Sergio Pellissier

Sergio Pellissier (, ; born 12 April 1979) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is currently working as owner and chairman of Chievo, after Clivense (a club he founded in 2021) was re-established as the previously defunct Chievo.

Pellissier started his club career playing for Torino's youth team, having been called up once as part of Torino's senior team. After two years at Torino, Pellissier moved to Varese in 1998, and subsequently to ChievoVerona in 2000. He was promptly loaned for two seasons to SPAL. Upon his return to Chievo in 2002, Pellissier established himself as a first team player. He helped Chievo to qualify for both the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Champions League, and represented the team in both those competitions. He remained at the club after Chievo were relegated to Serie B at the conclusion the 2006–07 season, and became the squad's captain in the following one, helping the team to win the league title and earn promotion to Serie A. Throughout his career, Pellissier has achieved several historical records for the club, which have seen him become an idol of the Chievo fans; he is currently the club's all-time top goalscorer in official competitions, as well as being the club's record appearance holder. He retired from professional football at the end of the 2018–19 season. In 2021, he led an unsuccessful attempt to save ChievoVerona from bankruptcy.

At international level, Pellissier played five times for Italy's national under-17 youth squad in 1997, and appeared in a single match for the Italy senior team in 2009, scoring a goal.

Club career Early career Pellissier was born in Aosta and grew up in Fénis. He started playing football in the Aosta Valley. He was 12 when he scored three goals against Torino in a tournament in Nus and Fénis for the local team Fenusma, and Torino showed interest on him. He made his senior debut and played one match in Serie B during the 1996–97 season against Salernitana. and also appeared in a match of 1998–99 Coppa Italia. He then returned to Chievo for the 2002–03 season, On 3 November, Pellissier played as a 63rd-minute substitute for Luigi Beghetto and scored his first goal in Serie A, During that season, he played 25 matches in the league and scored five goals Outside the Italian League, Pellissier appeared four times in the Coppa Italia,

The following season (2003–04), Pellissier made 27 league appearances and scored three goals, During the 2004–05 season, he scored seven times in 34 appearances. 2005–06 was Pellissier's breakout season; he made a significant contribution to Chievo's campaign, scoring 13 of Chievo's 54 league goals. Among them, Pellissier scored in four consecutive matches and twice in the matches against Lecce and Reggina. The season was an important one; the 2006 Italian football scandal ensured that Chievo finished in fourth place because of various points deductions to other sides, qualifying Chievo for the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League.

In the Champions League, Chievo were eliminated by Levski Sofia after losing the first match 2–0 and drawing the second one 2–2; Pellissier played in these matches and did not score in either. Chievo were also knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Braga in two matches, in which Pellissier was not on the team's lineup. The 2006–07 season was a successful one for Pellissier from a personal standpoint; he was voted Chievo's best player by the club's supporters, winning the "Cangrande del Bentegodi". He scored nine league goals in 36 appearances; Pellissier chose to stay with Chievo despite their relegation and was made the team's captain in the 2007–08 season. He was a key player for the club and played a pivotal role in Chievo's Serie B title victory and return to Serie A, scoring a career best 22 goals for the 2007–08 season,

In 2008–09, Pellissier played all of Chievo's 38 Serie A matches and scored 13 goals, including two on 15 March 2009 in a 3–0 victory over Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico. Three weeks later, on 5 April, he scored the first hat-trick of his career in a 3–3 draw against Juventus in Turin; this was followed on 19 April by a brace in a match against Siena. Pellissier's 2008–09 performance won him the Cangrande award for the third consecutive season. in the 21st and 22nd, and in the 34th and 35th. In 2010–11, Pellissier made the same numbers of appearances and scored the same number of goals as in the previous season. and the other in a 3–0 win against Brescia. He made his 300th appearance for Chievo on 6 February 2011 in a 2–1 loss against Lazio.

2011–2019 In a 2–1 victory against Novara on 2 February 2012, Pellissier scored his 100th goal for Chievo. On 18 February, he was accused of being involved on the 2011–12 Italian football scandal, which affected his performance. Nevertheless, he also scored in consecutive matches against Fiorentina and Catania, and a brace in a 4–4 draw against Palermo. He scored eight league goals in 35 appearances in the 2011–12 season, he scored his first goal of five in his 24 appearances of the Serie A 2012–13 season. He also scored a goal on his sole match in Coppa Italia on 18 August 2012 during a 4–0 win over Ascoli.

In July 2013, Pellissier renewed his contract with Chievo for two years. Starting the 2013–14 campaign as a first-team man, he eventually became a substitute under the coach Eugenio Corini. On 22 August 2014, in a 1–0 defeat by Pescara during the Coppa Italia, Pellissier reached 400 appearances for Chievo. During the 2014–15 season, he played 27 matches and score seven goals in Serie A;

Before the start of the 2015–16 season, Pellissier, at the age of 36, was "surprised" to get a three-year contract extension until June 2018. When he signed the contract, he was expecting "to repay in full", seeking to reach the mark of 100 goals in Serie A. He had score 93 goals so far, In the following season, he would reach his 400th Serie A match on 6 November 2016 during a 2–1 defeat to Juventus, when he also scored his 99th goal. His 100th Serie A goal, all of which came with Chievo, would be scored on 11 December 2016 in a 2–0 away win over Palermo. He also scored in consecutive Serie A matches twice—in the 16th and 17th round, and in the 19th and 20th round. In 2017–18, he played 20 matches and scored two goals, and the other on 29 November in a Coppa Italia 1–1 draw, when he also missed a decisive penalty shot.

On 10 May 2019, almost a month after his 40th birthday, Pellissier announced that he would be retiring from professional football at the end of the 2018–19 season; Chievo subsequently announced that they would also be retiring the number 31 shirt that he wore for the club in his honour. On 19 May, he made his final home appearance for the club in a 0–0 draw against Sampdoria; in the 72nd minute, he came off for Manuel Pucciarelli, and was given a standing ovation by the fans and a guard of honour by his teammates, who saluted him. He made the final appearance of his career on 25 May, in a 0–0 away draw against Frosinone. In total, he made 517 appearances for Chievo in all competitions, scoring 139 goals. Chievo finished the 2018–19 Serie A season in last place and were relegated to Serie B.

International career Pellissier made five appearances for the Italy national under-17 football team between April and May 1997; he scored no goals for the Italian under-17 side. In May 2009, Pellissier received his first call up to the Italian senior national team by coach Marcello Lippi to play in a friendly against Northern Ireland. In the match, on 6 June, he entered as a substitute for Giampaolo Pazzini in the 62nd minute and scored a goal 11 minutes later in the 3–0 win. Regarding his debut with the national squad, he stated: "It's a dream that came true. L'azzurra is the cherry on the cake of an extraordinary season. However the merit is not mine, but all Chievo's." This was Pellissier's only senior appearance for Italy. a position in which he prefers to play alongside a larger, and more physically gifted centre-forward, due to his ability to link-up with other players and create chances for his teammates. He is also able to be deployed as an out-and-out striker, or as a right winger, due to his tendency to drift out wide, and then cut into the centre to strike on goal with his stronger left foot. Due to his elevation and heading accuracy, he excels in the air; he is also known for his speed, both on and off the ball, as well as his agility. Pellissier is also an accurate striker of the ball from both inside and outside the penalty area, He successively accepted to join Rovigo as the club's new general director, a role he kept for a very brief amount of time due to regulations preventing from being contracted for two separate league clubs.

Later in the summer of 2021, ChievoVerona were expelled from Serie B as a result of financial irregularities relating to missing tax payments. This meant that the club was essentially bankrupt and needed new owners to restart in Serie D. Pellissier led the search for a new ownership group, but was unsuccessful. On 21 August 2021, Pellissier announced that ChievoVerona would cease to exist in an Instagram post, calling it "one of the saddest days of my life." He then decided to found a new club himself, named Chievo 2021, which was admitted to the Terza Categoria for the 2021–22 season. The club was then renamed to Clivense following a legal warning from Chievo's chairman and owner Luca Campedelli. The club won promotion to the Seconda Categoria on their debut season, with a 43-year old Pellissier playing in the final league game and scoring two goals in a 5–0 win, and successively entered the Eccellenza after having acquired the sporting rights of San Martino Speme.

Personal life In 2001, during the time Pellissier was playing for SPAL in Ferrara, he met Gian Micaela Viadana in a restaurant in which she was working. After some time exchanging e-mails with Micaela, they started a relationship.

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals

1996–97

1997–98

1998–99

1998–99

1999–2000

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2000–01 Serie B

2002–03

2003–04

2004–05

2005–06

2006–07

2007–08 Serie B

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

2011–12

2012–13

2013–14

2014–15

2015–16

2016–17

2017–18

2018–19

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2001

2001–02

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International + Appearances and goals by national team and year National teamYearAppsGoalsItaly200911

Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 6 June 2009 Arena Garibaldi, Pisa, Italy 3–0 3–0 Friendly

Honours Chievo Serie B: 2007–08