Fabio Quagliarella

Early career

Quagliarella grew up in the youth ranks of Gragnano, then Torino, where he made his debut in Serie A on 14 May 2000, in a 2–1 victory over Piacenza. In 2002, given his limited playing opportunities, Quagliarella was sent on loan to Fiorentina, at that time in Serie C2. In Florence, he scored just one goal in 12 games. In January, head coach Alberto Cavasin decided to cease the loan, whereupon Torino then sent him on loan to Chieti in Serie C1. He also remained in Abruzzo the following season and scored 17 goals in 32 games during the 2003–04 Serie C1 season. His time in Chieti ended with a total of 19 goals in 43 games; at the end of the season, he returned to Torino, in given the 2004–05 season in Serie B. At Torino, Quagliarella was an occasional starter, and with seven goals in 34 games, contributed to the club's promotion to Serie A. However, as a result of the bankruptcy of Torino Calcio, in August 2005, he was released on a free transfer and accepted a contract with Ascoli. With Ascoli, he was ensured a starting spot in the lineup during the 2005–06 season, scoring his first goal in Serie A on 21 December 2005, a 1–0 home win over Treviso.

Udinese, Ascoli and Sampdoria

Quagliarella signed with Udinese in the summer of 2005. However, Udinese immediately sold half of his registration rights to newly promoted Ascoli as part of a co-ownership deal. He stayed at Ascoli for just one season, scoring just three times in 33 appearances, and his…

Quagliarella played for the Italian youth sides, known as the Azzurrini, from the 2000–01 season up until the 2004–05 season. He made his debut for the Italy U17 team (equivalent to the current Italy U18 side) on 5 September 2000 against Slovakia. The following season, he was a member of the Italy U19 team during their 2002 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying campaign. Following his impressive performances with Sampdoria in the 2006–07 season, Quagliarella was called up to the Italian senior squad, known as the Azzurri, for a friendly against Romania in February 2007. However, his senior international debut was delayed, as the match was cancelled as a result of fan riots in Serie A that weekend. Quagliarella finally made his senior debut for Italy on 28 March 2007, in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Scotland in Bari, coming on as a substitute for Luca Toni in the final minutes of the 2–0 win. In Kaunas on 6 June 2007, he made his first start for Italy in a vital Euro 2008 qualifier against Lithuania, also scoring his first two goals for the national side in the eventual 2–0 win. On 6 February 2008, he scored his third goal for Italy, and his nation's third goal of the match, in their 3–1 triumph over Portugal in an international friendly in Zurich. This was also the 1200th goal scored by the Italy national side. Quagliarella was subsequently included in the Italian UEFA Euro 2008 squad by manager Roberto Donadoni; he made his only appearance of the tournament in…

An opportunistic yet hard-working forward, Quagliarella was noted for his eye for goal, intelligent off-the-ball movement, and strong positional sense. He was primarily recognised for his accurate and powerful long-range shooting, as well as his aerial ability — both with his head and through acrobatic efforts — and his tendency to score spectacular goals from volleys and strikes from outside the penalty area. Usually a striker, he was a versatile forward, capable of playing anywhere along the front line, and was also deployed as a winger, as a second striker, and even as an attacking midfielder, due to his technical skills and ability to create space and provide assists for teammates, in addition to scoring goals himself. He was also an accurate penalty taker. Although not a renowned sprinter, Quagliarella had his running speed clocked at 35.07 km/h in August 2021 at the age of 38, which made him one of the fastest players in the Serie A.

Quagliarella wore the number 27 in honour of Niccolò Galli, a childhood friend and youth academy teammate of his who used to wear this number; Galli died in a road accident in 2001, at the age of 17. In February 2017, Quagliarella revealed in an interview with Mediaset that during his time at Napoli, he and his family were threatened by a stalker over five years, which eventually led to his departure from the club.