| Cristiano Piccini | |
| Birth Date: | 26 September 1992 |
| Birth Place: | Florence, Italy |
| Height: | 1.90 m[1] |
| Position: | Defender |
| Currentclub: | Atlético San Luis |
| Clubnumber: | 2 |
| Youthyears1: | 1997–2002 |
| Youthclubs1: | Sporting Arno |
| Youthyears2: | 2002–2011 |
| Youthclubs2: | Fiorentina |
| Years1: | 2010–2015 |
| Clubs1: | Fiorentina |
| Caps1: | 1 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2011–2012 |
| Clubs2: | → Carrarese (loan) |
| Caps2: | 32 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Years3: | 2012–2013 |
| Clubs3: | → Spezia (loan) |
| Caps3: | 30 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2013–2014 |
| Clubs4: | → Livorno (loan) |
| Caps4: | 20 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2014–2015 |
| Clubs5: | → Betis (loan) |
| Caps5: | 12 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2015–2017 |
| Clubs6: | Betis |
| Caps6: | 39 |
| Goals6: | 2 |
| Years7: | 2017–2018 |
| Clubs7: | Sporting CP |
| Caps7: | 24 |
| Goals7: | 0 |
| Years8: | 2018–2022 |
| Clubs8: | Valencia |
| Caps8: | 34 |
| Goals8: | 2 |
| Years9: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs9: | → Atalanta (loan) |
| Caps9: | 1 |
| Goals9: | 0 |
| Years10: | 2022 |
| Clubs10: | Red Star Belgrade |
| Caps10: | 10 |
| Goals10: | 0 |
| Years11: | 2022–2024 |
| Clubs11: | 1. FC Magdeburg |
| Caps11: | 30 |
| Goals11: | 5 |
| Years12: | 2024 |
| Clubs12: | Sampdoria |
| Caps12: | 10 |
| Goals12: | 0 |
| Years13: | 2024– |
| Clubs13: | Atlético San Luis |
| Caps13: | 0 |
| Goals13: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2011 |
| Nationalteam1: | Italy U19 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 5 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2011–2012 |
| Nationalteam2: | Italy U20 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 7 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2013 |
| Nationalteam3: | Italy U21 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2018–2019 |
| Nationalteam4: | Italy |
| Nationalcaps4: | 3 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 10 May 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 23 March 2019 |
Cristiano Piccini (pronounced as /it/; born 26 September 1992) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Liga MX club Atlético San Luis.
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
On 15 January 2022, Piccini was released from Valencia and signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Serbian club Crvena Zvezda.[25]
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]
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.[28] 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.[29]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Fiorentina | 2010–11 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Carrarese (loan) | 2011–12 | Lega Pro Prima Divisione | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 1 | |||
| Spezia (loan) | 2012–13 | Serie B | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | |||
| Livorno (loan) | 2013–14 | Serie A | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 | |||
| Real Betis (loan) | 2014–15 | Segunda División | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| Real Betis | 2015–16 | La Liga | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | 23 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 25 | 3 | |||||
| Total | 39 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 43 | 3 | |||||
| Sporting CP | 2017–18 | Primeira Liga | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10[30] | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| Valencia | 2018–19 | La Liga | 23 | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | 8[31] | 0 | 38 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 2020–21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 2021–22 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 34 | 2 | 9 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 51! | 2 | ||||
| Atalanta (loan) | 2020–21 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Red Star Belgrade | 2021–22 | Serbian SuperLiga | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[32] | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| 1. FC Magdeburg | 2022–23 | 2. Bundesliga | 17 | 4 | — | — | — | 17 | 4 | ||||
| 2023–24 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 30 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 5 | |||||
| Sampdoria | 2023–24 | Serie B | 10 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 243 | 10 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 291 | 11 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2018 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 3 | 0 | ||
Betis
Sporting CP
Valencia
Red Star Belgrade