Alberto Aquilani Italian footballer, midfielder Date of Birth: 07.07.1984 Country: Italy

Biography of Alberto Aquilani

Alberto Aquilani is an Italian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for the club "Las Palmas" and the Italian national team. He began his football career at the "Spes Montesacro" school, where he was noticed by scouts from "Roma". He played for "Roma" at the youth level.

In March 2001, promising player Aquilani was sought after by "Chelsea" and "Arsenal", but he chose to stay at "Roma". On December 17, 2002, Aquilani played his first match for the senior team of "Roma" in the Italian Cup match against "Triestina" (1:1; 4:1 penalties). On May 10, 2003, he made his Serie A debut in a match against "Torino" (3:1).

During the 2003/04 season, Aquilani went on loan to "Triestina" in Serie B, where he was a regular starter (41 games, 4 goals), and his performance for the team was highly regarded by experts. Upon returning to "Roma", he regularly appeared on the field and showed good play, but missed several games due to injuries. He won two Italian Cups with the club, fought for high positions in Serie A, and played in European competitions. He played a total of 147 matches for the team (102 in Serie A) and scored 15 goals (9 in Serie A).

In the summer of 2009, there were reports in the press that Aquilani could transfer from "Roma" to "Liverpool", which was looking for a replacement for Xabi Alonso, who was close to joining Real Madrid. On August 6, an official statement was published that a principle agreement between the clubs on the transfer had been reached, after which "Liverpool" was given the opportunity to negotiate with Aquilani. On August 7, "Liverpool" confirmed that the player had successfully passed the medical examination, and the contract was signed. On August 13, it was announced that Aquilani would wear the number four shirt in the new team, which was previously worn by Sami Hyypiä.

On August 21, 2010, "Liverpool" and "Juventus" reached an agreement on a one-year loan deal for the player. On August 25, Aquilani signed a contract with "Juventus" for a year with the option of a priority purchase of the player at the end of the 2010/11 season for €16 million. On June 24, 2011, the player's agent stated that Aquilani would return to "Liverpool" because "Juventus" would not buy out his contract from the English club. On August 24, 2011, Aquilani moved from "Liverpool" to "Milan" on loan with the option to buy the player for €6 million.

Aquilani has a great deal of experience playing for various Italian youth national teams. In 2003, he won the European Under-19 Championship, playing all five matches in the final stage of the tournament, scoring one goal, and being one of the leading players on the team. On November 15, 2006, he played his first match for the senior national team against Turkey (1:1). He was a regular starter for the U-21 national team in the 2007 European Championship, scoring two goals in the tournament. He participated in the European Championship with the Italian national team in 2008, playing two out of four matches. On October 15, 2008, he scored his first goals for the national team, scoring a brace in a World Cup 2010 qualifying match against Montenegro (2:1).

As of December 9, 2011, Aquilani has been in a relationship with Italian actress Michela Quattrociocche. On April 18, 2011, the couple welcomed their first child, daughter Aurora.