UEFA honours
UEFA European Championship: runner-up 2012

• Started out with Vicenza Calcio, making his Serie A debut at 18 − on 1 October 2000 against AC Milan − but suffering relegation at the end of his first campaign; established himself at this time as an Italian youth international.

• After two further seasons in the second tier with Vicenza, he left for ACF Fiorentina, also in Serie B, and won promotion at the first attempt, making 40 league appearances; struggled at the higher level, however, and was sent on loan to ASD Treviso and, for the whole of the 2006/07 season, UC Sampdoria, where he prospered sufficiently to secure a permanent move.

• Scored nine goals in 29 appearances for the Blucerchiati in 2007/08, prompting an €8m move to Napoli, where he maintained a consistently high level of form that brought him into the Italy squad.

• Earned a place in Marcello Lippi's 2010 FIFA World Cup squad, but his only appearance in South Africa was as a half-time substitute in the 3-2 defeat by Slovakia that eliminated the holders in the group stage.

• Starred, as a wing back, in the Napoli side under Walter Mazzarri that finished third in Serie A in 2010/11.

• Helped the Azzurri finish as runners-up in their 2011/12 UEFA Champions League group, and started the Coppa Italia final victory against Juventus as Napoli won their first silverware in 22 years; made three appearances in Poland and Ukraine as Italy reached the final of UEFA EURO 2012.