Cristiano Piccini
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 Piccini with Valencia in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 26 September 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Florence, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997–2002 | Sporting Arno | ||
| 2002–2011 | Fiorentina | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2015 | Fiorentina | 1 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | → Carrarese (loan) | 32 | (1) |
| 2012–2013 | → Spezia (loan) | 30 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | → Livorno (loan) | 20 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | → Betis (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2015–2017 | Betis | 39 | (2) |
| 2017–2018 | Sporting CP | 24 | (0) |
| 2018–2022 | Valencia | 34 | (2) |
| 2020–2021 | → Atalanta (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2022 | Red Star Belgrade | 10 | (0) |
| 2022–2024 | 1. FC Magdeburg | 30 | (5) |
| 2024 | Sampdoria | 10 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Atlético San Luis | 7 | (0) |
| 2025 | Yverdon | 5 | (1) |
| Total | 255 | (11) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011 | Italy U19 | 5 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | Italy U20 | 7 | (0) |
| 2013 | Italy U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Italy | 3 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 8 September 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23 March 2019 | |||
Cristiano Piccini (Italian pronunciation: [kriˈstjaːno pitˈtʃiːni]; born 26 September 1992) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defender.
Fiorentina
Born in Florence, Piccini joined Fiorentina's youth setup in 2002, aged ten, after starting it out at Sporting Arno. On 5 December 2010, he made his first team – and Serie A – debut, coming on as a substitute for Manuel Pasqual in a 1–0 home win against Cagliari.[2]
On 30 August 2011, Piccini was loaned to third division club Carrarese, in a season-long deal.[3] He scored his first professional goal on 4 April of the following year, netting the first in a 3–1 home loss against Virtus Lanciano.[4]
The following season, Piccini joined Spezia of Serie B on loan until the end of the season.[5] After being an undisputed starter, he was loaned to the top level's Livorno, with a buyout clause.[6]
Betis
On 27 August 2014, Piccini moved to Spanish Segunda División side Real Betis.[7] He made his debut on 7 September, starting in a 4–1 away loss against SD Ponferradina in which he played a part in Jorge Molina's goal,[8] and made 11 more appearances as they won the title.
Piccini signed a permanent four-year deal with the Verdiblancos on 9 July 2015, with Fiorentina holding a buyback option.[9] He made his La Liga debut on 23 August, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Villarreal CF.[10]
On 8 January 2017, Piccini scored his first top-flight goal to conclude a 2–0 win over CD Leganés at the Estadio Benito Villamarín,[11] and followed it two months later to open a 1–1 draw at Deportivo de La Coruña.[12] He was also sent off twice over the course of the season, the first coming after 16 minutes of a 3–1 loss at SD Eibar for a foul on Takashi Inui.[13]
Sporting CP
On 18 May 2017, Piccini signed a five-year contract with Sporting CP.[14] He made his debut for the club on 6 August, as the Primeira Liga season began with a 2–0 away win against C.D. Aves.[15]
Piccini played four games as Sporting won the Taça da Liga. This included the final on 27 January 2018, in which he played all 120 minutes of a 1–1 draw before defeating Vitória F.C. on penalties.[16] On 31 March, he was sent off in a 1–0 loss away to S.C. Braga.[17]
Valencia
On 23 July 2018, Piccini returned to La Liga, signing for Valencia for a fee of around €10 million.[18] In his debut season, he made 37 appearances, mostly as a starter, and scored a last-minute winner in a 2–1 home win over SD Huesca on 23 December.[19] Seven of these games were in the victorious Copa del Rey run, including 18 minutes as a substitute for Kévin Gameiro in the 2–1 final win over FC Barcelona on 25 May 2019; the result was Valencia's first honour since 2008.[20]
In August 2019, just two games into the new season, Piccini suffered a fractured kneecap while in training, an injury that would leave him out of the squad until the end of year.[21] He remained sidelined for the whole season, undergoing another operation in May 2020.[22]
Loan to Atalanta
On 9 September 2020, Piccini joined Italian Serie A club Atalanta on loan with an option to buy.[23] The recovery from his kneecap injury delayed his debut until 21 November, when he played in a 0–0 away draw to Spezia. This turned out to be his only appearance for the Bergamo side, as Valencia reached an agreement for his early return in January 2021.[24]
Red Star Belgrade
On 15 January 2022, Piccini was released from Valencia and signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Serbian club Crvena Zvezda.[25]
1. FC Magdeburg
In September 2022 Piccini joined German club 1. FC Magdeburg of the 2. Bundesliga as a free agent.[26] On 29 January 2024, Piccini's contract with Magdeburg was terminated by mutual consent.[27]
Sampdoria
On January 2024 31, Piccini joined Italian club Sampdoria UC of the Serie B as a free agent, with a six-month contract, so he left the team on June 30.[28]
Atlético San Luis
In July 2024 Piccini joined Mexican club Atlético San Luis of the Liga MX as a free agent.[29] On February 7, 2025, he left the team by mutual agreement after he considered that he did not have the performance required by the team.[30]
Yverdon
On 18 February 2025, Piccini signed with Yverdon in Switzerland until the end of the season.[31]
International career
Piccini was given his first senior call-up for Italy in October 2018 by manager Roberto Mancini, following injuries to several players in the team.[32] He made his senior debut for the national team on 10 October, coming on as an 84th-minute substitute for Alessandro Florenzi in a 1–1 friendly draw against Ukraine in Genoa.[33]