World Cup South Africa 2010

Favorite Players by Country (Germany 2006)

Group E - Italy:

Christian Vieri

Place of Birth: Bologna, Italy
Date of Birth: July 12th, 1973
Position: Striker
Clubs: Prato, Torino, Pisa, Ravenna, Venezia, Atalanta, Juventus, Atlético de Madrid, Lazio, Inter Milan, AC Milan, AS Monaco

Christian Vieri started his playing career at Prato, a small club in Serie C1 in 1989.

In November 1992, he was sold to Serie B club, Pisa. He then moved to Ravenna in Serie B, scoring 12 goals. He was subsequently sold to Venezia in Serie B, scoring 11 times. Another move followed for the youngster, this time to Atalanta where he scored seven goals. He made 23 appearances and scored eight goals in Serie A, and six goals in ten matches in Europe.

Vieri was on the move once again, this time it was to Spain and Atlético Madrid. This is where the Vieri name became a trademark for Italian football and he formed a successful partnership in the 1998 World Cup with Roberto Baggio. Remarkably, he scored a total of 24 goals in 24 appearances for Atlético, five goals from seven appearances in Europe which led him to become the Spanish top scorer.

As of the end of 2004, he has scored 22 goals in 43 matches for Italy and played for his country at the 1998 and 2002 World Cup, as well as Euro 2004. Vieri is still considered as Italy's greatest striker over the past decade, and is one of Italy's most prolific World Cup goal-scorers. He was named by Pelé as one of the 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

In July 2005, both Vieri and Inter Milan came to a mutual agreement to terminate his contract with the club. He was then signed by cross-town rivals AC Milan, but he was not a regular starter. Afterwards, he joined the French AS Monaco in order to play regularly and gain a place for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.