Nicolò Zaniolo (; born 2 July 1999) 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, rugby le ...
who plays as an
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...
or
winger for club
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 ...
and the
Italy national team.
Club career
Early career
Born in
Massa
Massa may refer to:
Places
*Massa, Tuscany, the administrative seat of the Italian province of Massa-Carrara.
*Massa (river), river in Switzerland
* Massa (Tanzanian ward), administrative ward in the Mpwapwa district of the Dodoma Region of Ta ...
,
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
, Zaniolo grew up in the
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 fo ...
youth system. On the final day of the 2016 mid year transfer window, he was released by Fiorentina, and subsequently joined
Virtus Entella
Virtus Entella, commonly referred to as Entella, is an Italian professional football club based in Chiavari, Liguria. Founded in 1914, the club currently competes in the .
History 1914: Foundation
The club was founded in 1914 as Foot-Ball Club ...
. After several months playing for the Entella ''
Primavera'' side, Zaniolo was given his professional debut 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 ...
on 11 March 2017, aged 17, in a 3–2 win 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 ...
. In total, he collected seven appearances for the ''Biancocelesti'' in the 2016–17 season.
On 5 July 2017,
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 ...
announced they had signed Zaniolo, for a reported fee of €1.8 million, plus €1.7 million in bonuses. He played for the ''
Primavera'' side in the 2017–18 season, finishing top-scorer of the team with 13 goals and winning the
Campionato Nazionale Primavera
The Campionato Nazionale Primavera – Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti, was an Italian football youth competition. It is organised by the Lega Serie A and the participating teams that take part in Serie A and Serie B: the first edition was held in th ...
. Zaniolo made his Inter debut in a pre-season friendly on 9 July 2017. However, he did not play any competitive game for Inter's first team.
Roma
2018–19 season
In June 2018, it was reported that Zaniolo and
Davide Santon
Davide Santon (; born 2 January 1991) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a left wing-back.
A former Inter Milan youth product, Santon began his professional club career with Inter in 2008, and remained with the club unt ...
had joined
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 ...
as a part of the deal moving
Radja Nainggolan
Radja Nainggolan (born 4 May 1988) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club SPAL.
Nicknamed ''Il Ninja'', he spent almost his entire professional career in Italy, representing Piacenza, Cagliari, Roma and Int ...
to Inter. Zaniolo completed his medical on 25 June, and signed a five-year contract with the club, for a fee of €4.5 million plus 15% resell revenue. He made his first appearance for Roma and
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 ...
debut on 19 September, in a 3–0 defeat to
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
at the
Santiago Bernabéu. He made his
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 ...
debut on 26 September 2018, aged 19, in the home match won 4–0 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 26 December, he scored his first goal in Serie A in a 3–1 win 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 ...
. The following year, during a
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 ...
match against
FC Porto
Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...
, Zaniolo became the youngest Italian player to score twice in a single match in the competition when he scored both of Roma's goals in a 2–1 win.
2019–20 season
On 12 January 2020, Zaniolo suffered an
anterior cruciate ligament injury
An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...
in his right knee during a 2–1 home loss to Juventus. He returned to training in late June 2020. In addition, he received letters of support from both the Italian and global footballing community, including
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 ...
,
Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pre ...
, and
Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti (; born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played solely for A.S. Roma, Roma and the Italy national football team, Italy national team. He is often referred to as ''Er Bim ...
, who had previously been operated by the same surgeon.
Although he had been set to miss the remainder of club football season and, highly likely, the upcoming
UEFA Euro 2020
The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
(before the UEFA's March 2020 decision to postpone the tournament for a year) as well, all footballing activities in Europe were suspended by March 2020 due to
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, with club competitions rescheduled to be played behind closed doors starting since the summer.
On 5 July 2020, Zaniolo made his return-from-injury appearance, coming onto the pitch after 66 minutes in the away Serie A 1–2 loss against
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 ...
. A week later, Zaniolo scored his first post-injury goal in the away Serie A 3–0 win over
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...
, which was followed by another goal scored at the tail-end of a 6–1 away Serie A 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, since ...
on 22 July 2020.
2020–present
Zaniolo missed the entire
2020–21 season due to another
anterior cruciate ligament injury
An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...
sustained in September 2020 over the international break. He returned to the pitch in July 2021 during pre-season, under newly appointed coach
José Mourinho
José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH (; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Once dubbed "The Special One" by the British ...
.
Zaniolo scored his first goal since his return from his second knee injury in the 3–0 win over
Trabzonspor
Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...
in the inaugural
UEFA Europa Conference League
The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their ...
. On 25 May 2022, he scored the only goal as Roma beat
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...
in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
to win the Europa Conference League.
International career
Youth
With the
Italy under-19 side, Zaniolo took part in the
2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, reaching the final of the tournament, which Italy lost 4–3 after extra time against
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
.
He made his debut with the
Italy U21 team on 11 October 2018, 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 ...
, in a 1–0 friendly defeat to
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
.
Senior
On 1 September 2018, he was given his first senior international call-up 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 ...
by manager
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 ...
– without having received a cap 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 ...
– for Italy's opening
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 ...
matches 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
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
later that month.
He made his debut with the
senior team on 23 March 2019, entering as a substitute for
Verratti in a 2–0 home win over
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
in Italy's opening
UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
The UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from March 2019 to November 2020 to determine the 24 UEFA member men's national teams that advanced to the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament, played across Europe ...
match. He made his first start for Italy on 15 October, in a 5–0 away win against
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
, in a Euro 2020 qualifier (the opposition that day included
Yanik Frick
Yanik Frick (born 27 May 1998) is a Liechtensteiner professional footballer who plays as a forward for FC Montlingen.
Club career
Frick began playing football in the academy of AC Siena at age 6 while his father played with the senior team in ...
, a childhood friend).
His first international goals came on 18 November, a brace in a 9–1 home win over
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
, in Italy's final Euro 2020 qualifier; he also set up
Ciro Immobile
Ciro Immobile (born 20 February 1990) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Lazio, which he captains, and the Italy national team.
Immobile began his career at Sorrento. In 2009, he was purchased by Juv ...
's second goal during the match.
On 7 September 2020, after being called up for the start of Italy's campaign in the
2020–21 UEFA Nations League
The 2020–21 UEFA Nations League was the second season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The competition was held from Septembe ...
, he suffered a second anterior cruciate ligament injury in eight months, this time in his left knee, in an eventual 1–0 away win over the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
Style of play
Standing at , Zaniolo is a tall, strong, and fast player, who is also a good
dribbler. A versatile player, due to his creativity, technique, work-rate, energy, and physicality, he can operate in several midfield positions, and has been used as an
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...
or "
trequartista," as an offensive-minded
central midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
or "
mezzala
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 ...
," as a
box-to-box 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 ...
, and even as a
deep-lying playmaker
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 ...
.
He can even play out on the
flanks, due to his goalscoring abilities, ability to create chances for teammates, the breadth he provides, and the attacking threat he poses with his striking ability from distance and penchant for making late runs.
A talented player, he is considered one of Italy's and Europe's most promising young prospects.
Personal life
Zaniolo is the son of , a former professional footballer who 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
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 ...
and
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 ...
. He has a son, Tommaso, born in 2021 from his former girlfriend Sara Scaperrotta.
Career statistics
Club
International
''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first.''
Honours
Roma
*
UEFA Europa Conference League
The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their ...
:
2021–22
Italy U19
*
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply UEFA Under-19 Championship or the UEFA Euro U-19, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the member associations of UEFA.
Spain and England ...
runner-up:
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 ...
Individual
* UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament (Substitutes): 2018
*
Serie A Best Young Player:
2018–19
References
External links
*
FIGC profile
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaniolo, Nicolo
1999 births
Living people
People from Massa
Association football midfielders
Italian footballers
Serie A players
Serie B players
Italy youth international footballers
Italy under-21 international footballers
Italy international footballers
Virtus Entella players
Inter Milan players
A.S. Roma players
Sportspeople from the Province of Massa-Carrara
Footballers from Tuscany
UEFA Europa Conference League winning players