Andrea Caracciolo

1.1. Birth and Early Life

Andrea Caracciolo was born in Milan, Italy, on 18 September 1981. He hails from a Southern Italian family and was raised in Cesano Boscone. Demonstrating an aptitude beyond football, Caracciolo successfully obtained a diploma in electrical engineering. His family has a strong footballing tradition; his father, originally from Reggio Calabria, played as a midfielder for various teams in the Lombardy region. His brother, Vincenzo, played for Varese, and his uncle, Fortunato, was recognized as the best player in an edition of the prestigious Viareggio Tournament.

1.2. Personal Life

Caracciolo is affectionately known by the nickname Airone, which is Italian for "heron". This nickname is attributed to his distinctive celebration style after scoring goals. In his personal life, he is married to Gloriana Falletta. The couple welcomed twin children, Beatrice and Riccardo, on 5 October 2011.

2.1. Early Years

Caracciolo began his football journey at Sancolombano in the Italian Serie D, an amateur league. Following this, he moved into professional leagues, playing for Como and Pro Vercelli. In June 2001, his talent was recognized by Brescia, who signed him in a co-ownership deal for 242.74 K EUR.

2.2. Brescia (first stint)

Caracciolo made his Serie A debut for Brescia on 6 January 2002, in a match against Bologna. In June 2002, Brescia acquired his full registration rights, making him a permanent fixture at the club. After a loan spell, he returned to Brescia for the 2003-04 Serie A season, where he distinguished himself by scoring 12 goals. During the 2004-05 Serie A season, he continued his impressive goal-scoring form, netting another 12 goals in 34 appearances.

2.3. Perugia (loan)

During the 2002-03 Serie A season, Andrea Caracciolo was loaned to Perugia. He made 22 appearances and scored 2 goals in the league, alongside 5 appearances and 1 goal in the Coppa Italia. After his loan period, he returned to Brescia.

2.4. Palermo

Following Brescia's relegation, Caracciolo was signed by Palermo on 1 July 2005, for a fee of 9.00 M EUR. As part of the transfer agreement, 3.00 M EUR was converted into a deal for the signing of Davide Possanzini. Caracciolo was brought in to replace Luca Toni, who had departed for Fiorentina. In the 2005-06 Serie A season, Caracciolo played 35 games, scoring 9 goals, and also contributed a goal in 6 appearances in the UEFA Cup. However, in the subsequent 2006-07 Serie A season, his opportunities were limited due to the arrival of new forwards Amauri and David Di Michele. He scored only 5 goals in 27 league matches, starting in 17 of them, and added another goal in 6 UEFA Cup appearances.

2.5. Sampdoria

In June 2007, Caracciolo was transferred to Sampdoria in a co-ownership deal valued at 4.25 M EUR. This move came as Sampdoria sought to bolster their attack, with their main centre forward Emiliano Bonazzoli recovering from injury and other key forwards like Francesco Flachi, Fabio Bazzani, and Fabio Quagliarella having left the club. The transfer was part of a series of complex swap deals between Sampdoria and Palermo that summer, which involved players such as Aimo Diana, Marco Pisano, Massimo Bonanni, Pietro Accardi, and Christian Terlizzi, resulting in a net debt of approximately 2.20 M EUR from Palermo to Sampdoria by 30 June 2007. Despite the need for a striker, Caracciolo faced significant competition at Sampdoria from Claudio Bellucci, Antonio Cassano, and a fit-again Bonazzoli, which resulted in him making only 6 starts during his time there. He played 12 league matches, scoring 1 goal, and also made 6 appearances in European competitions, including the UEFA Intertoto Cup and UEFA Cup.

2.6. Return to Brescia (first stint)

On 31 January 2008, Caracciolo made a permanent return to Brescia in a deal valued at 7.05 M EUR. Sampdoria received half of this transfer fee, amounting to 3.55 M EUR. Instead of cash, Sampdoria signed Morris Donati for 300.00 K EUR and Mattia Mustacchio for 700.00 K EUR in co-ownership deals, with the remaining credit used for the signing of Marius Stankevičius for 3.00 M EUR in early July. In his first full season back, 2008-09 Serie B, he scored 15 goals in 35 appearances. He continued his prolific form in the 2009-10 Serie B season, netting 25 goals in 39 matches, playing a crucial role in Brescia's promotion to Serie A. For the 2010-11 Serie A season, he scored 12 goals in 33 appearances.

2.7. Genoa and Novara

For the 2011-12 Serie A season, half of Caracciolo's registration rights were acquired by Genoa for 1.50 M EUR in another co-ownership agreement. Genoa had been seeking a reliable centre-forward for years, having previously failed to sign Antonio Floro Flores and having sold Sergio Floccari. This move also saw Caracciolo reunite with former Como owner Enrico Preziosi, who had a history of signing former Genoa or Como players in recent seasons, such as Abdoulay Konko and Cesare Bovo. However, Caracciolo did not meet the expectations of Genoa's management team, appearing in only 12 league matches and scoring 1 goal.

In January 2012, with Genoa having signed Italian internationals Alberto Gilardino and Rodrigo Palacio having recovered from injury, Caracciolo found himself with no room in the starting eleven. Consequently, he was loaned to Novara, a team struggling in Serie A and placed 18th at the time, replacing Riccardo Meggiorini. He scored his first goal for Novara on 12 February, a winning goal in a shock 1-0 victory against Inter at Stadio San Siro. He concluded his loan spell at Novara with 2 goals in 19 appearances. In June 2012, Genoa sold his 50% registration rights back to Brescia for 200.00 K EUR.

2.8. Second return to Brescia

Caracciolo became a full member of Brescia again for the 2012-13 Serie B season. On 22 November 2014, he achieved a hat-trick of penalties in a thrilling 3-3 home draw against Carpi during the 15th week of the 2014-15 Serie B season. This second long tenure at Brescia saw him consistently contribute goals: 17 goals in 39 matches in 2012-13; 18 goals in 32 matches in 2013-14; 14 goals in 29 matches in 2014-15; 11 goals in 32 matches in 2015-16; 14 goals in 35 matches in 2016-17; and 13 goals in 35 matches in his final season with the club in 2017-18.

2.9. Later Years

In 2018, after his contract with Brescia concluded, Andrea Caracciolo signed with Serie C club FeralpiSalò. He remained there until 28 July 2020, when he signed a two-year contract with Lumezzane.

3.1. Youth Career

Caracciolo played for the Italy U-21 team. He was part of the squad that won the European U-21 Championship in 2004. He had also received a call-up to the 2002 squad for the same tournament.

3.2. Senior Career

Under the management of Marcello Lippi, Andrea Caracciolo made his senior international debut for the Italy national team in a friendly match against Finland on 17 November 2004. The match was held in Messina, and Caracciolo came on as a second-half substitute for Luca Toni, contributing to Italy's 1-0 victory. He was subsequently recalled to the Azzurri squad by new coach Roberto Donadoni on 16 August 2006, for a friendly game against Croatia in Livorno. In this match, he replaced Cristiano Lucarelli in the 65th minute of a 2-0 defeat.

4.1. Director of Football

On 12 April 2022, during a press conference, Lumezzane officially confirmed Andrea Caracciolo's retirement from active football. Simultaneously, it was announced that he would immediately assume the role of the club's new director of football. Caracciolo expressed his pride in his playing career as he embarked on this new chapter.

4.2. Club Chairman

Following the club's promotion to Serie D, the board of directors of Lumezzane appointed Andrea Caracciolo as the club's new chairman on 6 July 2022. This appointment marked a significant step in his post-playing career, taking on a leading administrative role within the club.

5.1. Club Statistics

^A All appearance(s) in UEFA Intertoto Cup
^B All appearance(s) in UEFA Cup
^C Two appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup, four appearances in UEFA Cup

5.2. International Statistics