Stefano Fiore

Parma and early years

Fiore was born in Cosenza, and he began his professional footballing career with his domestic club in 1992. He played just 11 games before moving to Parma in 1994. He made his Serie A debut with the club at the age of nineteen, in a 0–0 away draw against Genoa, on 11 December 1994. During that season, Parma came in third in Serie A, and reached the final of the Coppa Italia. Their most prestigious success was achieved with their UEFA Cup victory over season rivals Juventus, and Fiore was inserted into the starting eleven by manager Nevio Scala, in the return leg of the final, which finished 1–1. This allowed Fiore to gain international experience alongside his established teammates such as Gianfranco Zola, Fernando Couto, and Dino Baggio. His limited playing time with them persuaded him to move to Padova for the following season, where he scored one goal in 24 games. In the 1996–97 season, Fiore moved to Serie B side Chievo, where he was impressive, notching up two goals and plenty of assists. This prompted former club, Parma, to re-sign the midfielder in 1997. For the next two seasons he became a more permanent member of the squad; although he was mainly left on the bench during the 1997–98 season, he looked far more impressive than his main starting eleven contender, the ageing Dino Baggio, when he was given a chance, and he became a member of the starting line-up during the following 1998–99 season. This season was Fiore's most successful…

Fiore made eight appearances for the Italy U21 national team, and three appearances for the U23 side, with which he won the Mediterranean Games in 1997. He made his debut for the senior national team during his time with Udinese, under manager Dino Zoff, on 23 February 2000, taking part in a 1–0 victory in an international friendly against Sweden, in Palermo. Fiore's fine form during the 1999–2000 Serie A season soon allowed him to become a permanent and important member of the national side, earning him a place in Dino Zoff's national side for Euro 2000. He had a very successful tournament and scored what many regard as the goal of the tournament in the 2–0 victory over co-hosts Belgium, in Italy's second group match; he also assisted a goal for his creative, offensive midfield teammate Francesco Totti in the quarter-finals of the tournament, a 2–0 win over Romania, which sealed Italy's place in the semi-finals against co-hosts the Netherlands. His fine form continued as he went on to take part in all of Italy's matches throughout the competition, as they reached the final, only to lose to the defending World Champions France on a golden-goal in extra-time. Under Zoff's replacement Giovanni Trapattoni, Fiore continued to be a member of the national side, scoring his second international goal on 28 February 2001, in a friendly defeat to Argentina, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. He missed out on the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan, where Italy were…

Throughout his career, Fiore was usually deployed as an attacking midfielder or on the left or right wing. A quick, combative, hard-working, and mobile player, Fiore was a talented, creative, and technically gifted playmaker, with good vision, ball skills, and intelligence, who was known for his passing ability, offensive capabilities, and his eye for goal from midfield, courtesy of his powerful and accurate striking ability from distance with his right foot, as well as his ability to make attacking runs into more advanced positions; these attributes also allowed him to play as a supporting striker on occasion. He also played in several deeper midfield roles, as a central midfielder or deep-lying playmaker, due to his tactical versatility, physique, and defensive work-rate off the ball, as well as his ability to link-up with other players and both create or finish off chances.

Parma

Coppa Italia: 1998–99 UEFA Cup: 1994–95, 1998–99 Lazio

Coppa Italia: 2003–04 Valencia

UEFA Super Cup: 2004 Supercopa de España: runner-up 2004 Udinese

UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2000 Italy

Mediterranean Games: 1997 UEFA European Championship: runner-up 2000 Individual

Coppa Italia top goalscorer: 2003–04 (6 goals) Orders

5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2000