Luca Toni, (born 26 May 1977 in Pavullo nel Frignano, Modena) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who is currently playing for Serie A club Juventus.[2] He has had successful spells at top clubs such as Palermo, Fiorentina, Bayern Munich and Roma. Toni is highly regarded for his goal scoring ability as can be seen by his prolific goals to games ratio at many of his clubs.
His style is at times seen as being unorthodox, however his strength and power have seen him become one of Serie A's most lethal finishers of the past decade. As well as the medals he has collected he has also won several individual honours including the Capocannonieri for the 2005–06 season in which he scored 31 goals
[edit] Early career
Toni started his professional career at Modena. This was followed by a number of seasons spent around Serie B and Serie C1 with teams such as Empoli, Fiorenzuola and Lodigiani. After a Serie B season with Treviso in 1999, he moved to Vicenza Calcio, playing in Serie A for the first time. He then moved to Brescia Calcio, playing for two seasons alongside Roberto Baggio. Palermo
In 2003 he agreed to join ambitious Serie B club Palermo, being one of the main factors behind the winning team campaign that brought the Rosanero back to Serie A after over 30 years, thanks to a record 30 goals scored during the season. He consequently gained his first cap for the Italian national team in a friendly match 18 August 2004 lost 2–0 to Iceland in Reykjavík which also marked Marcello Lippi's debut at the helm of the azzurri.
In the following season, Toni confirmed his prolificity by scoring an impressive 20 goals in Palermo's first Serie A campaign, leading the Sicilian club to a historical first qualification to the UEFA Cup.
[edit] Fiorentina
Toni's move to Fiorentina was marked by controversy as the fans dubbed him a traitor for his departure.
During his first season in Florence he scored an incredible 31 goals, making him one of the most prolific Serie A strikers of all time (the most goals ever scored in a season being 35), this was the first time in 50 years that a Serie A player had scored more than 30 goals. His goal scoring ability brought Fiorentina to heights never seen since the late 1990s when Gabriel Batistuta was playing for them. They clinched 4th spot and qualified for the Champions League.
However, this league position was revoked in the courts during the Calciopoli scandal. Italian courts recognized Fiorentina as culpable of shady dealings and convicted them to start the 2006–07 season with a 19 point deduction. Toni expressed his desire to leave the team several times during the summer to the press, but was eventually convinced by club president Andrea Della Valle to stay and help the club overcome its unfavourable position.
The following season was plagued by injury, limiting Toni's goals to a less considerable, albeit impressive 16 goals. This was Luca Toni's final season at the Florence club, as they agreed to sell him to Bundesliga giants, Bayern Munich. Before he left, Toni promised Della Valle not to sign for any big Italian clubs, which is believed to be the main reason he went to Germany.
[edit] Bayern Munich
On 30 May 2007, Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed that Toni had signed a four year contract with the club after agreeing to a deal worth €11 million with Fiorentina. On 7 June Toni was presented at a Bayern Munich press conference along with fellow new signing Franck Ribéry.[5] Toni was given the jersey number nine.
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