Date of birth 23 July 1987 (age 26)
Place of birth Velletri, Italy
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 78 kg
Playing position Right Winger / Second Striker
Alessio Cerci (Italian pronunciation: [aˈlɛssjo ˈtʃɛrtʃi]; born 23 July 1987) is an Italian footballer who plays as a winger or second striker for Serie A club Torino and the Italian national team. He started his professional football career at Roma before serving periods on loan at Brescia, Pisa and Atalanta. He was then signed by Fiorentina, before joining Torino in 2012. On the international stage, Cerci represented Italy at each youth level before making his debut for the national team in 2013.
Club career
Roma
Cerci began his playing career with the Roma youth system. During this time, he was nicknamed "the Henry from Valmontone" due to his playing style. At the age of 16 he made his Serie A debut under Fabio Capello in a game against Sampdoria, ending 0-0. He made an additional two appearances for Roma the following season, appearing as a substitute against Inter Milan and Cagliari.
On 21 March 2005 was signed to a 3 year contract by Roma, confirming him for the 2005-06 Serie A season. However, he mostly continued to play with under-19 team (winning the the second edition of the Wojtyła Cup) with only one first team appearance against Chievo Verona on 30 April 2006.
Brescia, Pisa and Atalanta
On 18 August 2006 he was loaned to Serie B side Brescia. He made his debut on 15 September against Bari, 1-1. Cerci made an additional 20 appearances for the Biancoazzurri, mostly as a substitute before returning to Roma at the end of the season.
The following season he was loaned to Pisa Calcio in Serie B. The team was a newly promoted side coached by Giampiero Ventura, who quickly made Cerci a regular starter for his team. Cerci scored his first goal for Pisa on 9 September 2007, in a 1-2 victory away to Cesena. He scored again on 25 September against Triestina, before scoring again in matches against Treviso, Ascoli and Albinoleffe. On 30 October 2007 he scored the first brace in his career, during a 3-3 draw to Modena. However, on 12 February he suffered a knee injury against former club Brescia that sidelined him for 2 months. He returned on 12 April, but after only 7 days back, was stretchered off the field after tearing his anterior crucial ligament. On 26 April 2008 he was operated on in Roma by the same doctor that had operated on Francesco Totti days before. His first season as a starter ended prematurely with 10 goals and 7 assists in 26 appearances.
Returning once again to Roma, he was prepared to be part of the first team, but was loaned out to Atalanta for €250,000 with the co-ownership price set at €2.75 million. Cerci selected the number 11 shirt, but numerous injuries limited him to just 11 appearances with 0 goals.
Return to Roma
During the 2009-2010 season he returned to Roma, scoring his first goal for the club on 29 August 2009 during the Europa League plays-off's against Košice (4-0). In Serie A, Cerci collected a number of appearances playing against Genoa, Juventus, Catania and Napoli, but he once again found himself on the bench under Claudio Ranieri. On 16 December, he scored a brace against CSKA Sofia-Roma (0-3) during the final legs of the Europa league. Cerci finished his season with Roma with 19 appearances and 3 goals.
Fiorentina
On 26 August 2010, Fiorentina signed Cerci for €4 million on a four year contract. Cerci made his debut for Fiorentina on 29 August against Napoli (1-1), scoring his first goal for Fiorentina in a 1-0 win against Chievo on 7 November 2010. At the end of the season, Cerci scored 6 goals in 5 games, with 2 braces.
After some animosity with the Fiorentina fans, Cerci became the focus of Manchester City under the request of Roberto Mancini, however before the transfer could be completed Cerci decided to remain at Fiorentina for the following season. Cerci scored his first goal of the season against Bologna (2-0), repeating this against Parma, Lazio and Lecce. However, at the season Cerci's difficult rapport with the Fiorentina fans put in doubt his permanency in Florence.
Torino
On 23 August 2012 Cerci was sold to Torino under a co-ownership agreement for €2.6 million. At Torino, he was reunited with his head coach from Pisa: Giampiero Ventura.
Cerci made his debut for Torino on 1 September 2012 as a substitute in a 3–0 victory against Pescara. On 30 September 2012, he was a key player in a 1–5 away victory against Atalanta, providing 3 assists. On 25 November 2012, he scored his first goal for the Granata during a 2-2 draw away to his former club, Fiorentina. His performance for Torino throughout the 2012–2013 season did not go unnoticed, with the player gaining his first cap for Italy under Cesare Prandelli. Cerci concluded the season with 8 goals, providing 12 assists.
On 20 June 2013 Torino purchased Cerci's remaining half from Fiorentina's for €3.8 million, in a deal that also saw Marko Bakić move permanently to Fiorentina. The 2013–2014 season saw Cerci begin playing as a second striker rather than a right-winger, allowing him to form a successful striking-partnership with new signing Ciro Immobile. Cerci scored his first goal during the opening day of the season against Sassuolo, won 2-0. On 25 September 2013, Cerci scored his first brace for Torino during a 2-2 draw to Hellas Verona
On 3 November 2013, Cerci scored against his former club Roma to end their 10-match winning streak, 1-1.
International career
Cerci was called up for the Italy national under-21 football team by then coach Pierluigi Casiraghi and scored his first goal for Italy in his debut during the 2009 European Championship qualifying match against Azerbaijan on 16 November 2007.
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