Luca Toni, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI[3] (born 26 May 1977 in Pavullo nel Frignano, Modena) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Italian Serie A club Roma. Club career 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.[4] 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. Fiorentina Toni's move to Fiorentina was marked by controversy as the fans dubbed him a traitor for his departure.[citation needed] 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). 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 However, this league position was revoked in the courts during the Calciopoli scandal.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 the main reason he went to Germany. 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. Toni and Klose against Hertha Berlin 2009. Toni scored four goals in a 19 December 6–0 home win against Aris Thessaloniki to help Bayern win their UEFA Cup group. On 17 February 2008, he scored his first Bundesliga hat-trick (a "perfect hat-trick", with a goal with each foot and a header) against Hannover 96. Bayern won the away fixture 3-0. Toni with Bayern. In a quarter-final second leg match in the UEFA Cup, Toni scored two dramatic goals on 115th and 120th minutes of extra time, in a game which finished 3-3 and lifted Bayern Munich past Getafe CF on away goals. Eventually Bayern lost to Zenit St. Petersburg in the semi final. At the UEFA Cup 2007-08, he shared the first place with Pavel Pogrebnyak from Zenit at the top scorers list with 10 goals. He scored two goals in the German Cup final against Borussia Dortmund in a 2-1 win; his second goal was the winner in extra time to give Bayern Munich another cup. Toni finished as top scorer in the 2007–08 Bundesliga season with 24 goals. Overall, Toni finished the season with 39 goals and 12 assists in 46 matches. In the 2008–09 season, Toni has maintained his high-standard of form for Bayern. In the Bundesliga, he has started 13 games as of January, in which he has scored nine goals, a notable one being a late stoppage-time winner he scored against fellow TSG Hoffenheim.[6] Toni battled an achilles tendon injury for most of the second half of the 2008–09 season, but still finished as Bayern's leading scorer in league play, tallying 14 goals in 25 Bundesliga appearances. Recovering from his injury he appeared in two matches of the second team FC Bayern Munich II in the 3rd Liga in September 2009.[7] On 7 November 2009, he was fined for leaving the stadium during the match after being substituted at half-time.[8] Following his fall out with Bayern manager Louis Van Gaal, Bayern's president Uli Hoeness stated on DSF Doppelpass that the player will be allowed to leave the club on a free.[9] Roma On 31 December 2009 FC Bayern Munich confirmed the transfer of the Italian striker for a six month loan to A.S. Roma.[2] [10] He debuted for Roma against Cagliari on 6 January 2010. International career Toni made his debut for the Italian national team as a substitute on 18 August 2004 in a friendly match against Iceland. He scored his first international goal in a World Cup Qualifying match against Norway on 4 September 2004. On 17 November, Toni made his international start in a friendly match against Finland. On 11 June 2005, he captained the Italian squad for the first time in his career in a friendly match against Ecuador because of the absence of current captain Fabio Cannavaro and other experienced players. On 7 September, Toni scored his first international hat-trick in a 4–1 victory against Belarus in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match. Toni was selected to Italy's 2006 World Cup squad, and scored two goals in the quarter-finals against Ukraine on 30 June, his only goals of the tournament. In the final against France, he hit the crossbar with a powerful header and later netted another header although the goal was disallowed as the attempt was ruled offside. Toni scored two goals in Italy's 2–0 win over Scotland in a Euro 2008 qualifier. Due to the aforementioned foot surgery, he missed Italy's next two qualifiers against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania. He returned to the qualification games against Georgia, and assisted Fabio Grosso, who scored the final result (2–0). On 17 November 2007, Toni struck in the first minute of a 2–1 qualifier win over Scotland at Hampden Park, which secured Italy's place at the final stages. Four days later, he scored the second goal against the Faroe Islands, as Italy closed with a 3–1 win. He was called up to the Italian Squad for Euro 2008, but his form in the tournament was disappointing, with his only goal against Romania being disallowed for offside. Toni's main contribution for the team was winning a penalty kick against France, which ended 2-0. Italy then bowed out of the tournament on penalty kicks to Spain in the quarter-final. Despite the Euro 2008 disappointment, Toni has been called up by coach Marcello Lippi for Italy's first two 2010 World Cup qualifers. Toni also scored an equaliser against Greece in an international friendly, where the match ended 1-1.