Paolo Vernazza

Paolo Andrea Pietro Vernazza (born 1 November 1979) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder.

Paolo Vernazza
Vernazza playing for Woking in 2008
Personal information
Full name Paolo Andrea Pietro Vernazza[1]
Date of birth (1979-11-01) 1 November 1979
Place of birth Islington, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2000 Arsenal 4 (1)
1998 → Ipswich Town (loan) 2 (0)
2000 → Portsmouth (loan) 7 (0)
2000–2004 Watford 96 (2)
2004–2006 Rotherham United 27 (0)
2005–2006 → Barnet (loan) 17 (0)
2006–2007 Dagenham & Redbridge 10 (0)
2007–2008 Weymouth 29 (1)
2008–2009 Woking 25 (1)
2009–2010 Grays Athletic 12 (0)
2010 Hemel Hempstead Town ? (?)
2010–2011 Bishop's Stortford ? (?)
Total 229 (5)
International career
England U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 05:53, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Career

Vernazza started his career at Arsenal but struggled to break into the first team. His development as a player may have been hampered by injuries sustained in an incident with a burglar in his home in 2001, in which Vernazza and fellow Arsenal trainee Andrew Douglas were both stabbed.[2] He made his first-team debut in a League Cup match against Birmingham City on 14 October 1997. He only played one league game (against Crystal Palace) as Arsenal won the 1997-98 FA Premier League, meaning he didn't qualify for a winners' medal.[3] His performances in Arsenal's reserves resulted in him gaining a place in the England squad for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. He had loan spells at Ipswich Town and Portsmouth, before leaving Arsenal for Watford in December 2000. He played 11 times for Arsenal, scoring one goal, in a 2–1 win over Coventry City on 16 September 2000.[4]

Vernazza spent three-and-a-half years at Watford, making 96 league appearances, before moving to Rotherham United in the summer of 2004 on a free.

Paolo's time at Rotherham was largely unsuccessful, resulting in him spending a loan spell at Barnet before being released in May 2006.

Following a successful trial, Vernazza signed for Dagenham & Redbridge on 14 December 2006.[5] He was part of the squad that helped Dagenham gain promotion to the Football League for the first time in the club's history, winning the Conference National in the 2006–07 season.

He joined Weymouth on 9 July 2007.[6]

Vernazza appeared as a substitute for Crawley Town in a pre-season game against former club Arsenal on 26 July 2008.[7] However, on 6 August 2008 he signed for another Conference club, Woking, following a successful trial.[8]

On 4 September 2009, Vernazza signed for Grays Athletic,[9] before leaving in February 2010. He joined Hemel Hempstead Town in March. In September 2010, he joined Bishop's Stortford.[10]

He retired from football in 2011. He is now a player agent for various youth players.[11][12]

Honours

Arsenal

References
  1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2006). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2006–07. Mainstream Publishing. p. 417. ISBN 978-1-84596-111-4.
  2. "Vernazza: 'I went into a hole after stabbing… but I won't use it as an excuse'".
  3. "Games played by Paolo Vernazza in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  4. "Arsenal hold on against Coventry". BBC Sport. 16 September 2000. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  5. Daggers sign Vernazza Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Vernazza Coup
  7. Crawley Town 0–1 Reserves Archived 20 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  8. http://www.wokingfc.co.uk/pages/news.asp?ID=2219%5B%5D
  9. "Vernazza joins the Blues". Grays Athletic F.C. 4 September 2009. Archived from the original on 6 September 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  10. Vernazza joins the blue brazil Archived 1 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "PLATINUM ONE team". PLATINUM ONE Group. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  12. "Bromley v Bishop's Stortford Match Report" (PDF). Bishop's Stortford F.C. 3 January 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  13. "Parlour gives Gunners Wembley win". BBC Sport. 1 August 1999. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
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