Andrea Poli (; born 29 September 1989) is an Italian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for club

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

Club career

Treviso

He started his career in

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

with his native club

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

. He made his professional debut aged just 17 years, 2 months and 10 days under manager

Ezio Rossi Ezio is an Italian masculine name, originating from the Latin name ''Aetius''. It may refer to: * Flavius Aetius (c. 396–454), Roman general, after whom Metastasio's libretto and all the operas below are named. ** Ezio (libretto), opera libretto ...

, in a 3–2 loss against

Genoa C.F.C. Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to as Genoa (), is a professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria, Italy, that competes in , the second division of the Italian football league system. Established in 1893, Genoa is ...

on 9 December 2006. On 31 January 2007, he was signed by

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

club

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

in a joint ownership deal, but immediately loaned back to Treviso until officially becoming a member of Sampdoria at the end of the season. He made three further appearances for Treviso during the 2006–07 season.

Sampdoria

On 4 November 2007, he made his Serie A debut for Sampdoria in a 0–3 away win against

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

, under manager

Walter Mazzarri Walter Mazzarri (; born 1 October 1961) is an Italian former footballer and head coach, most recently in charge of Serie A club Cagliari. After a 14-year playing career with Italian clubs including Reggiana and Empoli, Mazzarri coached several ...

, aged 18 years, 1 month and 6 days. Andrea also made the bench on six other occasions in the 2007–08 season. He was also part of the ''Primavera''squad that won the

Campionato Nazionale Primavera The Campionato Nazionale Primavera – Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti, was an Italian football youth competition. It is organised by the Lega Serie A and the participating teams that take part in Serie A and Serie B: the first edition was held in th ...

. In the 2008–09 season he was loaned out to the Serie B club

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; egl, label=Modenese dialect, Modenese, Sasól ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town ...

in order to gain experience. At Sassuolo he had a breakout season, making 33 appearances between the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

and Serie B and managed five goals and three assists. A season highlight was scoring both of Sassuolo's goals against

U.S. Grosseto F.C. Unione Sportiva Grosseto 1912 is an Italian association football club, based in the city of Grosseto, Tuscany. The club was founded in 1912 as ''Unione Ginnico Sportiva Grossetana''. The team's most associated nickname is ''grifone'', after it ...

in a 2–1 away win. During the season Andrea was also part of Italy's u19, u20 and u21 youth sides. Upon his return to Sampdoria in the summer of 2009 he became a key player of the side that ended 4th in the league. He made 32 appearances playing as a central midfield playmaker and managed three assists. The next season Poli played less due to injuries and lack of form in Sampdoria side that endured a disastrous season. The side were knocked out of

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

qualifying by

SV Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...

, were knocked out of the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

at the group stage and were eventually relegated from

, finishing fourteen places lower than they did the last season.

Inter Milan

On 29 August 2011, Poli joined

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...

on a season-long loan, with

Inter Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club * FK Inter Bratislava, a form ...

having the option to buy him permanently in 2012. After missing most of the first half of the season through injury, Andrea had a very strong second half to the season and made 21 appearances for the Italian giants. Poli scored his first Inter goal in the

match against

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

in a 2–1 win on 19 January 2012. He also made his

proper debut against

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...

. Despite his good performances for the Nerazzuri, Internazionale did not take up their buy option on the player and so he returned to Sampdoria. Andrea returned to Sampdoria who were back in Serie A after just one season in Serie B. He made 32 appearances in the 2012–13 season scoring a career high three goals.

AC Milan

On 8 July 2013, Poli joined

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

becoming their third signing of summer 2013 for €3 million (€1.4 million plus 50% rights of Bartosz Salamon) in a co-ownership deal. Andrea made 37 appearances in all competitions in his first season with the Rossoneri. He managed two goals and four assists in what was a promising start to his Milan career. He was purchased outright by Milan on 9 June 2014.

Bologna

On 1 July 2017, he permanently joined

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

by signing a four-year contract. The new four-year contract is worth €800,000 net per season. On 15 October he signed his first goal for the rossoblu, in the 2–1 against

SPAL Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, commonly known as S.P.A.L. (), is a professional football club based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The team plays in Serie B, the second tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in 1907, since ...

Antalyaspor

On 23 July 2021, Poli signed a three-year deal with Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

club

Antalyaspor Antalyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Antalya. The club's colours are red and white. They play their home matches at the Antalya Stadium. In Turkey, the club won the First League twice in 1982 and 1 ...

Modena

On 29 September 2022, Poli joined

for the 2022–23 season.

International career

Poli was in the squad at the 2008 U-19 European Championships, where he scored two goals in the first round. On 11 February 2009, he made his debut with the Italy U-21 squad in a 1–1 friendly draw against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, played at the Stadio Nereo Rocco in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

. He was called up by manager

Pierluigi Casiraghi Pierluigi Casiraghi (; born 4 March 1969) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who played as a striker. Casiraghi began his playing career in Italy in 1985, with Monza. He later played for Juventus, and Lazio, before end ...

for the 2009 European Championships in the summer, but did not make an appearance, as Italy reached the semi-finals, only to be eliminated 1–0 by eventual champions

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He scored his first goal for the under-21 side later that year, on 8 September, in a 2–0 home win over

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, in a Euro 2011 qualifier. After being given his first senior international call-up by Cesare Prandelli on 10 August 2012, Poli made his debut with the Italian senior team on 15 August, coming on for

Alberto Aquilani Alberto Aquilani (; born 7 July 1984) is an Italian football manager and former player. Mainly a central midfielder, he usually operated as a deep-lying playmaker, but was also capable of playing as an attacking midfielder. He is the head coach o ...

in the second half of a 2–1 friendly loss to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. On 31 May 2013, he scored his first goal with the national team, in a 4–0 friendly win against

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

, in Bologna. Poli was initially included in Italy's 31-man preliminary squad for the

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourna ...

, but excluded from the final 23-man squad.

Style of play

Poli mainly operates as an offensive-minded

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, known as the " mezzala" role, in Italy, due to his ability to assist his team both offensively and defensively, although he can also be deployed as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

, or even as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

in front of the back-line; he has also been fielded as a full-back on occasion. He has been described as a versatile, energetic player, with good technical and creative qualities, which make him capable of starting attacking plays after winning back the ball. He also possesses an eye for goal due to his accurate striking ability from distance. He has been praised for his stamina, work-rate, and ability to read the game, as well as his tactical intelligence and discipline. Poli has been compared to

Daniele De Rossi Daniele De Rossi (; born 24 July 1983) is a former Italian professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder and is currently manager of side SPAL. He is mostly known for his time playing with his hometown club Roma in Serie A, as ...

, and he has cited

Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who is head coach of Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. Considered one of the best deep-lying playmakers ever, Pirlo was renowned for his visio ...

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...

, and

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed club Aston Villa. Described by pundits and fellow professionals as one of his generation's greatest players, Ge ...

as his role models, with the main focus on the latter.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

AC Milan *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Italy U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

bronze:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

http://www.uefa.com/newsfiles/19078.pdf

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Poli, Andrea 1989 births People from Vittorio Veneto Footballers from Veneto Sportspeople from the Province of Treviso Living people Association football midfielders Italian footballers Italy youth international footballers Italy under-21 international footballers Treviso F.B.C. 1993 players U.C. Sampdoria players U.S. Sassuolo Calcio players Inter Milan players A.C. Milan players Bologna F.C. 1909 players Antalyaspor footballers Modena F.C. 2018 players Serie A players Serie B players Süper Lig players Italian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Italian expatriate footballers Italy international footballers