Luca Toni

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Personal information
Luca Toni

Full name	Luca Toni Varchetta
Date of birth	May 26, 1977 (age 29)
Place of birth	Pavullo nel Frignano, Italy
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Nickname	Tonigol Toni e Fulmini (Thunder and Lightning)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	ACF Fiorentina
Number	30
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1994-1996 1996-1997 1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2003 2003-2005 2005-	Modena Empoli Fiorenzuola Lodigiani Treviso Vicenza Brescia Palermo Fiorentina	32 (7) 3 (1) 26 (2) 31 (5) 35 (15) 31 (9) 44 (15) 80 (51) 62 (46)
National team²
2004-	Italy	27 (12)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:25, 28 March 2007 (UTC). ² National team caps and goals correct as of 28 march 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Luca Toni, Cavaliere (born May 26, 1977 in Pavullo nel Frignano, Modena) is an Italian, World Cup winning, football player. He plays as a striker for ACF Fiorentina and the Italian national team. In the FIFA World Cup 2006 Luca Toni scored two consecutive goals against Ukraine. Again in the qualifying for the Euro Cup 2008, Luca Toni scored two goals against Ukraine putting them ahead 2-0.

[edit] Club career

He started his professional career at Modena in 1994.

After a Serie B season with Treviso in 1999, he moved to Vicenza Calcio, playing in Serie A for the first time. He then moved to Brescia Calcio and played for two seasons along-side Roberto Baggio.

He joined Palermo in 2003 and aided the team to win Serie B by scoring thirty goals during the season, consequently gaining his first cap for the national team. In the following season, he scored twenty goals.

In July 2005, he was transferred by Palermo owner, Maurizio Zamparini, to Fiorentina for €10m. He helped Fiorentina qualify for the UEFA Champions League 2006-07 when his team ended the 2005-06 season with a fourth place finish.

On May 27, 2006 Toni scored his 31st goal of the 2005-06 season and in doing so, secured the 2005-06 Capocannonieri. It is the first time since the 1958-59 season that a player has scored more than 30 goals in Serie A. Despite only finishing third top scorer in European football with 31 goals in Serie A with Fiorentina, behind Klaas Jan Huntelaar of Ajax Amsterdam and Kris Boyd of Rangers, Toni collected the European Golden Boot, due to multipliers based on the quality of the league. Toni's goal tally has eclipsed the previous club record of 26 in one season in the top flight, held by Fiorentina legends Gabriel Batistuta and Kurt Hamrin.

Although Fiorentina was involved in 2006 Serie A scandal and being handed points penalty, on 9 August, Toni announced he would stay loyal to Fiorentina and stay at Florence for at least another season.

In 2007, Toni has scored 3 goals in 4 appearances for Fiorentina. He missed a game due to a thigh injury and was used as a subsitute for the first time this season in their last game against Cagliari.

With 10 games left in the season Toni has scored 15 goals, 3 behind Francesco Totti's Serie A leading tally of 18.

[edit] National team

Toni made his debut for the Italian national team as a substitute on on August 19, 2004 in a friendly match against Iceland. He scored his first goal for Italy in a 2006 World Cup Qualifying match against Norway on September 4, 2004.

On November 17, 2004, Toni made his international start in a friendly match against Finland.

On June 11, 2005, Toni captained the Italian national team for the first time in his career in a friendly match against Ecuador because of the absence of current captain Fabio Cannavaro and other experienced players.

On September 7, 2005, Toni scored his first international hat-trick in a 4-1 victory against Belarus in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match.

Toni was selected to Italy's 2006 FIFA World Cup squad, and scored two goals in the quarter-finals against Ukraine on June 30, 2006, his only goals in the whole tournament.

[edit] External links

Preceded by Cristiano Lucarelli	Serie A top scorer 2005-06	Succeeded by Incumbent

	Italy squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Champions (4th Title)
1 Buffon \| 2 Zaccardo \| 3 Grosso \| 4 De Rossi \| 5 Cannavaro \| 6 Barzagli \| 7 Del Piero \| 8 Gattuso \| 9 Toni \| 10 Totti \| 11 Gilardino \| 12 Peruzzi \| 13 Nesta \| 14 Amelia \| 15 Iaquinta \| 16 Camoranesi \| 17 Barone \| 18 Inzaghi \| 19 Zambrotta \| 20 Perrotta \| 21 Pirlo \| 22 Oddo \| 23 Materazzi \| Coach: Lippi