Giacomo Vrioni ( sq, Xhakomo Vrioni; born 15 October 1998) is a 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 plays 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 ...

for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

. Born in

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 re ...

, he represents the Albania national team.

Club career

Sampdoria

Born in

San Severino Marche San Severino Marche is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona and about southwest of Macerata. History From prehistory to Roman age The oldest remains of human pre ...

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza ri ...

, before Vrioni joined

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, ...

, he played in

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...

side

Matelica Matelica is a (municipality) of the Province of Macerata in the Italian region of Marche. Located about southwest of Ancona and west of Macerata, it extends over an area of . Geography Matelica lies in an ample valley where the Braccano cree ...

where he made four appearances. In January 2015, Vrioni joined the Sampdoria youth system where he played a total of 58 matches, scoring 20 goals and making 6 assists. In the 2016–17 season he was also an unused substitute two times: once in

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 ...

against

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

and once in

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 ...

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 ...

Loan to Pistoiese

On 20 July 2017, Vrioni was signed by

Serie C The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

club

Pistoiese Unione Sportiva Pistoiese 1921 is an Italian association football club, based in Pistoia, Tuscany. Currently, Pistoiese plays in Serie D. Originally founded on 21 April 1921 and later restored after bankruptcy, the team plays their home games ...

on a season-long loan deal. On 17 September he made his Serie C debut for Pistoiese as a substitute replacing

Devis Nossa Devis Nossa (born 7 February 1985) is an Italian footballer who plays for Serie D club Sanremese. Biography Inter Born in Treviglio, Lombardy, Nossa started his career with Internazionale, one of the biggest team in Lombardy. In 2002, he was pr ...

in the 67th minute and in the 74th minute he scored his first professional goal in a 1–1 away draw against Pro Piacenza. On 4 October, Vrioni played his first match for the club as a starter, a 0–0 away draw against

Olbia Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age, ...

, and was replaced by

Claudio Zappa Claudio Zappa (born 30 March 1997) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Serie D club Real Calepina. Club career Early career Zappa was born in Brescia, Italy. He began his professional career in the youth teams of ...

in the 69th minute. On 23 October he scored his second goal in the 8th minute of a 2–2 away draw against

Pontedera Pontedera (; la, Pons Herae) is an italian comune with a population of 29.270 inhabitants, located in the province of Pisa, Tuscany, Central Italy, central Italy. The town is located 20 km (12 miles) from Pisa and 50 km (31 miles) from Florenc ...

. On 17 December he played his first entire match for Pistoiese and recorded his first career hat-trick in a 3–1 home win over

Gavorrano Gavorrano is a mountain-side ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Grosseto in the western Italian region of Tuscany, located about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Florence and about 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Grosseto. Gav ...

. Vrioni ended his loan to Pistoiese with 27 appearances, 8 goals and 4 assists.

Loan to Venezia

On 9 July 2018, Vrioni was loaned to

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 ...

side

Venezia Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...

on a season-long loan deal. On 5 August he made his debut in a 1–0 home defeat against

Südtirol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

in the second round of

. On 26 August he made his Serie B debut in a 1–0 home win over

Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

, he was replaced by

Alexandre Geijo Alexandre "Álex" Geijo Pazos (born 11 March 1982) is a former footballer who played as a striker. He amassed Segunda División totals of 216 matches and 70 goals over seven seasons, representing five clubs in the process. He added eight goal ...

after 76 minutes. Four months later, on 3 December, Vrioni scored his first goal in Serie B for the club in the 46th minute of a 1–1 away draw against

Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...

. Vrioni ended his season-long loan to Venezia with 25 appearances, including 11 as a starter, 1 goal and 2 assists, but he played only 4 entire matches.

Loan to Cittadella

On 19 July 2019, Vrioni joined

side

Cittadella Cittadella ( vec, Sitadeła) is a medieval walled city in the province of Padua, northern Italy, founded in the 13th century as a military outpost of Padua. The surrounding wall has been restored and is in circumference with a diameter of around ...

on loan until 30 June 2020. On 18 August, he made his debut for Cittadella as a substitute replacing Davide Diaw in the 84th minute of a match won at penalties in the third round of

against

Carpi Carpi may refer to: Places * Carpi, Emilia-Romagna, a large town in the province of Modena, central Italy * Carpi (Africa), a city and former diocese of Roman Africa, now a Latin Catholic titular bishopric People * Carpi (people), an ancie ...

. Six days later, on 24 August, he made his league debut for the club as a substitute replacing Giuseppe Panico in the 81st minute of a 3–0 home defeat against

. On 31 August he played his first match as a starter for Cittadella, a 4–1 away defeat against

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

, and was replaced by Alberto Paleari after 46 minutes. In January 2020, Vrioni was re-called from Sampdoria leaving Cittadella with only 5 appearances.

Juventus

On 30 January 2020, Vrioni joined

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

for an undisclosed fee; they moved him to their reserve team

Juventus U23 Juventus Next Gen (), also known as Juve Next Gen or Juve NG (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, which acts as the reserve team of club Juventus. They compete in , and play their home games at the Stadio Giusepp ...

in the Serie C. He made his professional debut, and

debut, with the first team on 1 August 2020, in a 3–1 home defeat against

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 ...

, coming on as a second–half substitute for

Gonzalo Higuaín Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín (; born 10 December 1987) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''El Pipita'' or ''Pipa'', Higuaín was a prolific striker, known for his eye for goal, strong physique, and o ...

. On 27 November 2020, he injured his

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...

, forcing him on the sidelines for five months. Vrioni returned from injury on 25 April 2021, playing in a home 1–0 win against

Carrarese Carrarese Calcio 1908, commonly referred to as Carrarese, is an Italian football club based in Carrara, Tuscany. It currently plays in Serie C, having last been in Serie B in 1948. History The club was founded in 1908. In the season 2010–1 ...

; he also scored the winning goal from the

penalty spot The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. Wit ...

Loan to WSG Tirol

On 5 July 2021, Vrioni was loaned to

WSG Tirol Wattener Sportgemeinschaft Tirol (), commonly known as WSG Tirol, is a professional association football club based in the town of Wattens, Tyrol, Austria, that competes in the Austrian Football Bundesliga, the top tier of the Austrian footbal ...

in the

Austrian Bundesliga The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...

. On 17 July, Vrioni made his debut for WSG Tirol in a 3–0 away win against

Leobendorf Leobendorf is a town in the district of Korneuburg in the Austrian state of Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the no ...

in the first round of the

Austrian Cup The Austrian Cup (german: ÖFB-Cup), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for 27th t ...

, scoring his first goal for the club.

New England Revolution

On 5 July 2022, Vrioni signed a three-year deal with

side

. His transfer fee was reportedly close to $4 million. Vrioni made his league debut on July 23, 2022. Coming on as a 67th-minute substitute for

Arnór Ingvi Traustason Arnór Ingvi Traustason (born 30 April 1993) is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays for Swedish club IFK Norrköping as a midfielder. Club career While at Keflavik, Arnór Ingvi was named as the most promising player of the 2013 Úr ...

in a 0–0 draw against

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

. Vrioni admittedly had a difficult start to his inaugural Revolution campaign due to struggles with injury. He would miss the a substantial portion of the 2022 season due to a knee injury, missing over a month of league play, ultimately making only 2 starts in 7 total appearances, tallying 248 minutes. On October 1, 2022, in the Revolution's final home game of the season, Vrioni made his first start as a member of the Revolution, and also scored his first goal for the club when he drew, and converted, a penalty past Atlanta United's

Goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Raúl Gudiño.

2023 Season

Vrioni scored his first goal of the

2023 New England Revolution season The 2023 New England Revolution season was the club's 28th season in existence, and their 28th consecutive season playing in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. The season began on February 25 when the club began their play ...

on April 9, 2023, the team's fourth goal in a 4–0 home win over

CF Montréal CF Montréal is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Montréal, Québec, Canada. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1992 as the Montreal Impact (french: Impact de Montréal, links=no), ...

. Two weeks later, on April 23, 2023, he scored a brace in the Revolution's 2–1 win over

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

. On June 25, 2023, he scored the team's game-winning goal in their 2–1 comeback victory over

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

. He would again contribute a game-winning goal on July 13, 2023, in the Revolution's 2–1 victory over

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...

. Vrioni scored his first

Hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

for the Revolution on July 26, 2023, in a 5–1 victory over

Atlético San Luis Club Atlético de San Luis, commonly known as Atlético San Luis, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Luis Potosí, replacing San Luis Potosí's Liga MX team San Luis FC after its relocation. San Luis was promoted to Liga MX i ...

in the

Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup is an annual association football competition between clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX in North America. It debuted in July 2019 with four teams participating from each league. The first edition was a single-eliminati ...

. It was the first time the Revolution had scored a hat trick in an international competition. He dedicated the hat trick to the daughter of

Brad Knighton Bradley Burton Knighton (born February 6, 1985) is an American former professional soccer player. College and amateur soccer Knighton played four years of college soccer at UNC-Wilmington as well as for Indiana Invaders in the USL Premier Dev ...

, who had passed away earlier in the month.

2024 Season

Vrioni was named to the bench for the MLS week 22 Team of the Matchday after scoring a brace against FC Cincinnati. He was named to the week 24 Team of the Matchday for his brace in the Revolution's 2-1 home win against Atlanta United.

International career

Italy

Vrioni represented

at the Under-18 and Under-19 levels. On 9 March 2016 he made his debut at the U-18 level as a substitute replacing Simone Lo Faso in the 61st minute of a 1–1 home draw against Switzerland U-18. On 11 August 2016, Vrioni made his U-19 debut in a 1–0 home defeat against Croatia U-19, where he played the entire match. On 6 September 2016 he scored his first international goal, as a substitute, in the 94th minute of a 3–1 home win over Turkey U-19.

Albania

In September 2018 he switched his allegiance to his country of origin,

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 shares ...

. He is from the noble

Vrioni family The Vrioni family ( Ottoman Turkish: ''Viryon Zâdeler'') is one of the great Albanian aristocratic families and one of the biggest landowners of Albania, otherwise known as "Konaqe" or "Oxhaqe", among which the most important are: Vrioni of Berat ...

of Albania in origin. After being called up to their Under-21 side for a friendly against his country of birth,

. He earned his first cap in this match, netting a last-minute equalizer in an eventual 3–1 defeat, as the Italian side scored two goals in injury time. Vrioni made his senior debut for

on 14 October 2018, coming on as a second–half substitute in a 2–0 away defeat to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in the

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Juventus U23 *

Coppa Italia Serie C Coppa Italia Serie C ( it, Serie C Italian Cup), formerly named Coppa Italia Lega Pro, is a straight knock-out based competition involving teams from Serie C in Italian football first held in 1972. Format There are a total of six rounds in the c ...

: 2019–20 Juventus *

: 2019–20

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vrioni, Giacomo Living people 1998 births Footballers from the Province of Macerata Albanian men's footballers Italian men's footballers Italian people of Albanian descent Men's association football forwards SS Matelica Calcio 1921 players UC Sampdoria players US Pistoiese 1921 players Venezia FC players AS Cittadella players Juventus Next Gen players Juventus FC players WSG Tirol players New England Revolution players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Serie D players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Italy men's youth international footballers Albania men's under-21 international footballers Albania men's international footballers Albanian expatriate men's footballers Italian expatriate men's footballers Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Italian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Albanian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Italian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Designated Players (MLS) Major League Soccer players