At 38 years old, Italian striker Luca Toni has decided to hang them up after the season, announcing his retirement at the end of his 22nd professional season.
“I think the time has come to stop,” Toni told Sky Sport Italia. “I hope to celebrate it by keeping Verona safe in Serie A.”
That won’t be an easy task, with Hellas Verona stuck at the bottom of the Serie A table on just six points, nine points from safety and without a win in 15 matches thus far. Toni has spent much of the season on the sidelines with injuries, and has just one goal from seven league appearances.
A well traveled player, Toni spent three seasons at Bayern Munich between 2007 and 201o, scoring 58 goals in 89 total appearances for the German giants and winning the Bundesliga twice. He also made two stops at Fiorentina, racking up 57 goals in 99 appearances there. He also spent time at Roma, Genoa, and Palermo among others.
Toni’s best season came in 2006 when he won the World Cup with Italy and captured Europe’s Golden Boot as the top club goalscorer in the continent, bagging 33 goals in 42 matches across all competitions for Fiorentina. His last cap for Italy came in 2009 during World Cup qualification, and he finished his national team career with 47 caps.
