 A native of southern Italy, Criscito moved up north at age 13 to pursue his football career.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 Criscito and Francesco Volpe contracts to Juventus for €1.9 million, with 50% contract of Antonio Nocerino was sold to Genoa for €450,000.