Vincenzo Iaquinta

Reggiolo

Iaquinta was born in Cutro, in the province of Crotone. Like many Calabrians in the 1980s, his parents migrated to Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy for better job opportunities. Iaquinta played with his brother in the lower divisions for Reggiolo for the 1996–1997 season, before transferring to Serie B club Padova in January 1998, after 33 appearances and six goals in his first professional season and a half.

Padova

Iaquinta moved to Padova in January 1998, a club where his future Juventus teammate and Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero thrived, but his spell with Padova was short-lived as after only six months, just 13 appearances and three goals, Iaquinta was surprisingly sold to Serie C1 club, Castel di Sangro.

Castel di Sangro

Following his short spell in Serie B, Iaquinta went on to spend two seasons in the Italian Serie C1, with Castel di Sangro from 1998 and 2000. It was with his new club where Iaquinta established himself, making 52 appearances as he became a key part of the starting line-up, and netting eight goals. Following several impressive performances, Iaquinta was signed by Udinese of Serie A.

Udinese

In June 2000, Udinese completed the signing of the young prospect and in his first season with the club, Iaquinta made 16 appearances and scored two goals. The following season, he made 26 appearances with three goals, before breaking into the starting eleven in his third season. He scored eight goals in 28…

Iaquinta made his international debut for Italy on 30 March 2005, as a half-time substitute for Luca Toni in a 0–0 home friendly draw against Iceland at the Stadio Euganeo in Padua. Iaquinta was a member of the Italian squad that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup under manager Marcello Lippi. His first international goal came in his nation's opening match of the tournament, on 12 June: Iaquinta scored Italy's second goal in the 2–0 victory against Ghana. He played in 5 out of 7 of Italy's matches, including the victorious semi-final against hosts Germany and final against France on 9 July, in which he came on after 61 minutes for Simone Perrotta. Iaquinta missed out on Roberto Donadoni's Italy squad for Euro 2008 due to injury. He later took part at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and he also played for Italy in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, in which he scored a penalty in a 1–1 draw against New Zealand in the second group match. His 40th and final international appearance came in the last group game on 24 June, in which Italy were defeated 3–2 by Slovakia and eliminated from the tournament. In total he only scored six goals for Italy.

In his prime, Iaquinta was a tall, physically strong, opportunistic and extremely fast striker, who excelled in the air and at finishing off chances inside the penalty area. Due to his great pace, athleticism, work-rate, tenacity and good movement off the ball, he was also known for his ability to make attacking runs to beat the defensive line and either get on the end of his teammates' passes or provide depth and create space for his team; his speed and timing also made him a dangerous offensive threat on counter-attacks. Although his preferred role was that of a striker, he was a versatile forward who was capable of playing in several offensive positions, and was also used as a second striker, or as a winger. Due to his strength, he excelled at playing with his back to goal, and at holding the ball up for teammates. Iaquinta was often injury-prone throughout his career, which frequently limited his playing time.

Iaquinta has been married to Arianna Cucinotta since 14 June 2003. He and his wife have four children, two sons and two daughters: Giuseppe, born on 17 December 2002, Edoardo, born on 28 June 2004, Carlotta, born on 20 May 2008, and Ginevra, born on 23 April 2015.

Criminal allegations and conviction

During the Aemilia antimafia investigation, on 4 February 2015 illegal weapons were found at Iaquinta's Quattro Castella home and his father Giuseppe's home. On 21 December 2015, they were both sent to trial for the illegal possession of firearms, aggravated by the aiding of the Calabrian Mafia organization 'Ndrangheta expand to Northern Italy, of which his father was charged with association with the 'Ndrangheta through the 'Ndrina of Nicolino Grande Aracri. On 31 October 2018, Iaquinta was found guilty of illegal possession of firearms, and sentenced to two years imprisonment; his father was found guilty of mafia association, and received 19 years imprisonment.