The imminent returns of Dzeko (39 years old) and Ciro Immobile (35 years old) to Serie A represent a “moment of nostalgia” for Italian football, which is now different from the years when these players were in their prime.

We take a look at a list of strikers who have one thing in common: returning to Serie A after the age of 30. Their fortunes after their “return”, however, are very different from each other.

After two seasons at Juventus, Fernando Llorente leaves Serie A to join Sevilla and then spends 4 years in England: Swansea and Tottenham, stages that anticipate his return to Italy.

Llorente joins Napoli at 34 years old in 2019, then in 2021 he moves to Udinese: an unlucky return in which he scores 4 goals over the course of three years.

Ibrahimovic leaves Milan at 30 years old and stays out of Italy for 7 seasons: PSG, Manchester United, and then LA Galaxy before returning to Milan at the age of 38 (almost 39 years old).

His return is triumphant: a Scudetto won with Milan, to which he adds a goal average of one goal every two games.

Luca Toni “returned” twice to Serie A: first from Bayern Munich and then from Al Nasr in Dubai, but now we are only examining the last part of his career.

After spending a season in the United Arab Emirates, he chooses to return to Fiorentina at 35 years old, with whom he has a good season, but he gives his best with Hellas Verona: 3 seasons, 45 goals, and also the title of top scorer at 38 years old in 2015.

After arriving in Italy at Juventus at 29 years old and winning 4 Scudetti, Mandzukic leaves Serie A for only one year, making a stop at Al-Duhail in Qatar.

In Italy, he is recalled by Milan after 6 months of inactivity in January 2019: with the Rossoneri, he makes 10 appearances and scores 0 goals, the last unfruitful chapter of a career rich in successes.

At 29 years old, Gianfranco Zola says goodbye to Parma and signs with Chelsea: 6 seasons, over 200 appearances, and a legendary status earned. His return is special: even in Serie B with Cagliari.

At 37 years old, he is decisive in Cagliari’s promotion to Serie A, also playing a last season with 9 goals in 31 appearances in the top Italian division in 2004/05.

Giuseppe Rossi also made two returns to Italy over the age of 30: in 2017 he joins Genoa after a loan spell at Celta Vigo, but the later return is to Spal.

Pepito Rossi remains stationary from 2018 to 2020 before signing with Salt Lake City, with whom he plays only one season. His come-back materializes at Spal in November 2021, as a free agent at 34 years old: the first season is not bad, but the contract is not renewed, the club reconsiders and extends the agreement for another season, which is disappointing.

Giovinco remains out of Italy for 7 years: from 2015 to 2022, a period in which he plays for Toronto (4 seasons) and Al-Hilal (2 seasons). He remains a free agent in 2021 but in February 2022, he is hired by Sampdoria at 35 years old.

The “formica atomica” plays only two games in Serie A for a total of 37 minutes, then an injury makes him slide further and further back in the hierarchy. His career ends with this experience.

Two returns of the heart are those of Marco Simone: after 8 seasons and over 150 appearances with Milan, he decides to spend his football maturity in France with PSG and Monaco. At 32 years old, he returns on loan to Milan but with little success.

The second return is the most special: in 2005, at 36 years old, he leaves Nice to return to Legnano in Serie C2, a team he had played for at a youth level and never in the first team. In that last experience, he plays 11 games and scores a goal.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.