Daniele Rugani (; born 29 July 1994) is an 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, rugb ...
who plays as a
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 ...
for club
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...
.
Rugani began his professional club career with
Empoli
Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...
in
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie 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 season. It had been ...
in 2013, where he immediately helped the club achieve Serie A promotion, and was named the 2014
Serie B Footballer of the Year
The AIC Serie B Young Footballer of the Year ( it, Migliore giovane della Serie B ''AIC'') is a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) given to the young footballer who has been considered to have performed the best ov ...
. His defensive performances the following season saw him named to the 2015
Serie A Team of the Year, and earned him a transfer to Juventus, where he won five consecutive Serie A titles, two
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 ...
titles, and two
Supercoppa Italiana
The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual association football, 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 ...
titles.
At the international level, he has represented the
Italy U21 team at the
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 Association football, football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. ...
in
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
and
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
, and made his senior debut for Italy in 2016.
Club career
Early career
Born in
Lucca
Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957.
Lucca is known as one ...
, Italy, Rugani began his footballing career with
Tuscan side
Empoli
Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...
in 2000, at the age of 6. He remained within the club's youth academy for twelve full seasons, before being transferred 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 Cop ...
giants
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...
on loan in August 2012, for €150,000 fee.
After joining Juventus, Rugani was registered with the club's
''Primavera'' (under-19) youth squad where he was a regular starter within the side during the 2012–13 season, winning the
Coppa Italia Primavera
The Coppa Italia Primavera ( Italian for Spring Italian Cup) is an Italian football competition played by youth teams from Campionato Primavera. All players are under 20 of age. The first edition was held in the 1972–73 season.
Due to sponsorsh ...
.
After his successes during his first season with Juventus, Rugani was purchased by the club on 31 July 2013 in a
co-ownership deal for €500,000
[ and then sent back to Empoli on a season-long loan deal ahead of their ]2013–14 Serie B
The 2013–14 Serie B (known as the Serie B Eurobet for sponsorship reasons) was the 82nd season since its establishment in 1929. A total of 22 teams contested the league: 15 of which were returning from the 2012–13 season, 4 of which were pr ...
campaign.
At age 20, Rugani was Empoli's star defender during their successful campaign, as he finished the season having made 40 appearances and scoring 2 goals for the club. He scored his first career goal from a header off of a corner on 22 March 2014, in a 4–0 home win over Reggina
Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo.
They are ni ...
. The club finished the season in 2nd place, thus achieving automatic 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 Cop ...
, alongside champions Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...
.
On 18 June 2014, it was confirmed that the co-ownership agreement between the two clubs would be renewed, with the player remaining with newly promoted Empoli for the 2014–15 Serie A
The 2014–15 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 113th season of top-tier Italian football, the 83rd in a round-robin tournament, and the fifth since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie ...
campaign on loan from Juventus. Rugani made his Serie A debut on 31 August 2014, at the age of 20, in a 2–0 away defeat to Udinese, later scoring his first goal in Serie A on 20 September, in a 2–2 away draw against Cesena. On 2 February 2015, Juventus bought out the remaining half of Daniele Rugani's registration rights from Empoli, for an additional €3.5 million. Rugani was a key player for Empoli that season, appearing in all 38 of Empoli's league matches that season without being substituted or booked, in addition to scoring 3 goals, as the club finished the league in 15th place.
Juventus
In the summer of 2015, Rugani officially returned to Juventus. He made his debut with the club on 30 September 2015, coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 home win over Sevilla
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
in the 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 competi ...
group stage, also making his European debut in the process. He made his first start with the club on 16 December, in a 4–0 win over cross-city rivals Torino
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...
in the ''Derby della Mole
The Derby della Mole is the local derby played out between Turin's most prominent football clubs, Juventus and Torino. It is also known as the Derby di Torino or the Turin Derby in English. It is named after the Mole Antonelliana, a major l ...
'' in the round of 16 of 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 ...
. His league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
debut with the club came four days later, as he came on for veteran defender Andrea Barzagli in the 56th minute of a 3–2 away win over Carpi. He made his first league start for the club in a 2–1 away win over Sampdoria in Serie A, on 10 January 2016. On 24 April, Rugani was booked for the first time in his entire Serie A career in his 53rd Serie A appearance. He received a yellow card in the 72nd minute of a 2–1 away win over Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...
; he had last been carded at club level with Empoli, on 1 March 2014, in an away Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie 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 season. It had been ...
fixture against Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...
. Following Napoli
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
's loss to Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
* Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
the following day, Juventus clinched the league title with three games to spare.
On 21 September 2016, Rugani made his first appearance of the season and scored his first goal for Juventus, in a 4–0 home win over 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 ...
. On 7 December, Rugani scored his first ever 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 competi ...
goal on his third appearance in the competition, in a 2–0 home win over Dinamo Zagreb
Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinam ...
. On 14 December, Rugani extended his stay at Juventus, signing a new contract that would run until 2021.
Following the sale of 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 ...
to 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 ...
in the summer of 2017, the 2017–18 season saw Rugani receive more playing time in central defence with Juventus. In total, he made 22 Serie A appearances for Juventus, and 26 in all competitions, scoring two goals, both of which came in the league, as Juventus once again finished the season by winning a domestic double of the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles.
On 30 March 2019, Rugani extended his contract with Juventus, keeping him at the club until June 2023.
He made his 100th appearance for Juventus on 29 July 2020, in a 2–0 away defeat to Cagliari, in Serie A.
Rennes
On 3 October 2020, Rugani was loaned out to Rennes
Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departme ...
for the season at a cost of €1.5 million.
Cagliari
On 1 February 2021, Rugani joined 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 ...
on a six-month loan. On 3 March 2021, Rugani scored his first goal for the club, in a home league match against 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 na ...
that ended 1–0.
International career
Rugani has represented Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
at various youth levels since 2010. His first cap for the under-21 team came on 5 March 2014 in a European qualifier against Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
, in which he scored the first goal for the ''azzurini'' in a 2–0 victory.
On 9 November 2014, he was called up by 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 ...
to the senior Italy squad ahead of a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2 ...
match against Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capi ...
and a friendly against Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...
.
With the Italy U-21 he took part at the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Fifteen or 15 may refer to:
*15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16
*one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015
Music
* Fifteen (band), a punk rock band
Albums
* ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005
* ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...
under manager Luigi Di Biagio
Luigi Di Biagio (; born 3 June 1971) is an Italian professional football manager and former player.
A former defensive midfielder, Di Biagio last played for Ascoli Calcio 1898 in 2007, and previously also played for several other Italian clubs ...
.
On 31 May 2016, Rugani was named one of three reserves for 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 ...
's senior side for Euro 2016
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...
.
Rugani made his senior international debut on 1 September 2016, with newly appointed coach Gian Piero Ventura
Gian Piero Ventura (; born 14 January 1948) is an Italian football manager.
His playing career as a midfielder was spent in the lower leagues, having not made the grade at Sampdoria, where he began his coaching career with the youth team in 1 ...
, coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 friendly defeat to 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 ...
.
In June 2017, he was included in the Italy under-21 squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
The 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2017) was the 21st edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, a biennial international youth football championship organised by UEFA for the men's under-21 na ...
by manager Di Biagio. Italy were eliminated in the semifinals following a 3–1 defeat to Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
on 27 June.
Style of play
Rugani is a tall, tactically versatile, and physically strong centre-back, who is good in the air, both defensively and offensively. He is known in particular for his anticipation, intelligence, and marking ability, despite his lack of notable pace or mobility. He is also considered to be a correct player, who often avoids committing to challenges, preferring to restrict his opponents through his positioning. Due to his confidence in possession, he is capable of playing the ball out from the back-line. Regarded as one of the most promising young Italian players of his generation, in 2015, he was named one of the best players in the world born after 1994, by ''Don Balón
''Don Balón'' is a Spanish weekly sports magazine specializing in Spanish and international football. The magazine was published in Barcelona between 1975 and 2011. It was distributed on five continents.
Since 2011 ''Don Balón'' has been a full ...
''.
Personal life
On 11 March 2020, it was announced that Rugani tested positive for COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
, while being asymptomatic
In medicine, any disease is classified asymptomatic if a patient tests as carrier for a disease or infection but experiences no symptoms. Whenever a medical condition fails to show noticeable symptoms after a diagnosis it might be considered a ...
, amid its pandemic in Italy. He became the first reported player in Serie A to have tested positive for COVID-19.
Career statistics
Club
[
]
International
[
]
Honours
Juventus[
* ]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 Cop ...
: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20
* 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 ...
: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
* Supercoppa Italiana
The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual association football, 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 ...
: 2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
, 2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
* 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 competi ...
runner-up: 2016–17
Individual
* Serie B Footballer of the Year
The AIC Serie B Young Footballer of the Year ( it, Migliore giovane della Serie B ''AIC'') is a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) given to the young footballer who has been considered to have performed the best ov ...
: 2014
* Serie A Team of the Year: 2014–15
References
External links
Profile
at the Juventus F.C. website
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugani, Daniele
Living people
1994 births
Italian footballers
Association football defenders
Serie A players
Serie B players
Juventus F.C. players
Empoli F.C. players
Stade Rennais F.C. players
Cagliari Calcio players
Sportspeople from Lucca
Italy youth international footballers
Italy under-21 international footballers
Italy international footballers
Italian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in France
Ligue 1 players
Italian expatriate sportspeople in France
Footballers from Tuscany