Early life and Piacenza Resident from birth to
Cossato, in the province of
Biella, Gilardino started playing with Cossatese, with whom he remained until the Under-15 category of Juniors. After another year in the youth of
ASD Junior Biellese Libertas under the guidance of Luca Prina, Gilardino went to
Piacenza. The coach
Luigi Simoni gave him his debut in Serie A at age 17, on 6 January 2000, against
AC Milan. The season ended with the Piacenza's relegation to
Serie B, but Gilardino still managed to make an impact by scoring 3 goals in 17 matches.
Verona In September 2000,
"Gila", as he is often nicknamed and already considered a talent, was sold to
Hellas Verona in
co-ownership, for 7 billion
Italian lire (
€3,615,198). Despite his young age, he scored five goals in his two seasons at the club where he made 39 league appearances. Gilardino attracted Verona to sign him in full in June 2001, for 8.5 billion lire. (€4,389,884). Gilardino, not yet 20 years old, scored 5 goals in 39 matches in two seasons at Verona.
Parma Gilardino's career was launched on the international stage in 2002, as Parma purchased the remained 50% of his registration rights and returned Šerić to Verona. The move was strongly requested by then Parma coach
Cesare Prandelli. Later,
Adrian Mutu, Gilardino's teammate at Verona, was also signed, to replace the departing
Marco Di Vaio. However, Mutu and
Adriano started most of Parma's matches in the
2002–03 Serie A, relegating Gilardino to the substitutes' bench. Gilardino nonetheless made 24 league appearances and scored four goals, as well as one goal in the
Coppa Italia. In the
2003–04 season, Gilardino scored 23 goals in Serie A, 17 of which came in the second half of the season, also thanks to the return of Adriano to
Internazionale. Gilardino's 23 goals placed him second in Serie A for the season, behind
Andriy Shevchenko's 24. Gilardino also scored three goals in the
UEFA Cup. The player credited his manager Cesare Prandelli for helping him to grow technically. Gilardino's success at club and U-21 level earned him a contract extension until June 2007. In his third championship in Parma (2004–05), he repeated this feat, scoring another 23 goals in the league and finishing as the second-best scorer in
Serie A once again, preceded by
Cristiano Lucarelli's 24. He scored in a playoff match against Bologna, bringing his total haul to 24 goals. He also scored once in the
UEFA Cup. He scored 51 goals for Parma in only 97 appearances in Serie A.
AC Milan On 17 July 2005, Gilardino made a €25 million transfer to Milan, acquiring the number 11 shirt. He scored his first goal for the
Rossoneri in a match against
Sampdoria. He would finish the
2005–06 season with 17 goals in 34
Serie A appearances and two goals in three appearances in the
Coppa Italia, but he failed to find his offensive form in Milan's
2005–06 UEFA Champions League campaign, going goal-less in all 12 matches. In the
2006–07 season, Gilardino's scored his first
UEFA Champions League goal on 1 November 2006, in a 4–1 win against
Anderlecht. His European offensive output the next season was equally disappointing, with only two goals. However, one of his two goals helped Milan seal a decisive 3–0 win over
Manchester United in the second leg of the semi-finals on 3 May 2007, which put them back into the
Champions League final and set up a rematch with
Liverpool. He played only two minutes as a substitute for
Filippo Inzaghi in Milan's 2–1 victory. Gilardino led Milan in
2006–07 Serie A scoring with 12 goals; no other Milan player hit double figures. At the end of the season, he revealed in an interview to feel challenged, to experience bitterness at not having played the Champions League final won by Milan, and was considering the possibility of leaving Milan. However, following a clarification with management, he decided to stay. Gilardino contributed a brace in Milan's 5–1 defeat of
Lazio on 7 October 2007 (which marked his first domestic goal following a double in Milan's 5–2 victory over
Ascoli on 18 April), and likewise for his first Champions League brace netting of the season in a 4–1 victory over
Shakhtar Donetsk on 24 October. In the second half of the season, Gilardino was often left on the substitutes' bench by manager
Carlo Ancelotti, to be relegated to third striker behind Inzaghi and
Alexandre Pato. Later, Gilardino described the last few months spent at Milan as the worst of his career, while stressing the positive aspects of his experience in Milan and his estimate for the
Rossoneri. With Milan, Gilardino was considered a strong front man who was adept at holding the ball and leading attacks.
Fiorentina On 25 May 2008,
Fiorentina sporting director
Pantaleo Corvino confirmed a deal to sign Gilardino from Milan had been completed. On 28 May, the deal was confirmed from the official website of the
Rossoneri: Gilardino moved for €15 million and signed a five-year deal. At Fiorentina, Gilardino was reunited by former Parma teammates Adrian Mutu,
Sébastien Frey and
Marco Donadel, as well as his former manager at Parma, Cesare Prandelli. Gilardino's first goal with the
Violas was in the first leg of the
third qualifying round for the
2008–09 Champions League against
Slavia Prague, where he scored the second goal of the match. On 31 August, Gilardino scored on his Serie A debut against
Juventus in the 89th minute to tie the match at 1–1. In the successive league match, he supplied an assist to Adrian Mutu to open the score in the match against
Napoli, but Fiorentina still finished on the losing side by suffering a 1–2 defeat at the
Stadio San Paolo. In the first match in the Champions League group stage, against
Lyon, he scored two goals in the first half to give Fiorentina a two-goal cushion, only to be cancelled by two second-half goals from
Frédéric Piquionne and
Karim Benzema. On 18 October, thanks to a brace against
Reggina, Gila became the seventh youngest Italian player to score 100 goals in Serie A. On 27 October 2008, Gilardino was given a two-match suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct have after scoring with his hand in Fiorentina's 3–1 victory at
Palermo. The handball was not seen by referee
Emidio Morganti. Gilardino insisted the handball was unintentional, claiming it was caused by defender
Paolo Dellafiore. On 25 April 2009, Gilardino scored a brace in Fiorentina's 4–1 victory against
Roma, thereby scoring 100 goals in his last six years. In the same period in Europe, only
Samuel Eto'o,
Thierry Henry and
Luca Toni scored more goals. Gilardino finished the 2008–09 season with 19 Serie A goals (all from open play), placing him in fourth place in the league scoring charts and contributing significantly to Fiorentina's fourth place in the Serie A. Among the highlights of his season was a double against Roma and an astonishing tight angle shot against
Genoa while being marked by three defenders. Gilardino had an exceptional campaign in
the Champions League the following season, first scoring a dramatic late goal to give Fiorentina a 2–2 draw at
Sporting CP, then against
Debrecen, and then scoring in the third minute of stoppage time against Liverpool in the final match day of the group stage at
Anfield, which gave Fiorentina a first-place finish at the expense of Lyon. On this occasion, Gilardino scored ten goals in European competitions for Fiorentina, equalling the record set by
Gabriel Batistuta. Gilardino later said the goal at Anfield was the most important goal of his career. He ended the
2009–10 season with four goals in the Champions League and 15 in
Serie A. On 27 February 2011, Gilardino scored the ninth league goal of the season and his 200th career goal as a professional player in a match against
Bari, which gave Fiorentina a 1–0 lead.(138 in Serie A, 8 in Italian Cup, 13 in the Champions League, 5 in the UEFA Cup, 17 in the senior national team, 15 in Under 21 national team, 4 in the Italian Olympic team). On 6 March 2011, Gilardino scored in Fiorentina's 3–0 victory against
Catania, his 44th goal in Serie A for Fiorentina. This placed him in tenth place among the markers purple and 30th place in the scorer list of all time. On 21 August, Gilardino scored the first goal of the
2011–12 Serie A season in the match Fiorentina against
Cittadella, which ended 2–1. His first league goal of the season came in the second round against
Bologna. On 17 December, he scored his second goal of the season.
Genoa On 3 January 2012, Gilardino signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Genoa, and cost €8 million. Gilardino chose 82 as his shirt number, as his number 11 was occupied by
Boško Janković. On 29 January, during a match against Napoli, he scored his first Genoa goal, at the
Stadio Luigi Ferraris. He scored his first brace for Genoa from the penalty spot at the
San Siro against Internazionale in an eventual 5–4 loss. He scored his fourth goal in a 2–0 win over Palermo on 13 May, helping Genoa stay six points clear of the relegation zone. Gilardino scored 4 goals in 14 appearances at Genoa in the second half of the 2011–12 Serie A season. Referred to the facts of
Siena – Genoa 1–4 match in the 2011–2012 season ( pressure from the fans in the stadium with the players that they had to remove the mesh), 6 October 2012 federal prosecutors asked for 30 thousand euro fine for Gilardino and his other 14 teammates.
Loan to Bologna On 31 August 2012, Gilardino switched clubs again, joining
Bologna for €1.3 million loan fee. Gilardino signed a contract worth €2,341,288. He made his debut with the shirt Emilian on 1 September 2012 in the lost game against Milan, succeeding
Robert Acquafresca. Gilardino netted a brace on 16 September, helping his new side overcome a 2–0 halftime deficit to defeat
Roma 3–2 at the
Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Gilardino scored his second brace for Bologna, in their 4–0 defeat of
Catania on 30 September, bringing his goal tally to five in five games. Gilardino scored his sixth goal for Bologna on 18 November, opening the scoring in a comfortable 3–0 defeat of Palermo, earning his new club a much needed three points. Gilardino led Bologna to a much needed win on 12 January 2013, netting a brace in the side's 4–0 defeat of
Chievo Verona. He powered the club to a 1–0 defeat of
Inter Milan on 10 March, scoring with a classy volley from a
Diego Pérez cross, firmly establishing Bologna in mid-table and easing their relegation fears. He finished the season with 13 goals in 35 matches.
Return to Genoa After the season at Bologna, where he dragged his team to an early salvation thanks to his 13 goals, he returned to Genoa, at the request of the former midfielder
Fabio Liverani, who had become the new coach of the club. He scored his first goal of the season on 17 August against
Spezia in the Italian Cup, the defeat on penalties after a 2–2 draw in regulation time accrued. He made his debut in the league in the 0–2 defeat at the San Siro against Inter and scored his first goal of the season in Serie A the following Sunday during the 2–5 home defeat against Fiorentina. On 20 October, Gilardino scored two goals in the home game against Chievo Verona in the 2–1 game won by Genoa. On 30 October, in the 9th round of the Serie A, Gilardino scored a decisive goal that allows Genoa in front of Parma. The story is also repeated on the next match against Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico, with a penalty kick goal of doubling. On 23 November, Gilardino carries a penalty equalizer against Milan at the San Siro, coming to 6 season goals in the top flight. On 8 December, Gilardino scored the opening goal at the
Stadio Sant'Elia against
Cagliari Calcio in a 1–2 loss game. On 6 January 2014, he scored the eighth goal of the season on a penalty kick against
Sassuolo leading Genoa to 500 victories in Serie A matches with the formula of a single round. On 26 January against
Fiorentina Gilardino scored the opening goal in a thrilling 3–3 draw. On 16 February, he scored his first brace against
Udinese since he returned the I Rossoblu, which led his team a 3–3 draw. With this two goals, Gilardino reaches 11 season goals and 170 total goals in Serie A, thus exceeding
Giuseppe Savoldi and then temporarily ranking 14th among the Serie A all-time scorers. He finished the 2013–14 Serie A season with 15 goals in 36 matches.
Guangzhou Evergrande On 5 July 2014, it was announced that Genoa had accepted a €5 million offer for Gilardino from Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande. Gilardino signed a contract with the Chinese side until 31 December 2016 for an amount of 10 million. Gilardino finished his 2014 CSL season in Guangzhou with 5 goals in 14 matches, as Guangzhou won the
Chinese Super League title for the fourth consecutive season.
Return to Fiorentina on loan On 25 January 2015,
Fiorentina officially announced that the club had made a deal with
Guangzhou Evergrande that Gilardino would transfer to Fiorentina on loan until the end of 2014–15 season, with a reported buyout clause of €1.5 million. On 31 January, Gilardino scored in his new debut for the viola in a 1–1 draw against Genoa. On 26 April, Gilardino scored his 175th Serie A goal in a game against Cagliari. On 18 May, he scores a goal against his former team Parma in a 3–0 win of Fiorentina. He finished the second half season with 4 goals in 14 matches. At the end of the season, Fiorentina decided not to sign him and Gilardino returned to China.
Palermo On 27 August 2015, Gilardino signed with Palermo. He made his debut for Palermo in a 2–2 draw against the Carpi on 13 September. On 4 October, Gilardino scored against Roma, ending 2–4 for the giallorossi. Gilardino scored the second goal of the season in the game against Inter Milan, making his eighth goal against the Nerazzurri. On 30 January 2016, he scored his 184th Serie A goal in a 1–1 away draw against
Carpi, equalling Gabriel Batistuta as the eleventh-highest score in Serie A history. He also tied the record for the most different clubs scored against in Serie A (38), which he now holds alongside Francesco Totti and
Roberto Baggio. On 15 May 2016, he scored in a 3–2 home win over Verona to help save Palermo from relegation at the conclusion of the
2015–16 Serie A season; the goal also enabled him to equal
Giuseppe Signori and
Alessandro Del Piero as the
joint-ninth highest goalscorer in Serie A history, with 188 goals. He finished the season with 10 Serie A goals in 33 matches.
Empoli On 7 July 2016, Gilardino signed with
Empoli on a two-year contract. He spent six months at the club, making 16 appearances across all competitions and scoring one goal.
Pescara On 9 January 2017, Gilardino joined
Pescara. He only made 3 appearances for the club.
Spezia On 3 October 2017, Gilardino signed with
Spezia. He left the club by the end of the season and, on 20 September 2018, announced his retirement. ==Managerial career==