age. In bocca al lupo, Lucarelli!
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