Ignazio Abate (; born 12 November 1986) is an Italian former 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 ...

who played as a full-back and manager of

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 ...

's under-19 side. On early stage deployed as a winger, he was also capable of playing as a wide midfielder or as a wing-back, and was even used 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 ...

on occasion; he was renowned for his stamina, quick sprints, and ability to make attacking runs down the right flank. In his prime, he was considered one of the fastest players in the top leagues of European football. Abate started playing football with

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

club Rescaldina, before joining Milan's youth system in 1999 and making his professional debut for the club in December 2003. From 2004 to 2009, he spent five years on various loan spells with several Italian clubs, before going back to Milan. He played an important role in helping Milan win their 18th Scudetto during the 2010–11 Serie A season. After ten consecutive seasons with Milan and 306 competitive appearances for the team, Abate became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in July 2019. Abate has represented the

Italian national team The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing bo ...

and the Italian U21 national team, and also played for the Italian U19 national team and the Italian U20 national team. Prior to starring for the senior team, he represented his country in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

and 2009 European U-21 Championship. He made his senior international debut in November 2011, in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, and has since then represented the country in

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 ...

, winning a runners-up medal, at 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 ...

, winning a bronze medal, and at 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 ...

. Nearly two years after his debut, Abate scored his first international goal against

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 ...

in November 2013.

Early years

Abate was born in

Sant'Agata de' Goti Sant'Agata de' Goti is a ''comune'' (municipality) and former Catholic bishopric in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 35 km northeast of Naples and about 25 km west of Benevento near the Monte Taburn ...

, the son of former Italian

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 ...

Beniamino Abate Beniamino Abate (born 10 April 1962) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as goalkeeper. He is currently the goalkeeping coach of the Milan Primavera (under-19) squad. He is the father of Ignazio Abate who played as right-bac ...

, now a coach with the Milan youth academy.

Club career

Early career

Abate started playing football with

club Rescaldina, before joining

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

in 1999. During the 2003–04 season, he made his professional debut, playing in a

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 ...

game against

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 3 December. He also made his debut in European competitions, in a Champions League group-stage game versus

Celta Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues) ...

on 9 December. In that match he set the record as the youngest Milan player to ever play 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 competit ...

, at 17 years and 27 days.

Various loan spells (2004–2007)

For the 2004–05 season he was loaned out to

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 ...

Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football (soccer), football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1 ...

, where he made 29 appearances and scored 2 goals. In the summer of 2005 he had been set to spend the following season on loan at

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

. However, prior to the actual start of the competitions, he was called back and loaned to

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

instead, though he only made 13 appearances in his first

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 ...

season. The following one was more successful for the young winger, who made 38 appearances during his

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

spell at

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 ...

Serie A debut (2007–2009)

In the 2007–08 season Abate eventually made his

debut, after being acquired by

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 a co-ownership deal, for

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

900,000. That year, he also scored his first goal in Serie A, in a 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 ...

, on 27 April 2008. Following Empoli's relegation, Milan fully purchased him for €2 million as well as

Luca Antonini Luca Antonini (; born 4 August 1982) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is best known for his five–season stint at A.C. Milan, for which he played from 2008 until 2013. During that time, he made 111 app ...

for €2.75M (and sold Nicola Pozzi and Lino Marzoratti for €4.75M total fee) only to send him to

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 another co-ownership deal, for

2 million. Despite an early

injury An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, o ...

, he had a good

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

, appearing in 25 games and scoring 1

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

Back to AC Milan

On 24 June 2009, Milan reclaimed Abate for

2.55 million and this time he was included in the team roster for the upcoming 2009–10 season. After serving mainly as a reserve

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 the first few games, he later started to be employed as the regular

right 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 ...

by Milan head coach,

Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...

. He made 36 appearances in his first season back at Milan. Due to his good performances, on 11 February 2010 he was offered and signed an extension to his

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

until 2014. New coach Allegri kept him in the same position for the 2010–11 season. His

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

skills and speed in the

right wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...

allowed him to outrun opponent

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 ...

, while his crossing into the centre also resulted in goals regularly. His solid defensive play also lent a hand in winning Milan their 18th Scudetto and the Supercoppa Italiana. He made 37 appearances in total in his second season back at Milan. The following season, Abate was again the starting right back at Milan, making 40 appearances in all competitions. In the 2013–14 season, Abate scored his first Milan goal in a 3–3 draw with

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 ...

on 25 September 2013 In the 2014–15 season, Abate captained Milan for the first time in his career, the first time in a 2–0 loss to

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 ...

on 2 November 2014. Abate made his 200th Milan appearance on 9 May 2015, in a 2–1 win over

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 ...

. On 11 June 2015, Milan announced Abate had signed a contract extension to keep him at the club until 2019. Abate played as a regularly starting right-back in the 2015–16 season. One notable moment for him occurred on 22 February 2016, when he made an excellent sliding tackle on

Lorenzo Insigne Lorenzo Insigne (; born 4 June 1991) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC and the Italy national team. Insigne began his professional career with čelik Niksic in 2009, making his ...

on the right wing, preventing him from scoring a second goal in a 1–1 away draw against Napoli. In late March 2017, after initially being sidelined for Milan's following fixtures against

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

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 ...

, and

, Abate was ruled out for the remainder of the 2016–17 season, due to requiring surgery after suffering "blunt force trauma" to his left eye, after being hit by a ball in the face during a match against

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 ...

on 26 February. In late 2018, Abate temporarily assumed the role of a centre-back in the wake of an unexpected severe injury crisis that struck the team's defence. In this role, he was praised for his performances by the club's coach,

Gennaro Gattuso Gennaro Ivan Gattuso (; born 9 January 1978) is an Italian professional football coach and former player, who currently serves as manager of La Liga club Valencia. He was born in Corigliano (Calabria). As a player, he mainly played in the cent ...

, and various Italian media outlets alike. On 19 May 2019, Abate made his final home appearance for Milan in a 2–0 win over

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 ...

at the

San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...

stadium. During the match, the Milan Ultras of the ''Curva Sud'' saluted him by holding up a banner with the message "10 years of commitment and humility. You've gained the respect of the Ultras. Thank you Ignazio." Abate cried after seeing the message. His final appearance for the club came a week later, in a 3–2 away win over

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, sinc ...

on 26 May.

International career

After playing at various levels of youth international football for Italy, at under-19 and under-20 level, Abate made his debut with the Italian under-21 side in a friendly against

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 ...

, coming off the bench during the second half, on 12 December 2006. With the

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

national team coached by Casiraghi, he won the 2008 Toulon Tournament, in which he played four games and scored a goal against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He also took part in the

in Beijing. He then participated in the 2009 European U-21 Championship held in

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 ...

, making two appearances as Italy reached the semi-finals. Abate made his senior international debut for

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 ...

in November 2011, in a

against

. Abate was a member of the Italian squad that reached the

final. Abate also took part in the

for Italy, making three appearances in the group stage before suffering an injury which kept him out of the semi-finals, as Italy went on to win a bronze medal. Nearly two years after his debut, Abate scored his first international goal in a friendly match against

in November 2013, which ended in a 1–1 draw. He was part of Cesare Prandelli's 23-man Italy squad for the

held in Brazil, making 1 appearance throughout the tournament, in Italy's 1–0 defeat against

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

in their second group match, as Italy were eliminated in the group stage. AC Milan players warming up

Managerial career

On 2 July 2021, Abate was appointed as AC Milan's under-16 side coach. In the 2021–22 season, he led Milan U16 to reach the league final, then lost to Roma. On 5 July 2022, Milan announced Abate's promotion as coach of the under-19 side.

Personal life

Abate and his wife Valentina have three sons, Matteo (born 19 November 2011), Andrea (born 14 May 2013) and Benjamin (born 23 February 2018). The couple got married on 18 June 2015.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals :''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first.''

Honours

AC Milan *

: 2010–11 * Supercoppa Italiana:

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, 2016 Italy U-21 *

Toulon Tournament The Toulon Tournament (officially the Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) is a football (training match) tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams composed of youth players from U-17 to U-23 level. ...

: 2008 Italy *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

runner-up:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

References

External links

Profile
at

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website * * *
Profile
at

FIGC The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It ...

website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abate, Ignazio 1986 births Living people Footballers from Campania Sportspeople from the Province of Benevento Italian footballers Association football midfielders A.C. Milan players S.S.C. Napoli players U.C. Sampdoria players Piacenza Calcio 1919 players Modena F.C. players Empoli F.C. players Torino F.C. players Serie A players Serie B players Italy youth international footballers Italy under-21 international footballers Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Italy Italy international footballers UEFA Euro 2012 players 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players A.C. Milan non-playing staff