 |
| Dusan Vlahovic of FC Juventus and Domenico Criscito of Genoa CFC competes for the ball during the Serie A match between Genoa CFC v FC Juventus on May 6, 2022 in Genova, Italy. |
Toronto FC have signed veteran Italian
defender Domenico Criscito as he departs
ex-Serie A side Genoa, the club announced Wednesday.
The 35-year-old, who’s been capped 26 times by the
Azzurri, joins the Canadian side on a Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) deal
through 2023.
“Mimmo is a player who will add a valuable veteran
presence to our team,” Toronto FC president Bill Manning said in a release.
“He has played in a number of important games for his club and country in
his career, has been a captain at Genoa, and we’re excited he will be joining
our club.”
The versatile defender has spent the bulk of his
career at Genoa, who were relegated to Serie B following the 2021-22 season. He
also spent seven seasons in Russia with FC Zenit, scoring 20 goals in 224
appearances across all competitions – including the Russian Premier League, the
UEFA Champions League and Europa League.
In his third and most recent stint with Genoa,
between 2018-2022, he netted 20 goals in 109 games.
“Mimmo is a versatile defender who is a very good
passer and a smart player,” said TFC head coach and sporting director Bob
Bradley. “He can play as a left back or a center back and should be an
excellent role model for our young players.”
Criscito arrives in Toronto just days after fellow
Italian Lorenzo Insigne’s official unveiling at
the club. Insigne and Criscito are eligible to
debut on July 9 against the San Jose Earthquakes (7:30 pm ET | MLS
LIVE on ESPN+ in US; TSN in Canada), two days after the MLS Secondary Transfer
Window opens.
Criscito, a 2010 FIFA World Cup veteran, is
Toronto’s second major defensive signing under Bradley after center back Carlos Salcedo joined in January from
Liga MX’s Tigres UANL on a Designated Player deal.
Share this content:
