Angelo Palombo

Angelo Palombo (Italian pronunciation: [ˈandʒelo paˈlombo]; born 25 September 1981) is an Italian retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Throughout his club career, he played for Fiorentina, Sampdoria, and Internazionale in Serie A.

Angelo Palombo
Palombo pictured in 2010
Personal information
Full name Angelo Palombo[1]
Date of birth (1981-09-25) 25 September 1981
Place of birth Ferentino, Italy
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Playing position(s) Defensive midfielder
Youth career
1993–[3] AS Ferentino
1997–1998[4] Urbania Calcio
1998–1999[4] Fano
1999–2001[4] Fiorentina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2002 Fiorentina 10 (0)
2002–2017 Sampdoria 411 (13)
2012 → Internazionale (loan) 3 (0)
Total 424 (13)
National team
Italy U20 19 (0)
2002–2004 Italy U21 18 (0)
2006–2011 Italy 22 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Palombo won 22 caps for Italy at full international level between 2006 and 2011, and represented his nation at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, also winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Club career

Early career

Born in Ferentino, Angelo Palombo began playing football for local side AS Ferentino.[4] He spent the 1997–98 season with Serie D club Urbania Calcio.[4] At age 17, he moved to Serie C team Fano before being signed by Serie A side Fiorentina in 1999 where he spent two years playing for the Primavera team of the club.[4] He made his professional debut in a Coppa Italia match against Como[5] and first featured in the Serie A on 10 February 2002 in a 2–0 away defeat against Venezia.[4][6]

Sampdoria and Inter loan

Palombo moved to Sampdoria, then in Serie B, on a free transfer in the 2002 summer transfer window when Fiorentina declared bankruptcy and were forced to put their players on sale.[7] After helping the Ligurian club gain promotion that season, he established himself as an integral part of the side. During the 2005–06 season, he scored his first Serie A goal for Sampdoria on 18 January 2006 against his boyhood club Fiorentina and made his European debut in the UEFA Cup in September. Palombo had many very good seasons at the club, leading to him being a regular in the Italian national team. When Sampdoria were again relegated at the end of the 2010–11 season, his future at the club was put into doubt, with many Serie A sides interested but mainly his former club Fiorentina. Palombo, by then the club's captain,[8] said, however, that he had no intention to move unless the club wished to sell him and remained at the club, commenting: "I'll end my career with Sampdoria. I'm proud to have received some important offers and I thank the clubs who have come forward. However, I haven't thought about leaving here, not even for a moment. I think I have already demonstrated how tied I am to this shirt."[9]

He spent the first half of the 2011–12 season in Serie B with Sampdoria,[9] but on 31 January 2012, he was signed by Inter on loan with an option to buy, as a replacement for Thiago Motta.[10] He made his club debut the following day, coming on as a substitute for Andrea Poli in a 4–4 home draw against Palermo.[11] However, he only made three appearances for Inter in total,[12] and returned to Sampdoria at the end of the 2011–12 Serie A season, who had secured a spot back in Serie A for the 2012–13 season.[9] However, it seemed that he was set to leave the club in the summer of 2012, and was even linked with several other Italian sides;[13] after no other offers, he remained with Sampdoria the following season,[14] and until his retirement.[7]

He announced his retirement from professional football in July 2017, after collecting 459 appearances for Sampdoria in his 15 years spent at the club.[15]

International career

Palombo was in the Italy U-21 team that won the 2004 European Under-21 Football Championship and achieved bronze medal of the 2004 Summer Olympics football tournament.[16][17]

Palombo made his Italy national team debut in the 0–2 defeat to Croatia on 16 August 2006,[6] coming as a substitute for Fabio Liverani in the 58th minute.[18] He was a member of Italy's 23-man squad that took part at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. After a good 2009–10 season at club level, Marcello Lippi named him in the final 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[1] In total, he won 22 caps for Italy at senior level between 2006 and 2011.[19]

Post-playing career

After retiring from professional football, Palombo joined the coaching team of Marco Giampaolo for the 2017–18 season with his former club Sampdoria.[20] He received his coaching licence on 15 December 2017.[21]

Style of play

Palombo was usually deployed as a defensive or box-to-box midfielder in the centre of the pitch, where he could effectively combine his defensive and athletic attributes, as well as his ability to break down opposition plays, with his ability to start attacking plays and create chances for teammates as a deep-lying playmaker; however, his energetic, hard-working style of play and his stamina allowed him to play anywhere in midfield, and he was also deployed as a winger on occasion. In addition to his ball-winning and passing abilities, he also possessed a powerful shot from distance. Palombo was a physically strong, tenacious, influential, and determined player, with good feet, who was also known for his passion and good quality of play on the pitch; however, he was also accused by certain pundits of inconsistency at times throughout his career. In his youth, Palombo cited Demetrio Albertini as one of his major influences.[22][23][24]

Career statistics

Club
Sources:[25][26]
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Fiorentina 2001–02 Serie A 10010—110
Sampdoria 2002–03 Serie A 32150—371
2003–04 31010—320
2004–05 37010—380
2005–06 3112030361
2006–07 36270—432
2007–08 3312150402
2008–09 2524020312
2009–10 36221—383
2010–11 3412060421
2011–12 Serie B 22120—241
2012–13 Serie A 15000—150
2013–14 32110—331
2014–15 36110—371
2015–16 70—1080
2016–17 4010—50
Total 4111331217045915
Internazionale
(loan)		 2011–12 Serie A 30——30
Career total 4241332217047315

International
Source:[19][27]
Italy
YearAppsGoals
200620
200720
200820
200990
201060
201110
Total220

Honours

International

Italy U-21

Orders
  • 5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2004[28]
gollark: COPPERS!
gollark: Presumably people are just refreshing more and DC is entirely unoptimized for.performance.
gollark: Not that much.
gollark: I mean, usually it's 1000.
gollark: Maybe they didn't dare and it's viewbombing...

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 – List of Players" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  2. "201718 Angelo Palombo". U.C. Sampdoria. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  3. Salines, Alessandro (22 July 2017). "Palombo, l'addio silenzioso al calcio di un grande capitano". AlessioPorcu.it (in Italian). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  4. Giagni, Tommaso (23 November 2016). "Le Farfalle nello stomaco". L'Ultimo Uomo (in Italian). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  5. Valente, Enrico (1 April 2003). "Palombo piace a tutti". Gazzetta Dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  6. "Angelo PALOMBO" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  7. "Palombo to join Sampdoria staff". Football Italia. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  8. "Palombo: Nothing went right for Sampdoria against Vojvodina". La Gazzetta dello Sport. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  9. Luca Cetta (26 July 2012). "Sampdoria's garage sale". Football Italia. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  10. Fabrizio Zorzoli (31 January 2012). "UFFICIALE: Angelo Palombo all'Inter" (in Italian). Tuttomercatoweb.com. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  11. Appiano Gentile (2 February 2012). "FOTO: IMMAGINI, 'RIVEDIAMO' LE PAROLE DI PALOMBO" (in Italian). www.inter.it. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  12. Riccardo Fusato (14 May 2012). "Serie A 2011/2012: Cambiasso il più presente. Palombo flop!" (in Italian). F.C Inter 1908. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  13. "Palombo to leave Sampdoria". Football Italia. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  14. Fulvio Banchero (11 September 2012). "Palombo in gruppo, prova a riprendersi la Samp" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  15. "Sampdoria, Palombo: "Ritiro? Non mi sarei visto con un'altra maglia"" (in Italian). sport.sky.it. 8 July 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  16. "Palombo l'ultimo blucerchiato a vincere l'Europeo Under 21" (in Italian). Samp News 24.com. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  17. "Olimpiadi – ATENE 2004: Le 10 medaglie d'oro dell'Italia" (in Italian). 28 November 2015. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  18. "Italia–Croazia (0–2)" (in Italian). Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  19. "Palombo, Angelo" (in Italian). FIGC. Archived from the original on 17 June 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  20. "Palombo joins Giampaolo's backroom team" (Press release). U.C. Sampdoria. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  21. "Toni e Amelia hanno patentino allenatore" (in Italian). ansa.it. 15 December 2017.
  22. "Angelo Palombo" (in Italian). CanaleJuve.it. Archived from the original on 27 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  23. Cammisola, Rocco (14 June 2010). "Italy prepare for life without Andrea Pirlo in World Cup 2010 opener". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  24. Mangini, Lorenzo (19 August 2002). "Palombo, forza e piedi buoni il suo idolo si chiama Albertini" [Palombo, strength and good feet his idol is called Albrtini]. La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  25. "Angelo Palombo » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  26. "A. Palombo". Soccerway. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  27. Angelo Palombo at National-Football-Teams.com
  28. "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana". quirinale.it. Il Quirinale. 27 September 2004. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
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