Cristiano Lucarelli

International career Lucarelli was capped six times for the Italy senior squad between 2005 and 2007, scoring 3 goals; he was also a member of the team that took part in the 1996 Summer Olympics. His aforementioned debut was during a 2005 friendly tournament in the United States and Canada, where he scored his first international goal in a 1–1 draw against Serbia and Montenegro at the Rogers Centre in Toronto on 8 June. He was left off the Italy roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but was recalled by new coach Roberto Donadoni – who had briefly coached Lucarelli at Livorno earlier in the year – for a friendly against Croatia on 16 August 2006.

Due to a rash of injuries among the Azzurri, Lucarelli was summoned for a pair of June Euro 2008 qualifiers against Lithuania and the Faroe Islands. He came on as a substitute for Filippo Inzaghi in the 58th minute of Italy's narrow 2–1 victory over the Faroe Islands on 2 June 2007, but did not play in a 2–0 defeat of Lithuania on 6 June. Lucarelli also substituted for Inzaghi in the 65th minute of a Euro 2008 qualifying match against France on 8 September 2007. He scored his first brace in Italy's 2–0 friendly win over South Africa on 17 October.

Coaching career Lucarelli became a youth coach at Parma for the 2012–13 season. Charge of the club's second most senior youth side (the Allievi Nazionale), composed of players aged between 15 and 17 years. He left Parma in June 2013 to accept an offer to become the new head coach of ambitious Lega Pro Prima Divisione club Perugia, only to be sacked before the start of the season due to disagreements with the board. He then returned into management in October 2013, to become the new head coach of Viareggio, still in Lega Pro Prima Divisione. He then left the club in June 2014 to accept an offer from newly promoted Lega Pro club Pistoiese.

In October 2016, he was named the new head coach of relegation-struggling Lega Pro club Messina. After guiding the club to safety during a period of serious financial struggles followed by a club takeover, Lucarelli and Messina mutually parted company by the end of the season. A few days later, he was announced as new head coach of fellow Sicilian Lega Pro club Catania.

In July 2017, Lucarelli was appointed Catania's new head coach. After one season in charge, he left the club to become the manager of Livorno, but he was sacked on 7 November due to a poor start in the 2018–19 Serie B season.

On 22 October 2019, he was hired by Catania once again. On 29 July 2020, his Catania contract was terminated by mutual consent.

On 8 August 2020, he joined Ternana in Serie C. Under his tenure, Ternana were crowned Girone C champions, winning promotion to Serie B on 3 April 2021 with still four games in hand.

After guiding Ternana to safety in their first season return to Serie B, and despite a positive start to the 2022–23 Serie B season, Lucarelli was dismissed on 26 November 2022 following a negative string of results; he was appointed back at the helm of Ternana on 27 February 2023, following the resignations of Aurelio Andreazzoli. After not being confirmed by the end of the season, Lucarelli was hired for a third time on 14 July 2023, following a change of ownership and the early departure of Aurelio Andreazzoli, who was originally expected to be the new manager for the 2023–24 season. He was however dismissed once again on 6 November 2023 after a negative start to the season. Just a few days later, on 14 November, Lucarelli agreed to return to Serie C club Catania, signing a contract until 30 June 2026 with the Sicilians. He was removed from his coaching post just a few months later, on 7 March 2024, after failing to improve the team results, leaving Catania just above the relegation playoff zone, despite having successfully led the Rossazzurri to qualify for the Coppa Italia Serie C finals.

On 26 December 2025, he joined Pistoiese in Serie D, coming back to the club after 10 years.

On 12 July 2026, Lucarelli was hired by Livorno in Serie C.

Outside of professional football Personal life Cristiano's younger brother, Alessandro, is also a former footballer, who played as a defender in the Serie A league (also sharing a few seasons together with Cristiano while at Livorno), and most notably captaining Parma.

His son Mattia (born 1999), a full-back, followed in his father's footsteps, also playing for Livorno himself during the 2022–23 season.

Business ventures On 16 July 2010, Lucarelli became a share-holding partner of Carrarese; he initially owned 50% of the club's shares, along with Gianluigi Buffon and Maurizio Mian.

Passion, political views and controversy Lucarelli's passion for his home club often resulted in many questionable incidents. The May 2005 issue of Calcio Italia reported that he had paid for a bus that brought a cadre of travelling Livorno fans back to the city after they had been arrested for rioting. He has the Livorno logo tattooed on his left forearm and his jersey number, 99, was an homage to the left-wing ultras group Brigate Autonome Livornesi, which was founded in 1999.

He was also of an increasingly rare breed of Italian footballer who openly brought his politics onto the pitch; his goal celebration consisted of a dual clenched-fist salute, a gesture made famous by the Communist party. He has openly stated that he is a supporter of communism. One of his mobile phone ringtones was Bandiera Rossa, and he once declared, “We Livorno get no favours from the referees because we are Communists!”, but later retracted this statement.

He is a staunch admirer of Che Guevara, whose face is frequently displayed on Livorno fans' banners and T-shirts during matches. This first came to the fore in 1997, when, after scoring for Italy's Under-21 side, he celebrated by pulling his shirt over his face to reveal a shirt bearing Che Guevara's image. Despite his insisting that it was not a political gesture, he was consequently blackballed from the national team for several years until Marcello Lippi called him up as a starter for a friendly match in 2005.

Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Honours Player Perugia Lega Pro Prima Divisione: 1993–94

Valencia Copa del Rey: 1998–99 UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998

Shakhtar

Managerial Ternana Serie C: 2020–21 Supercoppa di Serie C: 2021