Club career[edit]
A native of southern Italy, Criscito moved up north at age 13 to pursue his football career.[2][3] He started his professional career at Genoa, for whom he made his debut in Serie B in June 2003 at the age of 16. In the summer of 2004, Genoa sold 50% of his contract to Juventus for 950K (500K + co-ownership of Nocerino's contract). [4] Teammate Francesco Volpe also joined the club for 950K in a co-ownership deal.

Genoa[edit]
Not content to remain on the bench, Criscito opted to return to Genoa on loan in the opening days of the winter transfer window. In the summer of 2008, he was sent on loan to Genoa again for 1 million[6] with the Ligurian club having the option to purchase half of his contract for 5.5million. In February 2009, he scored his first goal since returning to Genoa, the winner against Palermo. His co-ownership agreement was renewed for the 2009–10 season.[7] He was very impressive after re-joining Genoa, who were back in Serie A by then, and he retained a place in the starting line-up as Gian Piero Gasperini's first choice left back.[8] However, he did not rule out a return to Juventus after being linked to a permanent return to replace Fabio Grosso.[9] In September against Napoli, Criscito was shown a straight red card for allegedly swearing at the referee after being penalized for a foul onChristian Maggio, but Gasperini later defended the 23-year-old saying that he was angry at himself, not the referee. The appeal to rescind the red card was turned down, but his ban was reduced to 2–3 matchdays.[10]
On 25 June 2010, Juventus announced that the Criscito's remaining 50% registration rights were sold for another 6M.[11] However co-currently 50% registration rights of Leonardo Bonucci was signed from Genoa via Bari for 8 million.

Zenit[edit]
On 27 June 2011, Criscito signed for Russian Premier League club Zenit for 11 million.[12] He penned a 5-year contract with the club.[13] He made his debut for the club on 6 August in a 2–0 away victory against CSKA Moscow, providing an assist for teammate Aleksandr Kerzhakov.

International career[edit]
On 14 November 2006, Criscito made his debut for the Italy U21 squad in a match against the Czech Republic. He was present in two Euro U21 Championships, in 2007 and 2009. In 2008 he also represented Italy at the Summer Olympics.
On 12 August 2009, he made his senior national team debut in a friendly against Switzerland in Basel.[14] After a promising season, he was named inMarcello Lippi's 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup, where he played as the left back starter. Under the current reign of Cesare Prandelli, he is cementing his position as the primary left back.
Criscito was named to Italy's Euro 2012 squad, but withdrew from the team after he came under investigation for match fixing.[15] Manager Prandelli explained his withdrawing Criscito from the Italy squad for Euro and said "I am not taking Criscito because he would have been under pressure which no human being can bear, The other reason is that he could have been summoned by the prosecutor at any moment, before a match"[16] Criscito went on to criticize the Italian FA for the decision to drop him despite the limited selection of left backs.[17] Several months later he was cleared of all charges.[18]