Andrea Ranocchia (; born 16 February 1988) is a former Italian professional
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 le ...
who played as a
defender.
Club career
Early career
Born in
Assisi
Assisi (, also , ; from la, Asisium) is a town and ''comune'' of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio.
It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born aroun ...
in the
province of Perugia
The Province of Perugia ( it, Provincia di Perugia) is the larger of the two provinces in the Umbria region of Italy, comprising two-thirds of both the area and population of the region. Its capital is the city of Perugia. The province covered al ...
, Ranocchia started his career at
Perugia
Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia.
The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...
then in
Arezzo
Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...
. Ranocchia played for Arezzo's
Primavera team in 2005–06 season. He made his professional debut with the Arezzo senior side 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 ...
under manager
Antonio Conte
Antonio Conte (; born 31 July 1969) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
Playing as a midfielder, Conte began his career at local club Lecce and later b ...
during the
2006–07 season.
Genoa
Loan to Bari
In August 2008,
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 ...
purchased half of the registration rights of Ranocchia for €1.55 million
and sent him on loan to
Bari
Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
, rejoining Arezzo coach Conte, where he won the
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 ...
Championship, obtaining promotion to
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 ...
the following season, and forming a promising defensive partnership with fellow emerging Italian centre-back
Leonardo Bonucci
Leonardo Bonucci (; born 1 May 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back and captains both club Juventus and the Italy national team. Known for his technique and ball-playing ability, he is regarded as one of the b ...
.
On 26 June 2009 Genoa signed him outright for another €2.45 million from Arezzo; Genoa paid €4 million in total for him within a year.
[
]
Return to Genoa
On 1 July 2010, he moved back to 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 ...
. After a link with Inter Milan
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...
in February 2010, the clubs agreed a deal in June 2010 which involved the transfer of young striker Mattia Destro
Mattia Destro (; born 20 March 1991) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Empoli. He has also featured at international level, holding eight caps for Italy.
Club career
Youth career
Destro began his c ...
. The transfer became official on 20 July 2010, which Inter signed half of the registration rights of Ranocchia for €6.5 million and sent Destro on loan to Genoa with option to sign him in co-ownership deal (who later purchased outright for €4.5 million). Ranocchia also loaned back to Genoa for a season.
Inter Milan
On 27 December 2010, Inter bought the remaining 50% registration rights of Ranocchia from Genoa for €12.5 million, valuing him at €19 million in total, which was later confirmed by Genoa chairman Enrico Preziosi
Enrico Preziosi is an Italian entrepreneur. He runs a number of businesses and is most famous for have been the chairman ( it, presidente) of football club Genoa.
Toys
Preziosi is the chairman ( it, presidente) of the board of directors of Gioch ...
who expressed his delight at doing business with Inter.[FC Internazionale Milano Report and Accounts on 30 June 2011 (in Italian)] The chairman of Inter, Massimo Moratti
Massimo Moratti (born 16 May 1945) is an Italian billionaire petroleum businessman, the former owner of Inter Milan and chairman of the Saras Group, founded in 1962 by his father, industrialist Angelo Moratti. The main production site of the Sara ...
, spoke on the transfer to Sky Italia and said: "Finally an Italian. We had kept an eye on him from before. It is our project to go ahead with young players." On 9 January 2011, Ranocchia made his Inter debut in a 2–1 win over Catania
Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
in Serie A. He made his Champions League debut against Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
in the first leg of the round of 16; Inter eventually progressed to the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by eventual semi-finalists Schalke 04
Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...
. Ranocchia completed his first season with Inter by attaining a second-place finish in Serie A, also winning the 2010–11 Coppa Italia
The 2010–11 Coppa Italia, also known as TIM Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 64th season of the competition. As in the previous year, 78 clubs took part in the tournament. Internazionale were the cup holders and successfully retained the tro ...
; the following season, however, Inter lost out to Serie A Champions and cross-city rivals Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
in the 2011 Supercoppa Italiana
The 2011 TIM Supercoppa Italiana Final was the 24th edition of the Supercoppa, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Serie A and Coppa Italia competitions.
The match, the curtain raiser to the new football sea ...
Final.
Ranocchia was appointed as the new Inter captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
ahead of the 2014–15 season, replacing the retired Javier Zanetti
Javier Adelmar Zanetti (; born 10 August 1973) is an Argentine former professional footballer. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation, and is especially well known for his role in Inter Milan's treble-winning 2009–10 seas ...
.
On 30 June 2015 Inter announced that Ranocchia agreed to a four-year contract extension, keeping him with the club until 2019. During the 2014–15 season, Ranocchia made a total of 42 appearances and scored two goals, but was replaced as the club's captain by the young striker Mauro Icardi
Mauro Emanuel Icardi Rivero (; born 19 February 1993) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Süper Lig club Galatasaray S.K. (football), Galatasaray, on loan fro ...
at the end of the season.
During the 2015–16, Ranocchia's role was downgraded to that of a substitute under Roberto Mancini
Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the Italy national team.
As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for his time at Samp ...
, which saw him make only 10 appearances during the first half of the season, mostly as a substitute. Since 2015, he has mainly been used as a back-up, playing seven to 13 games per season. On 28 January 2016, Ranocchia moved on loan to 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, ...
. On 31 January 2017, Ranocchia moved on loan to Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...
until the end of the 2016–17 season. He made his debut the following day when he came off the bench as a 66-minute substitute for Josh Tymon
Joshua Lewis Tymon (born 22 May 1999) is an English professional association football, footballer who plays as a defender (association football), defender for EFL Championship, Championship club Stoke City F.C., Stoke City.
Tymon began his care ...
in a 0–0 away draw against Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
. He scored his first goal for the club on 1 April 2017 as Hull beat West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
2–1 at the KCOM Stadium
The MKM Stadium (also known as the Hull City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations) is a multi-purpose facility in the city of Kingston upon Hull, England. The stadium was previously called the KC Stadium, but was renamed the KCOM Stadi ...
. At the end of season, Ranocchia returned to Inter. He was part of the squad on the first day of pre-season training.
In the 2017–18 season, under guidance of Luciano Spalletti, Ranocchia was once again used rarely, making only 13 appearances between league and cup, scoring twice in the process. His contribution during this season helped Inter return to 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 ...
for the first time since 2011–12 season.
In the following season, Ranocchia played only 7 matches across all competitions, although he scored his first goal in European competitions; his goal came with a volley outsite the penalty area in a 4–0 home win over Rapid Wien
Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...
in Europa League on 21 February 2019.
On 29 April 2019, Ranocchia's contract with Inter was extended to 2021. Moreover, he reunited with his first coach in senior professional football, Antonio Conte, who was appointed manager of Inter ahead of the 2019–20 season. Although he was initially used as a starter for the first two games of the season, even earning praise in the media over his performances, he was once again relegated to the bench as the season progressed. However, he was given an opportunity to start on 20 February 2020, during which he made his 200th Inter appearance in all competitions by captaining the team in a 2–0 win at Ludogorets Razgrad in the first leg of the round of 32 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 ...
.
During the 2020–21 season, Ranocchia won his first ''scudetto'' with Inter; although he did not make many appearances for the club, he took on a crucial leadership role for the team within the dressing room.
Monza
On 21 June 2022, Ranocchia signed a two-year deal with newly-promoted 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 ...
side Monza
Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...
; he became the side's first acquisition as a Serie A team. He made his debut on 8 August, in a 3–2 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 ...
win against Frosinone
Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the Va ...
. On 21 September, only three months after having been signed, Ranocchia terminated his contract with Monza on mutual consent. He eventually retired on 22 September 2022.
International career
On 21 August 2007, he made his debut with the Italy U21 squad in a friendly match against France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, replacing Fabiano Santacroce
Whellington Fabiano Santacroce (born 24 August 1986) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defender in the centre or on the left. He was born in Brazil to an Italian father and an Afro-Brazilian mother, then spending his ...
. He took part at the 2009 U-21 Championship, where the Italy under-21 side reached the semi-finals, only to be defeated 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 made his debut with the Italy senior team on 17 November 2010, in a friendly match against Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, which ended in a 1–1 draw.
Ranocchia was named to Cesare Prandelli
Claudio Cesare Prandelli (; born 19 August 1957) is an Italian football coach and former player. He was most recently head coach of Fiorentina.
Career Player
Prandelli was a midfielder who moved from Atalanta to Juventus in 1979. His first game ...
's 32 and 25-man provisional squads for UEFA Euro 2012
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
, but was excluded from the final 23-man squad.
Ranocchia was later also included in Prandelli's 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
, but not the final 23-man squad; however, he was one of the two Italian reserve players alongside Antonio Mirante
Antonio Mirante (born 8 July 1983) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club AC Milan.
Club career
Juventus and loans
After starting his professional career with Juventus, Mirante was loaned to Crotone in 2004, a ...
who was kept on the standby list prior to the start of the competition, as a precaution, in case of injury to any of the squad's final players, following an injury scare to back-up goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu
Salvatore Sirigu (, ; born 12 January 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Fiorentina and the Italy national team.
Sirigu began his career with Venezia, and then Palermo. In 2011, he moved to Paris Sa ...
.
Under Prandelli's successor, Antonio Conte, Ranocchia was called up for Italy's Euro 2016 qualifying matches in August 2015.
Style of play
Ranocchia has been described as a large, strong, aggressive, and physically imposing centre back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
, with good tactical knowledge and concentration, as well as an ability to read the game and time his tackles well. He predominantly drew praise for his aerial ability, making him a goal threat from set pieces, and former Inter centre back Marco Materazzi
Marco Materazzi (; born 19 August 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager.
Early in his career, Materazzi played with various Italian teams in Serie B and Serie C, and with Everton in the Premier League. He spent two per ...
described Ranocchia as his heir due to his own aerial prowess. A former 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 ...
, he was also known for being comfortable in possession due to his solid technique and reliable distribution, which allowed to him to play the ball out from the back or carry it out from the defence; these qualities initially led him to be compared to Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta (; born 19 March 1976) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. Usually deployed as a centre-back, he is widely considered one of the best defenders of all time. He was best known for his pace, artistic tac ...
in the Italian media, a player whom he admired. He was capable of playing in any position in a three–man defence, or as part of a central defensive partnership in a four–man back-line, although he was more suited to the former system; he was also occasionally used as a full-back on either side of the pitch.
Regarded as one of the most promising Italian defenders
Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to:
*Defense (military)
*Defense (sports)
**Defender (association football)
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary
* ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...
of his generation in his youth, Ranocchia was regarded as one of the best defenders in Serie A in his early career, even winning the ''Premio Armando Picchi
Armando Picchi (; 20 June 1935 – 27 May 1971) was an Italian football player and coach. Regularly positioned as a libero, he captained the Internazionale side known as "La Grande Inter".
Club career
Early career
Born in Livorno, Picchi start ...
'' in 2011, which is awarded to the best Italian under-23 defender in Italy, and pertains to playing ability as well as personality and fair-play. Former Inter full-back and captain Javier Zanetti
Javier Adelmar Zanetti (; born 10 August 1973) is an Argentine former professional footballer. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation, and is especially well known for his role in Inter Milan's treble-winning 2009–10 seas ...
also praised Ranocchia for his leadership, which eventually saw him inherit the role of club captain in 2014. In February 2019, Inter manager Luciano Spalletti praised his leadership, stating: "Ranocchia is the real captain because he is the one who speaks often, whose messages on social media everyone gets. He is the leader that is in the squad but you don’t notice him, but during the difficult times steps out and says what needs to be said.”
Despite his reputation as a generally reliable defender, in later seasons, Ranocchia did, however, draw criticism due to his decision making, inconsistency, and proneness to errors when under pressure, as well as his lack of pace, while his fitness was also affected by several injuries. As such, he was accused by some pundits in the Italian media of failing to live up to his initial potential. Moreover, despite his leadership, dedication, and professionalism, he was also criticised for his mentality, as well as his lack of a strong character or personality, which was thought to have limited his development as a player, and to have been one of the reasons behind his increasing lack of first team appearances as his career progressed.
Aside from his regular position of central defender, Ranocchia played several times as a makeshift target forward when his team lacked attacking options, a position which utilised his height, physical strength, and heading ability in attempts to either score goals or create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates. He had also initially played as a forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
in his youth, due to his speed, technique, and height, before being shifted further back as he grew physically with age.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Bari[
*]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 ...
: 2008–09
Inter Milan[
*]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 ...
: 2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
*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 ...
: 2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, 2021–22
*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 ...
: 2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
Individual
*Armando Picchi Award: 2010–11
*Serie A Team of the Year
The AIC Serie A Team of the Year (in Italian: ''Squadra dell’anno AIC'') is an annual award given to a set of eleven footballers in the top tier of Italian football, the Serie A, who are considered to have performed the best during the previous c ...
: 2010–11
References
External links
Profile
at A.C. Monza
Associazione Calcio Monza () is a professional football club that is based in Monza, Lombardy, Italy. The team plays in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football, following promotion in the 2021–22 Serie B season.
The club was fou ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranocchia, Andrea
1988 births
Living people
People from Assisi
Footballers from Umbria
Italian footballers
Italy under-21 international footballers
Italy international footballers
Association football central defenders
S.S. Arezzo players
Genoa C.F.C. players
S.S.C. Bari players
Inter Milan players
U.C. Sampdoria players
Hull City A.F.C. players
A.C. Monza players
Serie A players
Serie B players
Serie C players
Premier League players
Italian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in England
Italian expatriate sportspeople in England
Sportspeople from the Province of Perugia