Giuseppe Sculli

Giuseppe Sculli (born 23 March 1981) is a retired Italian footballer who played in several positions; primarily a striker, he could play anywhere along the front-line, and also played as a winger, as a second striker, and even as a right-sided midfielder or as a wingback on the right flank.

Club career

Juventus Sculli joined Juventus FC in 1999, although he failed to make a single appearance for the club throughout the 1999–2000 season.

Crotone F.C. Crotone took Sculli on a two-year loan spell in the summer of 2000, paying Juventus €500k for the loan. In his first season at Crotone, Sculli played 23 matches and scored 3 goals, making his debut against A.C. ChievoVerona. The next season, he became even more prevalent in the first team, making 27 appearances and scoring 5 goals. Sculli endured a difficult campaign at Chievo in the 2003–04 season, struggling for playing time and form, scoring 3 goals in 20 appearances. He was sold by Juventus to Genoa for €300,000.

In the 2007–08 season, Sculli finally made his return to football, his first match back was against Catania in Serie A's Round 2. He went on to make 35 appearances that season, scoring 4 goals. The next season, he managed a career high 9 goals in 35 Serie A appearances. The following season, Sculli made his European football debut in the Europa League, scoring goals Slavia Prague and LOSC Lille as Genoa went out in the group stages.

Lazio Sculli was sold to Lazio on 19 January 2011 in co-ownership deal for a peppercorn fee of €500. He was assigned the number 7 shirt for his new club, becoming Lazio's first signing of the 2011 calendar year. He finished his first and second goals for Lazio during a comfortable win against Palermo on 6 March 2011.

In June 2011 Lazio bought him outright for €3 million. winning the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, and earning a bronze medal for a fourth-place finish at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Personal life Born in Locri, the Province of Reggio Calabria, Sculli is the grandson of Giuseppe Morabito, a notorious boss of the 'Ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia organization.

Honours

International Italy under-21 UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2004 Olympic Bronze Medal: 2004