Christian Maggio
Encyclopedia
Christian Maggio (ˈkristjan ˈmaddʒo; born 11 February 1982) is an Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...

 footballer who currently plays as a defender
Defender (association football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 for Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

 club Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....

 and Italian national team.

Vicenza

Maggio began his career at Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

 making his Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

 debut in the 2000–2001 season, finishing the campaign with six appearances. However, despite some success on a personal level, Vicenza were subsequently relegated to Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...

 at the end of the season. Maggio stayed with Vicenza until 2003, making 38 appearances in total while managing to score just 1 goal.

Fiorentina

In 2003, Maggio signed for A.C.F. Fiorentina. Maggio did not appear for Fiorentina until they were promoted from Serie B for the 2004–2005 season. Overall, Maggio played 56 games for The Viola, scoring 2 goals over a 4 year period.

Sampdoria

However, it was not until Maggio signed for Sampdoria that he began to fulfill the potential he had shown when playing for Italy at youth level. Some very impressive performances during the 2007–2008 season resulted in nine goals from twenty-nine appearances. At the end of season he was sold to Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....

 for €8 million.

Napoli

During his time at Napoli he has continued to perform consistently. On the 24th of January 2009 Maggio scored a wonderful volley against Livorno. He took up a position near the corner of the penalty area as a long cross-field pass descended towards him. As this raking pass came across his body from his left shoulder he volleyed it first time, with great power, over the goalkeeper and the far top corner of the net.

On December 6, 2010, Maggio scored a last second goal which saw Napoli three points in a 1-0 win over Palermo in the 94th minute.
Maggio usually functions as a right midfielder/winger for Napoli since they play in a 3-4-2-1
Formation (association football)
In association football, the formation describes how the players in a team are positioned on the pitch. Different formations can be used depending on whether a team wishes to play more attacking or defensive football....

 formation. He had played at right back for the majority of his career. However, since he started playing on the wing, his quality has improved and he is arguably better as a right winger rather than a right back considering his greatly improved attacking skills.

International career

Called by Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi, Commendatore OMRI is a former Italian World Cup-winning football manager and former player. He served as Italian national team head coach from 16 July 2004 to 12 July 2006 and led Italy to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was re-appointed as Italian head coach in the summer of 2008...

, he made his debut with the Italian national team
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

 on 19 November 2008, in a friendly match against Greece
Greece national football team
The Greece national football team represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos...

. He took part at the 2010 World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...

, where he played in the third group stage match, as the back up of Gianluca Zambrotta
Gianluca Zambrotta
Gianluca Zambrotta is a world cup winning Italian footballer who currently plays as a full back for Serie A club Milan.Zambrotta was decorated as Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2000 and he was made an Officer of the same order in 2006.-Como:Zambrotta began his...

.

Under new head coach Cesare Prandelli
Cesare Prandelli
Cesare Claudio Prandelli is an Italian football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of the Italy national football team.-Playing career:...

 he became a regular in the right back position.

External links

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