Giampaolo Pazzini

Early career

Born in Pescia, Pazzini started his career at Atalanta, with whom he made his professional debut in 2003, and quickly emerging as a promising youngster. He spent two seasons with Atalanta, playing 51 league games and scoring 12 goals (of which 3 of them at Serie A level). He switched from a left back to a striker.

Fiorentina

Pazzini joined Fiorentina from Atalanta for around €6 million in January 2005. During his first season, he scored ten goals in four appearances. but did not find space in Cesare Prandelli's plans as the latter preferred Luca Toni as the main striker, with Pazzini and Valeri Bojinov acting as second strikers. With the arrival of former Milan striker Alberto Gilardino, Prandelli opted for Adrian Mutu and Gilardino to form a striking partnership, reducing Pazzini to a backup role.

Sampdoria

As a result of limited first team opportunities, Pazzini agreed a move to Sampdoria in January 2008 for a €9 million transfer fee. After his first match, against Palermo, in the next matchday Pazzini found the back of the net for the first time with the blucerchiati against Udinese in the Coppa Italia. He scored his first goal in Serie A with his new team on 1 February 2009 in the match against Chievo, which finished in a 1–1 draw. His rejuvenated form continued when he hit his first brace with Sampdoria in a 3–0 hammering against Italian champions Internazionale in the Coppa Italia, and his second consecutive brace arrived in…

Under-21

Pazzini was formerly a member of the Italy under-21 team. On 24 March 2007, he scored the first goal and first hat-trick at the new Wembley Stadium in a 3–3 friendly draw with England.

Senior team

Pazzini made his debut with the senior Italian team on 28 March 2009 in a World Cup qualification match against Montenegro, scoring his first goal. Four days later, he was awarded with a place in the starting line-up against the Republic of Ireland. He was sent off in the second minute of the match for elbowing defender John O'Shea, the fastest sending-off in Italian history. Pazzini started the friendly against Northern Ireland in Pisa on 6 June 2009, where he missed a penalty in the 55th minute. He took part at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. On 3 June 2011, two years after his debut, he scored his second goal with the national team in a qualifying game against Estonia.

On August 7, 2024, Pazzini was announced as the Team Coordinator of FC Pistoiese via the teams' social media.

In 2011, Pazzini married Silvia Slitti, who he had been engaged to ten years previously. They got married at CastaDiva in Lake Como. Pazzini and his wife have one child, a son, Tommaso Pazzini, born on 21 December 2011.