Number one

Italian national soccer team midfielder Christian Vieri (R) plays a ball past defender Fabiano (M) and Yasuto Honda (L) of Kashima Antlers, a local team, during a friendly match 26 May in Tokyo. The Italian 2002 FIFA World Cup is based in the northern Japanese city of Sendai, the training camp venue for one of he tournament favorites. Italy is grouped with Ecuador, Croatia and Mexico in the World Cup first round. Italy won 2-1. AFP PHOTO GERARD JULIEN

Italian forward Christian Vieri jubilates after scoring the 3rd goal for his team and his second in the game, 17 June at the Stade de la Mosson in Montpellier during the 1998 Soccer World Cup Group B first round match between Italy and Cameroon. Italy won 3-0. (At R Cameroon's goalkeeper Jacques Songo'o) (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO BORIS HORVAT

Blessed with an overwhelmingly powerful physique, great speed, a ferocious left foot shot and an impressive leap, Christian Vieri is Italy's undisputed first choice centre forward.

As such Vieri was a key part of Italy's last two World Cup campaigns where he scored nine goals in nine matches, a ratio that has prompted several club presidents to break the bank to sign him.

Vieri will be 31-years-old a week after Euro 2004 is wrapped up and a fragile left knee and delicate calf muscles could make this his last chace of a major trophy.

Christian Vieri (R) of Inter Milan fights for the ball with Goran Gavrancic (L) of Dynamo Kiev 10 December 2003 in Kiev, during their Group B UEFA European Champions League match. AFP PHOTO/ ALEXANDER NEMENOV.

French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez jumps over Italian forward Christian Vieri to catch the ball the 1998 Soccer World Cup quarter final match between France and Italy, 03 July at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO RABIH MOGHRABI

Italy suffered heartbreak at the Euro 2000 final when Vieri and co were beaten by France, who also beat them in the 1998 World Cup quarter-finals.

Out in Asia in 2002 Italy lost in the World Cup second round amidst controversial refereeing to South Korea.

Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni originally played Vieri as a lone striker with AS Roma's Francesco Totti in support. But often adds Filippo Inzaghi to that heady mix.

Milk and the Pope

Inter Milan paid a world record 45 million dollars to Lazio for him in 1999, provoking criticism from the Pope.

Atletico Madrid Italian Vieri pushes past Southgate (L) and Scimeca (R) of Aston Villa in a UEFA Cup first-round quarter-finql match in Calderon stadium 03 March.

When Sergio Cragnotti had prised him away from Atletico Madrid a year earlier fans linked the massive fee to a rise in the price of milk from the Cragnotti dairy empire.

Parma's Lilian Thuram (R) attacks Christian Vieri of Juventus Turin during a Series A clash in Turin 18 May. The match was drawn 1-1 and Juventus maintained their six-point lead over Parma with two games left.

At Atletico Madrid in the 1997-98 season he scored 24 league goals from 24 games. They had signed him from Juventus where in the 1996-97 his goals and a partnership with Alessandro Del Piero had helped the Turin side to an Italian league title plus a run to the Champions League final, where they were finally beaten 3-1 by Borussia Dortmund.

At Lazio, Vieri helped win the last ever Cup Winners Cup in 1999, a season spoiled however when Lazio conceded a huge points lead to surrender the league title to AC Milan.

At Inter Milan, Vieri teamed up with Brazilian star Ronaldo to form what should have been the most fearsome attack in history, both of them however suffered multiple injuries and Inter's masive investment bore little fruit.

Most frustrating was again letting the Italian title slip, this time to Juventus in 2002.

Third generation footballer.

Those shocked by how often Christian Veiri changes club should look at his father Roberto's itinerary. He played for Fiorentina, Sampdoria, AS Roma, Juventus, Bologna and finally Marconi, in Sydney Australia, where Vieri moved at 4 and was to spend 11 years.

The young Christian was a brilliant cricketer, and even today claims to prefer that sport to football.

However, at 15 he went on holidays to Italy and his grandfather Enzo, also a former professional as a goalkeeper with Prato, put the youngster in touch with local club Santa Lucia to ensure Christian continued in the family tradition.