Graziano Pelle

At 39 years old, Graziano Pelle has this physical status:

Graziano Pellè (Italian pronunciation: [rat pell]; born on July 15, 1985) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker.

Pellè began his playing career with Lecce's local Serie A team, and was loaned to three lower-division clubs before being transferred to the Dutch club AZ in 2007. In his second season with the club, he captured the Economia trophy. He returned to Italy with Parma and Sampdoria, where he continued scoring for Feyenoord earned Pellè a £8 million transfer to Southampton in July 2014. Pellè left Shandong Luneng in July 2016 after two seasons in the Premier League, at an estimated transfer fee of £12 million.

Pellè was a member of the Italian National Under-20 and Under-21 teams. In 2008, he competed for the country's Olympic team, but he was not selected for the tournament. He scored on his debut at international level in 2014 and represented Italy at UEFA Euro 2016, where the team advanced to the quarterfinals.

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Club career

Pellè, a native of Monteroni di Lecce, was born in San Cesario di Lecce, Province of Lecce. After becoming the national under-12s champion in collaboration with his sister Fabiana, he may have chosen ballroom dancing as his future. He began playing for Lecce's youth teams; his father, Roberto, was a striker for Lecce in Serie C. Graziano won two Campionato Primavera titles and the 2002 Coppa Italia Primavera. In a 1–2 home loss to Bologna on January 11, 2004, he made his Serie A debut on January 11, 2004, his first appearance in the season.

Pellè was loaned out to Catania in Serie B in January 2005, but the net was not able to locate it. He participated in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with the under-20 team, scoring four goals in an eventual quarter-final exit and returning to Lecce for the 2005-06 season, now to Crotone.

Pellè was on loan to a level two club this time, this time to Cesena, where he had a breakthrough year with ten goals in 2006.

Pellè's family links to Lecce were no longer attached to him when he signed with Ethnic outfit AZ in July 2007. In an interview, he said he had the option of remaining at Lecce, who would loan him to Palermo, but chose the Alkmaar club instead because of its willingness to provide opportunities to young players. Danny Koevermans, who had to return PSV-bound Danny Koevermans to PSV-bound, was largely unsuccessful, and he finished his first season with only 3 goals in 27 games (16 starts).

Pellè defeated NEC 1–0 on December 28, 2008, with the winning goal being scored. In February, he scored twice in a 3–0 home win over Groningen, but the North Holland team was less active on the North Holland side over the course of four Evicsie seasons, having been announced in June 2011.

Pellè had agreed to a multi-year deal with Parma in early July 2011, according to the club's official website. During his stay at Parma, he scored one goal, neting its second goal in a comeback 3–3 draw with his old club Lecce on December 18, 2011; this was his first goal in Serie A. Pellè arrived on loan in Sampdoria's second division on January 31, 2012, scoring 4 goals in 16 appearances for the club to help it win promotion back to Serie A for 2012–13.

Pellè, the family's former president of Parma, returned to the Netherlands for the 2012–2013 season, becoming the first Italian to play for the club. In his first ten games, he scored 11 goals, including a last-minute kick against Ajax in a 2–2 home draw against Ajax, with both goals assisting in a 2–0 victory over RKC Waalwijk, also at De Kuip. Feyenoord beat Groningen 2–1 in the last game of the Evince season before the winter break on December 23. He scored twice more twice as Feyenoord defeated Groningen 2–1.

Pellè announced on January 5th, 2013, that he had a four-year deal with the Rotterdam club, which would begin on July 1st. Feyenoord's first goal since securing a permanent move to Feyenoord was scored on a pass from Jean-Paul Botius as Feyenoord fell to a 2–1 defeat to PSV on January 30. Feyenoord defeated Heracles 6–0 on 28 April, with him scoring a first-half brace. Luca Toni (Bayern Munich) and Christian Vieri (Atlético Madrid) scored 27 goals in the domestic charts, placing second in the national rankings and also beating the recent Italian scorers records in a foreign league at the end of the season, including Luca Toni (Bayern Munich) and Christian Vieri (Atlético Madrid).

Pellè was also known for his "retro" haircut among Feyenoord followers. Many fans of home games had the same haircut as Pellè, and there are now some YouTube videos that show how to style his hairstyle.

Feyenoord defeated NAC Breda 3–1, securing the club's first points of the new Eviolence season, Pellè's first goal. In the seventh minute of Feyenoord's UEFA Europa League second leg play-off match against Kuban Krasnodar, the Dutch team advanced to a 1-3 defeat, but the Dutch side conceded twice before falling to a 3–1 aggregate loss. Feyenoord defeated ADO Den Haag 4-2 on September 29, 2013, scoring with each foot and from the penalty spot. He earned his second hat-trick for Feyenoord. Feyenoord defeated rivals PSV 3-1 on December 1st, with him scoring twice more in either half.

Feyenoord went from a goal down to defeat NEC 5–1 on February 8, 2014, Pellè scored twice and missed a penalty. Feyenoord defeated rivals Ajax 2–1. He opened the scoring with a header from a Bruno Martins Indi cross, but later received a red card for an elbow to the face of Jol Veltman, as Feyenoord dropped 2–1 to rivals Ajax. Pellè returned to the team on April 6th and scored a brace in Feyenoord's 2–0 win over RKC Waalwijk after being out of the ban. Feyenoord's 15th and last league goal came in late April, with nodding in a Ruud Vormer corner as Feyenoord defeated Cambuur 5–1.

Pellè signed a three-year contract with Southampton in July 2014, reuniting him with his former AZ and Feyenoord coach Ronald Koeman. Pellè made his competitive debut for the club in August's first game of the new league season, defeating Liverpool 2–1 for the full 90 minutes. In a 2–0 victory over Millwall in the Second Round of the League Cup on August 26, he scored his first competitive goal for the club. In a 3–1 away victory over West Ham United, the club's first league goal was scored four days later. He scored twice more in Southampton's next match, a 4–0 home victory over Newcastle United on September 13th to secure the club's second league victory in as many games. Pellè won a match for Southampton against Queens Park Rangers with an overhead kick that was later designated as "world class" by opposition boss Harry Redknapp.

Pellè earned the Premier League Player of the Month award for September, with Koeman named Manager of the Month, and he followed this up with two goals against Sunderland on October 18th. In a League Cup victory over Stoke City on October 29, he scored another brace, leading his side to the quarterfinals of the competition for the first time in ten years. These were his 8th and 9th goals in his last 12 games.

Pellè scored his first Premier League goal of the year on April 11th in a 2–0 victory over Hull City at St. Mary's Stadium, snapping a streak of 15 league games without scoring. Pellè scored both goals for his team two weeks after losing to Tottenham Hotspur; a strike after disempowering Ben Davies; and a header by Shane Long.

Pellè scored Southampton's first goal in a European competition since 2003 when he opened a 3–0 Europa League third qualifying round home leg victory over Vitesse on July 30. In the away leg, it took him four minutes to open a 2–0 victory. He crossed in right-back Cédric's cross in Southampton's first match of the season, away from Newcastle, to result in a 2–2 draw. He scored twice against Manchester United on September 20th, but despite a 2–3 home loss, he was unable to score against them. Pellè won 3–1 over Chelsea in Pellè's third game of the season, scoring Southampton's third goal of the game from a close angle.

On July 11, 2016, Pellè left Southampton for Shandong Luneng, a Chinese club, for a £15 million fee. He became the world's seventh-highest paid footballer, earning £350,000 per week. Pellè made his club debut with a 1-1 draw with Liaoning Whowin on July 16, 2016. In a 4–1 victory over Hangzhou Greentown four days later, he scored his first goal.

Pellè agreed to a six-month contract on February 5th, 2021. Pellé scored an overhead kick in Parma's match against Genoa on March 19, almost ten years since his last goal in Serie A.

International career

In the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands, Pellè scored four goals for Italy under the age of 20, including a brace, defeating Canada 4-1 on group stage. He also scored an extra-time equalizer for a 2–2 draw with Morocco in the quarter-finals, and converted in the penalty shootout, which his team lost nonetheless.

Pellè, who had enjoyed a fruitful loan stint with Cesena, received a call-up to the Italian under-21 team in 2007, where he appeared three times as a replacement. He scored the first penalty kick in the shootout victory over Portugal with a Panenka-style penalty. With the victory, Italy secured a final European spot at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He was part of the tournament's preparations but was ultimately not selected for the final 22-man squad for the Olympics.

Pellè's first call up to the Italy senior side of the Azzurri's UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Azerbaijan and Malta on October 4, 2014. On October 13, 2014, he made his start as a starter against Malta, scoring the only goal of the game from close range after a corner in the 29th minute. On his third appearance in the 29th minute, he scored in his third goal, leading Italy to the lead in a 1-1 friendly draw against England at Juventus Stadium in Turin. Antonio Candreva's cross was his only goal of the home qualifier against Malta in Florence on September 3rd. Pellè was Italy's top scorer during the qualifying campaign, scoring three goals in Italy's 2–1 home victory over Norway on October 13th, which allowed Italy to top their Euro 2016 qualifying group and extended their undefeated run in European qualifying to 50 matches.

Pellè was included in Italy's 23-man squad for Euro 2016, which was announced on May 31. Pellè played the full game and volleyed a shot into the back of the net in Lyon's first game against Europe's top-ranked team Belgium on June 13th. He hit a volley in the 91st minute to give the Azzurri a 2–0 victory over defending champions Spain. In a 6–5 shoot-out loss to defending World Cup champions Germany in the tournament quarter-finals on July 2, he missed a penalty on July 2nd. "Do my Euros remain positive?" Pellè issued an apology to the national team's followers after the match, saying, "Do my Euros remain positive?" I couldn't care less right now; I'm just sad and want to apologize to all Italians. I'd have made the penalty if I had, but instead... a miracle. I arrived here as a stranger, and I leave as a stranger. He denied provoking Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer by making the "chip" gesture.

Pellè, the footballer who returned to China for international service in a friendly against France and a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Israel on September 1 and 5, 2016, scoring in both matches but losing 3–1. He was called back to World Cup qualifying matches against Spain and Macedonia on 6 and 9 October, but he was later barred from the Macedonia match after being substituted in the 59th minute and refusing to shake coach Ventura's hand.

Career statistics

As of match played on May 2021, the 2021 champions are pictured here.

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