Luca Toni Varchetta Delle Cave, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI[2] (born 26 May 1977 in Pavullo nel Frignano, Modena) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for German Bundesliga club FC Bayern Munich.

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.

[edit] 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.[3]

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

In July 2005, Luca Toni was transferred by Palermo owner, Maurizio Zamparini, to Fiorentina for €10 million in a very controversial move which also caused a massive breakup between the player and the team supporters.

He helped Fiorentina qualify for the UEFA Champions League when his team ended the 2005–06 season with a fourth place finish, although this was later revoked (with a massive 15-point deduction assigned for 2006–07) due to Fiorentina`s involvement in the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.

On 27 May 2006, Toni scored his 31st goal of the season and in doing so, secured the 2005-06 Capocannonieri. Toni also became the first player to score 30 goals or more in Serie A since the 1958–59 season, and the first time since 1933–34 an Italian has done such a feat. Despite only finishing third top scorer in European football with 31 goals in Serie A with Fiorentina, behind Klaas-Jan Huntelaar of Ajax Amsterdam and Kris Boyd of Rangers and Kilmarnock, Toni collected the European Golden Boot, due to multipliers based on the quality of the league. Toni`s goal tally eclipsed the previous club record of 26 in one season in the top flight, held by Fiorentina legends Gabriel Batistuta and Kurt Hamrin.

Toni announced he would stay loyal to Fiorentina and stay at Florence for at least another season despite Fiorentina`s Calciopoli penalty. He scored 16 goals for Fiorentina, helping them to secure a UEFA Cup spot. However, his season was short lived after suffering a metatarsal injury.

[edit] 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.[4] Toni was given the jersey number nine.

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 wo

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