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Fabio Firmani
	Firmani as a Lazio player (2009)
Personal information
Date of birth	26 May 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth	Rome, Italy
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Lodigiani
Senior career*
Years	Team
1995–1996	Lodigiani
1996–2001	Vicenza
1998–1999	→ Reggina (loan)
2001–2003	Chievo
2002	→ Bologna (loan)
2002–2003	→ Venezia (loan)
2003–2005	Catania
2005–2011	Lazio
2009	→ Al Wasl (loan)
2011	Shaanxi Renhe
Total
International career
1999–2000	Italy U21
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Fabio Firmani (born 26 May 1978) is an Italian retired footballer who played as a midfielder.

He amassed Serie A totals of 83 games and four goals over the course of ten seasons, representing in the competition Vicenza, Chievo, Bologna and Lazio.

Club career

Born in Rome, Firmani began his career with local club Lodigiani in 1995, before moving the following season to Vicenza. He remained at the latter club for seven years, making his Serie A debut on 26 January 1997 in a 3–2 home win against Fiorentina, going on to collect nearly 100 official appearances. He also scored in the quarter-finals of the 1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup against Roda JC, in a 9–1 aggregate routing.^[1]

During his time in Veneto, Firmani headed south for a year, spending the 1998–99 campaign on loan at Reggina and splitting 2001–02 between Chievo (co-ownership with Vicenza) and Bologna. After competing in Serie B in 2002–03 with Venezia, he was finally released and joined Catania, helping them to two mid-table positions in the competition.

The following year, Firmani signed with Lazio, replacing Juventus-bound Giuliano Giannichedda. He made a good start to his career in the capital, but suffered a serious injury in November 2005, causing him to miss to rest of the campaign.

On 25 November 2007, Firmani scored his first goal for the Biancocelesti against Parma at the Stadio Olimpico, in a 1–0 victory.^[2] The goal, which was scored in the 90th minute, came only a week after the death of his good friend Gabriele Sandri, who was shot by a policeman, and the player's celebration with fans in Curva Nord earned him their recognition; due to injuries, he only managed seven appearances for the season but still netted three times, the other two being successful strikes against Palermo and Napoli.

Firmani's streak with injuries continued throughout the following campaign and, due to several physical problems, he did not feature whatsoever for his team. He did however, receive a red card during the 1–4 home loss to Cagliari, when he reacted to an incident involving opponent Daniele Conti and Goran Pandev.^[3] He received adulation and support from the Lazio fans following the incident, due to the insipid nature of the team's performance – a popular message was then adopted by the side's faithful, Noi vogliamo undici Firmani (We want eleven Firmanis).

Shortly after the incident, Firmani was requested by Lazio to accept a loan move that would help him regain match fitness. The club suggested some Saudi teams, but the player instead requested to join Al-Wasl in the United Arab Emirates;^[4] subsequently, the Italians accepted the latter offer.^[5]

Firmani returned to Lazio in July 2009, starting preseason training in the northern town of Auronzo di Cadore and trying to earn himself a place in new coach Davide Ballardini's team. In February 2011, after being released upon his request, the 33-year-old joined Chinese Super League side Shaanxi Renhe.^[6]

International career

Firmani was never called up to the Italy national team, but collected ten caps for the under-21 side, scoring once.

He was a member of the side which won the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, and also played Olympic football in the same year, in Sydney.

References

^ "Vicenza 5–0 Roda". UEFA.com. 19 March 1998. Archived from the original on 7 April 2004. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
^ Firmani thrilled to end Lazio drought; UEFA.com, 26 November 2007
^ "Il Cagliari gioca la partita perfetta 4–1 in casa di un'incredibile Lazio" [Cagliari plays perfect match, 4–1 in home of incredible Lazio] (in Italian). La Repubblica. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
^ "Firmani, la Lazio: "Rispettata la sua volontá"" [Firmani, Lazio: "His wish has been granted"] (in Italian). Tutto Mercato Web. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
^ "Italian player to move to the UAE League" (in Arabic). Al Saha. 5 February 2009. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
^ China/Shaanxi, Firmani is coming^[usurped]; Football Press, 13 February 2011

External links

Fabio Firmani at TuttoCalciatori.net (in Italian)
"National team data" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
2007–08 profile at La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian) ^{[dead link‍]}
Profile at Rai (in Italian)
Fabio Firmani at ESPN FC