1. Overview
Alberto Cerri is an Italian professional footballer known for his role as a forward. His career began in the youth ranks of Parma, where he made his senior debut at a remarkably young age. Following his formative years at Parma, he transferred to Juventus, which saw him embark on a series of significant loan spells across various Italian clubs, including Cagliari, SPAL, Pescara, and Perugia. These loan periods allowed him to gain extensive experience in both Serie B and Serie A. He later made a permanent move to Cagliari before eventually joining Como, from which he has since been loaned to other clubs, most recently Salernitana. Cerri has also represented Italy at multiple youth international levels, participating in significant tournaments such as the UEFA European Under-17 Championship and the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
2. Early life and youth career
Alberto Cerri was born on 16 April 1996 in Parma, Italy. He began his foundational football development at a young age, joining the youth academy of Parma in 2006. He continued his youth career at Parma until 2013 or 2014, honing his skills as a forward within their system before making his transition to senior professional football.
3. Club career
Alberto Cerri's professional club football career has seen him play for numerous Italian clubs, progressing through various divisions and accumulating significant experience through both permanent transfers and a series of loan spells. His career trajectory highlights his development from a promising youth talent to a seasoned professional forward.
3.1. Parma
Cerri made his professional debut for Parma on 30 March 2013. He came on as a substitute for Amauri in the 76th minute of a 3-0 home victory against Pescara, making his debut at the age of 16 years and 348 days. His second appearance for the club came on 6 April 2014, when he replaced Jonathan Biabiany in the 92nd minute of a 1-0 home win over Napoli.
3.1.1. Loan to Virtus Lanciano
On 28 August 2014, Cerri joined Serie B club Virtus Lanciano on a season-long loan from Parma. He made his Serie B debut for Virtus Lanciano on 30 August, entering as a substitute for Gaetano Vastola in the 88th minute. In the same match, he scored his first professional goal in the 94th minute, contributing to a 3-3 away draw against Catania. He continued to find the net, scoring his second goal on 20 September in a 5-1 home defeat to Frosinone. His third goal came on 23 September in a 1-1 away draw against Brescia, followed by his fourth goal on 29 September in a 1-1 home draw against Bari. On 25 April 2015, Cerri received a red card in the 77th minute during a 1-0 home defeat against Pescara. He played his first full match for Virtus Lanciano on 22 May, a 1-0 away defeat against Bologna. His loan spell at Virtus Lanciano concluded with a total of 19 appearances, 4 goals, and 1 assist.
3.2. Juventus
On 15 July 2015, Cerri transferred to Serie A club Juventus on a free transfer. Despite being contracted to Juventus, his tenure was primarily marked by a series of loan spells to various clubs.
3.2.1. First loan to Cagliari
Cerri was loaned to Serie B club Cagliari for a season on 21 August 2015. He made his Serie B debut for Cagliari on 22 September in a 3-1 away win over Virtus Entella, being replaced by Federico Melchiorri in the 79th minute. On 7 November, he played his first full match for Cagliari in a 2-1 home victory against Modena. He also participated in the Coppa Italia, playing in the fourth round on 3 December in a 1-0 away win over Sassuolo. On 9 December, Cerri scored his first goal for Cagliari in the 67th minute of a 3-1 away win against Virtus Lanciano. He played the entire match in a 3-0 away defeat to Internazionale in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals on 15 December. He added his second goal for Cagliari on 29 January 2016, coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute of a 2-1 away win against Avellino. His third goal, also as a substitute, was scored on 6 May in the 87th minute of a 3-0 away win over Bari. By the end of his loan spell at Cagliari, Cerri had made 26 appearances, scoring 3 goals and providing 4 assists.
3.2.2. Loan to SPAL and Pescara
Cerri's loan spells continued with a move to Serie B side SPAL on 1 August 2016 for six months. He made his debut for SPAL on 7 August, scoring his first goal in the 63rd minute of a 2-0 home win over Messina in the Coppa Italia second round, before being replaced by Gianmarco Zigoni. On 15 August, he played the entire match in a 5-1 away defeat against Cagliari in the Coppa Italia third round. His Serie B debut for SPAL came on 27 August in a 2-0 away defeat against Benevento, where he played the full match. On 22 October, he scored his first Serie B goal for SPAL in the 50th minute of a 3-1 home win over Carpi. He concluded his 6-month loan at SPAL with 17 appearances, 2 goals, and 2 assists.
On 4 January 2017, Cerri was then loaned to Serie A club Pescara for a 6-month period. He made his Serie A debut for Pescara on 15 January, coming on as a substitute for Valerio Verre in the 70th minute of a 3-1 away defeat against Napoli. On 19 February, Cerri played his first full match for Pescara and scored his first Serie A goal in the 87th minute of a 5-0 home win over Genoa.
He scored his second goal on 4 March in the 32nd minute of a 3-1 away defeat against Sampdoria. His loan spell at Pescara ended with 13 appearances, 2 goals, and 1 assist.
3.2.3. Loan to Perugia
On 24 July 2017, Cerri was signed by Serie B club Perugia on a season-long loan, which included a buy option. He made his debut for Perugia on 6 August, playing the entire match in a 2-1 home win over Gubbio in the Coppa Italia second round. A week later, on 12 August, he achieved his first career hat-trick in a dominant 4-0 away win over Benevento in the Coppa Italia third round. His Serie B debut for Perugia on 26 August saw him score his first goal in the 13th minute of a resounding 5-1 away win over Virtus Entella. On 11 September, Cerri scored his second Serie B goal in the 31st minute of a 1-1 away draw against Cittadella. He received a double yellow card and was sent off on 12 November in the 59th minute of a 1-0 away defeat against Venezia. On 6 November, he scored his third goal, as a substitute, in the 75th minute of a 1-1 home draw against Avellino. He also scored a goal in the Coppa Italia fourth round on 30 November, during an 8-3 away defeat against Udinese. On 10 March 2018, Cerri scored his 10th Serie B goal of the season in the 59th minute of a 2-0 home win over Foggia. He concluded his highly impactful loan period at Perugia with a total of 34 appearances, 19 goals, and 12 assists across all competitions.
3.2.4. Second loan to Cagliari
On 12 July 2018, Cerri returned to Cagliari for a second loan spell, this time with an obligatory buy clause, effective until 30 June 2019. This marked his return to the club after the 2015-16 season. He made his second debut for Cagliari on 12 August as a substitute for Leonardo Pavoletti in the 86th minute of a 2-1 home win over Palermo in the Coppa Italia third round. A week later, on 19 August, he made his Serie A debut, replacing Artur Ioniţă for the final 17 minutes of a 2-0 away defeat against Empoli. Cerri's first match as a starter for Cagliari in this spell was on 22 September, a 2-0 away defeat against Parma, where he was substituted by Diego Farias in the 60th minute.
3.3. Cagliari
On 19 February 2019, Cagliari completed the permanent transfer of Alberto Cerri from Juventus for a fee of 9.00 M EUR. As a full-time player for Cagliari, he continued to contribute to the club's efforts in Serie A.
3.3.1. Second loan to SPAL
On 31 January 2020, Cerri rejoined SPAL for a second loan spell, which lasted until the end of the 2019-20 season.
3.4. Como
On 17 August 2021, Cerri moved to Como on a season-long loan. His time at Como proved successful, leading to him rejoining the club on 2 July 2022, with another loan agreement that included an obligation to buy in the summer of 2023. Upon this agreement, he signed a long-term contract with Como, valid until June 2026.
3.4.1. Loan to Empoli
On 19 January 2024, Cerri joined Serie A club Empoli on a loan deal. The agreement included an optional buy-clause, which would become mandatory if certain unspecified conditions were met.
3.4.2. Loan to Salernitana
As of 7 January 2025, Cerri moved on loan to Salernitana in Serie B. This loan spell is set to run until the end of the current season.
4. International career
Alberto Cerri has extensively represented Italy at various youth national team levels, demonstrating his talent across different age groups. He has played for the U-16, U-17, U-18, U-19, and U-21 sides.
With the Italy U17 squad, Cerri notably participated in the 2013 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, where Italy finished as runner-up, and the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He made his debut for the Italy U21 team on 12 August 2015, in a friendly match against Hungary. In June 2017, he was selected by manager Luigi Di Biagio for the Italy under-21 squad to compete in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Italy's campaign in the tournament concluded in the semi-finals, following a 3-1 defeat to Spain on 27 June.
5. Career statistics
5.1. Club
Below is a comprehensive table detailing Alberto Cerri's club career statistics, including appearances and goals across various leagues and cup competitions, updated as of 23 December 2024.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Parma | 2012-13 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 | ||
| Parma | 2013-14 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 | ||
| Virtus Lanciano (loan) | 2014-15 | Serie B | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 19 | 4 | ||
| Cagliari (loan) | 2015-16 | Serie B | 24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 26 | 3 | ||
| SPAL (loan) | 2016-17 | Serie B | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 17 | 2 | ||
| Pescara (loan) | 2016-17 | Serie A | 13 | 2 | - | - | - | 13 | 2 | |||
| Perugia (loan) | 2017-18 | Serie B | 34 | 15 | 3 | 4 | - | - | 37 | 19 | ||
| Cagliari | 2018-19 | Serie A | 15 | 0 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2019-20 | Serie A | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 13 | 2 | |||
| 2020-21 | Serie A | 26 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 20 | 2 | |||
| 2021-22 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 68 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 8 | ||
| SPAL (loan) | 2019-20 | Serie A | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 8 | 1 | ||
| Como (loan) | 2021-22 | Serie B | 27 | 10 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 27 | 10 | ||
| 2022-23 | Serie B | 34 | 9 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 35 | 9 | |||
| Total | 61 | 19 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 62 | 19 | ||||
| Como | 2023-24 | Serie B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 6 | 1 | ||
| 2024-25 | Serie A | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 11 | 1 | ||||
| Empoli | 2023-24 | Serie A | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 12 | 1 | ||
| Salernitana (loan) | 2024-25 | Serie B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 242 | 49 | 15 | 8 | - | - | 250 | 55 | ||||
6. Honours
Cerri has achieved the following honors during his career:
Cagliari
- Serie B: 2015-16
SPAL
- Serie B: 2016-17
Italy U17
- UEFA European Under-17 Championship runner-up: 2013