Profile Andrea Dossena

Personal information :

Full name : Andrea Dossena
Date of birth : 11 September 1981
Place of birth : Lodi, Italy
Height : 5 ft 11.5 in (1.82 m)
Playing position : Left Back
Current club : Napoli
Number : 8
Senior career :
2001–2005 Verona
2005–2006 Treviso
2006–2008 Udinese
2008–2010 Liverpool
2010– Napoli
National team :
2000–2001 Italy U-20
2007– Italy

Club career

Udinese

Udinese signed him in 2006 in a co-ownership with Treviso, which became permanent in June 2007. He was given the number 2 jersey and made 63 appearances in the two seasons with Udinese, scoring 22 league goals along the way. In October 2007, he was awarded an improved contract which last until 30 June 2012.

Liverpool

On 4 July 2008, Liverpool confirmed the signing of Dossena on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in the region of £7 million, becoming the second Italian to play for the club, behind Daniele Padelli. Dossena was signed as a direct replacement for John Arne Riise who left for Roma. On July 10, 2008, it was announced that Dossena would wear the number 2 shirt. His debut for Liverpool came on 16 August in the 1–0 Premier League win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. The start to his career at Liverpool was marked by poor form and he was unsatisfied with his performances, telling The Guardian: "I am not fully happy with my level. I must now get to a high level and maintain that, but first I have to battle to win selection. I am learning all the time". Dossena reinforced that he was committed to the club and explained that he was having difficulties adjusting because the pace of English football was significantly different from what he had experienced in Serie A. Despite his largely unimpressive performances, he received more opportunities to prove himself in the first team as Fábio Aurélio, Liverpool's favoured left back, suffered an injury in late November. He lost his first team slot with Aurelio's return from injury combined with the emergence of Emiliano Insúa. He scored his first goal for Liverpool on 10 March 2009 against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League after coming on as a substitute. He scored his first goal in the Premier League four days later, on 14 March in the 4-1 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford. He scored both goals playing as an auxiliary left-winger as a late substitute in both games. In July 2009, Dossena's number 2 shirt was given to new signing Glen Johnson and he would wear number 38 shirt for the new season.

Napoli
On 8 January 2010, Dossena signed for S.S.C. Napoli in a four year contract and he was given the number eight shirt The fee quoted was €4.25 million and Andriy Voronin left on the same day. He made his debut for Napoli on 13 January 2010 in a Coppa Italia match against Juventus. His Serie A debut for Napoli came on 17 January 2010 in the 0–0 against Palermo at the San Paolo Stadium.

International career

Dossena played for the Italy U-20 team from 2000 to 2001, earning four caps. He made his first appearance for Italy in a friendly against South Africa on 17 October 2007. Dossena won his second international cap when he came on at half-time during Italy's 2–2 draw with Austria on 20 August 2008. He scored an own goal to put Italy 3–0 down against Brazil in a Confederations Cup match on 21 June 2009.