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| Friday 18 January, 2008 |
| Blog: Halfway house |
| Cristiano Lucarelli has escaped the Ukraine by returning to Parma, but Paul Watson thinks he has already done irreparable damage to his career |
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No true calcio lover could be disappointed to see Cristiano Lucarelli return to the Serie A stage. However, once the relief at returning to his natural habitat wears off, the No 99 may feel a few pangs of regret.
Lucarelli is not only a prolific marksman he is also a genuine football fan. Just as impressive as his goals to games ratio was his loyalty in sticking with hometown club Livorno through thick and thin, which was so refreshing in an age of materialism. “Some players buy a Ferrari or a yacht, I bought a Livorno shirt,” he once said after reportedly rejecting a big-money switch – heartening words.
That’s why it was a surprise when Lucarelli quit Livorno last summer at the age of 31 and joined Shakhtar. While the former Torino man insisted that he had to pursue his dream of playing in the Champions League and that the move would allow Livorno to pocket the greatest fee, alarm bells started ringing as he set off for the alien environment of the Vyscha Liha.
A matter of months and just six Champions League games later, Lucarelli is back in Italy but he isn’t playing for one of Serie A’s giants or his beloved Livorno – he will be representing one of the Amaranto’s relegation dogfight rivals.
If Cristiano serves out his three-year contract at the Tardini, he will surely hang his boots up having never had a true chance in club football’s showpiece event. While he may see the Ducali as a stepping-stone, Lucarelli will be nearing 33 at the start of next season and it is hard to imagine that the likes of Inter, Juventus and Roma will see him as a useful addition.
No offer materialised from the peninsula’s giants last summer, but maybe it would have in the January window or next summer had Lucarelli maintained the deadly form that has become second nature. For now he may be all smiles, but we’ll have to see how Cristiano feels in Week 28 when he returns to the Stadio Armando Picchi in what may be a relegation six-pointer against the side he loves.
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