Sergio Pellissier

Sergio Pellissier (French: [pɛlisje], Italian: [ˈsɛrdʒo pellisˈsje]; born 12 April 1979) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is currently working as owner and chairman of Chievo, after Clivense (a club he founded in 2021) was re-established as the previously defunct Chievo. Pellissier started his club career playing for Torino's youth team, having been called up once as part of Torino's senior team. After two years at Torino, Pellissier moved to Varese in 1998, and subsequently to ChievoVerona in 2000. He was promptly loaned for two seasons to SPAL. Upon his return to Chievo in 2002, Pellissier established himself as a first team player. He helped Chievo to qualify for both the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Champions League, and represented the team in both those competitions. He remained at the club after Chievo were relegated to Serie B at the conclusion the 2006–07 season, and became the squad's captain in the following one, helping the team to win the league title and earn promotion to Serie A. Throughout his career, Pellissier has achieved several historical records for the club, which have seen him become an idol of the Chievo fans; he is currently the club's all-time top goalscorer in official competitions, as well as being the club's record appearance holder. He retired from professional football at the end of the 2018–19 season. In 2021, he led an unsuccessful attempt to save ChievoVerona from bankruptcy. At international level, Pellissier played five times for Italy's national under-17 youth squad in 1997, and appeared in a single match for the Italy senior team in 2009, scoring a goal.