Gianluca Savoldi

Gianluca Savoldi
	Berretti Trophy in 2023
Personal information
Date of birth	20 September 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth	Bologna, Italy
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team
1993–1994	Palazzolo
1994–1995	Pergocrema
1995–1996	Cecina
1996–1998	Pisa
1998–1999	Saronno
1999	Ascoli
1999–2000	Pisa
2000–2001	Cosenza
2001–2003	Reggina
2003–2004	Napoli
2004–2005	Crotone
2005	Venezia
2005–2006	Chiasso
2006	Avellino
2006–2007	Varese
2007–2008	Lecco
2008–2009	Monza
2009–2010	Colligiana
Total
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gianluca Savoldi (born 20 September 1975 in Bologna, Italy), is a retired Italian footballer who played as a striker.

Career

The son of once World record transferred player Giuseppe Savoldi, the young Gianluca decided to walk in his father's footsteps. Albeit a decent striker on semi-professional level, Savoldi could not step ut to the plate when joining Ascoli in the late 1990s, but played good enough at Cosenza to be discovered by nearby Reggina, the club looking for a striker, having been relegated to Serie B and lost Massimo Marazzina.

Savoldi's first season with Reggina was the most successful of his career, the 25-year-old propelling Reggina to Serie A with 15 goals. His partnership with Davide Dionigi played its part in the success, as Reggina was among the highest-scoring teams in the league. Savoldi did only play one season in Serie A, however, with his performance at the highest level not considered as good enough by Reggina's management, prompting a sale to Serie B club Napoli, where he rejoined Dionigi. Napoli was the club that paid the World record-fee for his father, and therefore the expectations were high on Savoldi, who once again failed to deliver. Napoli was closer to relegation than promotion, and Savoldi was sold to Crotone, which was the beginning of the end of his career in the big time.

Savoldi spent the following six seasons in smaller clubs, some professional, others in a semi-professional mode. He also moved north of the border to try his wings in second division Swiss football, but his time with Chiasso was not a successful one.

Sources

Gianluca Savoldi - Tuttocalciatori.net (Italian)