Domenico Crisito is an Italian footballer who plays as a left-back. He can also play in the center of defense, and also - rise above and take on the role of a defensive midfielder. The last five years, Domenico Crisito spent in Russia, speaking for the St. Petersburg “Zenith”.
Carier start
Domenico Crisito was born on December 30, 1986 in the south of Italy, but at the age of thirteen he moved north to become a football player. There he joined the football academy of the Genoa club, with which he entered into a professional contract in 2004, when he was eighteen years old. But Crisito managed to make his debut as an adult in the 02/03 season, when he was only 16 years old. As soon as a professional contract was concluded, the strongest Juventus club in Italy, which has been eyeing the player for some time, bought fifty percent of the rights to a defender for 950 thousand euros.
In Juventus, the young Italian did not claim to be in the base - he was content with playing for a double for two years, until he was returned to Genoa, where he began to receive game practice. In the 06/07 season, Domenico Crisito played in 39 matches, scoring four goals, which impressed the management of the “old Signora”. Therefore, in 2007, the Turin club bought from “Genoa” the remaining fifty percent of the defender’s contract for seven and a half million euros.
Going to Juventus
In Juventus, Domenico Crisito, whose biography could have changed dramatically at that moment, hoped to become a major player. However, incredible footballers played with the Italian champion, with whom the young athlete could not compete. As a result, for six months he spent only eight matches on the field, so he wanted to return to Genoa, where he did everything perfectly.
Return to Genoa
“Genoa” paid one million euros for half a year of Krishito’s lease, while receiving the right to redeem the player after the lease term for 11 and a half million euros. For six months, Crisito showed that he did not lose his form and fit perfectly into the team, having played 16 matches.
In the next three seasons, Domenico was a key player on the team, entering the field 109 more times and scoring five goals. It was then that the larger clubs, including Juventus, began to pay attention to him, but Crisito basically did not want to return to Turin. The offer from Russia turned out to be the most tempting, and in the summer of 2011 for fifteen million euros Domenico first went to play outside of Italy.
The game for Zenit
The new club of Domenico Crisito is Zenit, for which he continues to play to this day. Already in the first season, the Italian showed that he had serious intentions, having played 32 matches and scored one goal. For five years, the defender firmly established himself at the base of the St. Petersburg club, having played 152 matches in total and scored 9 goals. This season, the 29-year-old Italian has appeared on the field already in 12 matches, scoring four goals (the last time he scored as much for the whole season in 2006-2007 for “Genoa”) and gave two assists.
Team appearances
Crisito made his Italian debut in August 2009 in a friendly game against the Swiss national team and has since spent 22 matches, giving them three assists. He went to the 2010 World Cup as a base player and spent all three matches in the tournament. It was also planned that he would go to the European Championship in 2012 , but just then in Russia there was a scandal with match-fixing, and although Crisito’s guilt was not proved, the national team head coach did not take him to the tournament. As a result, the 2012 European Championship remained the only major tournament at which Domenico played. The last match for the national team defender held in March 2014 against the Spanish national team. However, he again received a call to the national team in October 2016 for a match with Macedonia, but remained on the bench.