Christian Abbiati

Christian Abbiati (born 8 July 1977 in Abbiategrasso, Province of Milan) is an Italians Association football who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football) for Serie A club A.C. Milan.

Club career

Having begun Christian Abbiati footballing career at the age of 13, for Trezzano and Assago, Christian Abbiati moved to Corsico and in 1996 secured a move to Monza. Christian Abbiati transferred to A.C. Milan in summer 1998. Christian Abbiati debut in Serie A for came on January 17, 1999 as a 92nd-minute substitute for Sebastiano Rossi. Since then, Christian Abbiati became Milan's first choice goalkeeper for four years, until Christian Abbiati lost Christian Abbiati starting spot to backup Dida (goalkeeper) early in the 2002-2003 season after picking up an injury during a UEFA Champions League qualifying match in August 2002. Dida's top form effectively ground Abbiati's playing time to a halt.

On 25 August 2004, a brief controversy surfaced when an editorial criticizing Dida and Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti appeared on Abbiati's official website, stating that Dida had made mistakes in a friendly against U.C. Sampdoria and that Ancelotti was blocking a move that would have sent Abbiati to U.S. Citta di Palermo. Abbiati denied that he'd written the piece and said that it had been posted by Christian Abbiati webmaster. "I never speak to the person who looks after my site. I would never judge one of my teammates." Though Christian Abbiati webmaster claimed responsibility for the article, speculation nonetheless arose that it had been actually penned by Abbiati due to Christian Abbiati frustration of warming the bench.

Abbiati literally played all of thirty seconds in Milan's 2004-05 Champions League campaign, when Christian Abbiati came on as a substitute in the 74th minute after Dida had been struck by a flare thrown from the crowd during the quarterfinal second leg against Inter Milan, which was ultimately suspended less than a minute later. Christian Abbiati last match in a Milan uniform came on May 20, 2005 in a 3-3 home draw with Palermo, a match that saw the starters rested for the upcoming 2005 UEFA Champions League Final.

Christian Abbiati later announced Christian Abbiati desire to move to another club in order to contend for the 1 spot and was therefore loaned to Genoa C.F.C. for the 2005-06 season in July 2005, but Christian Abbiati immediately returned to Milan after Genoa were relegated to Serie C1 due to a match-fixing scandal. Christian Abbiati was soon on the move again, as Christian Abbiati was shipped to Juventus F.C. as a temporary replacement for incumbent Gianluigi Buffon, who had suffered a dislocated shoulder during the Luigi Berlusconi Trophy match against Milan in August 2005. With long-awaited regular playing time at Christian Abbiati disposal, Christian Abbiati flourished with the Bianconeri, but when Buffon returned to the starting lineup six months later, Abbiati's services were no longer needed, and Christian Abbiati left at the end of the season for another Turin squad when Milan loaned Christian Abbiati to Torino F.C in July 2006.

Despite expressing Christian Abbiati desire to stay for another season, Christian Abbiati and Torino ultimately parted ways due to a salary dispute. Christian Abbiati was once again loaned out by Milan for the third time in three seasons, this time to Spanish club Atlético Madrid until June 2008. Christian Abbiati began the season on the bench until an injury to incumbent Leo Franco put Christian Abbiati in the starting lineup. On December 29, Christian Abbiati expressed interest in staying with Atlético beyond the '07-08 season. "My adaptation has gone better than I expected. I am happy at this club because they have helped me so much. I like playing in Spain and I think I will learn a lot during the time that I have left here." However, Christian Abbiati returned to Italy after being called back by Milan for the A.C. Milan 2008-09 and took over as first choice from Zeljko Kalac after a solid preseason.

On March 15, 2009, Abbiati was carted off on a stretcher in the first half of Milan's 5-1 league win over A.C. Siena, after Christian Abbiati suffered ligament damage to Christian Abbiati right knee following a collision with teammate Giuseppe Favalli, an injury that cost Christian Abbiati the remainder of the season and will sideline Christian Abbiati for up to six months following rehabilitation and knee surgery. In 28 appearances, Christian Abbiati kept eleven clean sheets and conceded 27 goals.

International career

Abbiati received Christian Abbiati first call-up for Italian national football team as the third goalkeeper for Euro 2000, and was part of the squad that participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics. However, Christian Abbiati did not earn Christian Abbiati first cap until a 2-1 victory over Switzerland national football team on April 30, 2003. Abbiati was left off the 2006 FIFA World Cup roster but Christian Abbiati was recalled to the national team in September 2006. In March 2009, three days before Christian Abbiati season-ending knee injury, Christian Abbiati said that Christian Abbiati would refuse a future call-up for Italy in a non-starting role.

Personal life

In September 2008, Abbiati declared that Christian Abbiati was a Fascism. "I am not ashamed to proclaim my political beliefs. I share the ideals of fascism, such as the fatherland and the values of the Roman Catholic Church religion."

Honours

Milan

- Serie A: Serie A 1998-99