Nicola Ventola (born 24 May 1978) 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

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 ...

. Ventola played for several clubs in Italy throughout his career, and also had a loan spell with English side

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

. At international level, he was a member of the Italian under-23 squad at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

; he received his only senior 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 ...

in 1998, although he did not come off the bench. At youth level, he also represented the Italy under-21 side, and was a member of the team that won the

2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 12th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Slovakia from 27 May to 4 June 2000. The tournament had 47 entrants. Northern Ireland competed for the f ...

, also winning a gold medal at the

1997 Mediterranean Games The XIII Mediterranean Games, commonly known as the 1997 Mediterranean Games, were the 13th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Bari, Italy, from 13 to 25 June 1997, where 2,956 athletes (2,166 men and 790 women) from 21 countries partici ...

with the under-23 side. He retired from football in February 2011.

Club career

Born in

Grumo Appula Grumo Appula ( Barese: ; la, Grumum) is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. The town is a few kilometers inland from the port of Bari on the Adriatic Sea and has a population of about 12,200. People ...

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

, Nicola Ventola's career began with

in 1994 as a youth player. 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 6 November 1994 against

ACF 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 ...

, at the age of 16 and 166 days. He left the club in 1998 after three more seasons (one 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 ...

, winning the 1996–97 title, and two in Serie A), after scoring 12 goals in 45 appearances with the club (ten of which were scored in Serie B and two in Serie A). Ventola signed for

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 ...

during the 1998–99 season, making 21 appearances in the league, and scoring six goals, playing alongside other notable forwards, such as

Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...

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 ...

Iván Zamorano Iván Luis Zamorano Zamora (; born 18 January 1967) is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is regarded as one of Chile's most recognized footballers, along with Marcelo Salas, Leonel Sánchez and Elias Figuer ...

Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who is head coach of Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. Considered one of the best deep-lying playmakers ever, Pirlo was renowned for his visio ...

, and

Youri Djorkaeff Youri Raffi Djorkaeff (born 9 March 1968) is a French former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. Throughout his club career, he played for teams in France, Italy, Germany, England, and the United States. A ...

, albeit mainly as a substitute. During the season, he showed real star potential for his young age, scoring 11 goals in all competitions, as well as a goal against eventual

European Cup 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 ...

winners

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in the quarter-finals of the

1998–99 UEFA Champions League The 1998–99 UEFA Champions League was the 44th season of the UEFA Champions League, Europe's premier club football tournament, and the seventh since it was renamed from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The competition was w ...

. However, exactly a year later he was signed on a co-ownership deal 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 ...

(after

Christian Vieri Christian "Bobo" Vieri (; born 12 July 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning to Italy to pursue his p ...

's £32 million transfer to

from

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

) and later

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...

during the next two seasons, in a swap deal with

Corrado Colombo Corrado Mario Colombo (born 3 August 1979) is an Italian association football, footballer. He currently plays for A.S.D. Tuttocuoio Calcio, Tuttocuoio as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. Club career Atalanta, Inter and loans ...

. During his loan period with Bologna, he made 14 appearances in

, without scoring a goal, although he managed four goals in seven appearances in the 1999–2000 Coppa Italia and the

1999–2000 UEFA Cup The 1999–2000 UEFA Cup season was the 29th edition of the UEFA Cup competition. The final took place at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen and was won by Galatasaray, who defeated Arsenal in the final. The game was scoreless through the first ninety ...

. With Atalanta, he had a more successful league season, scoring ten goals in 28 Serie A appearances during the 2000–01 season. Ventola returned to Inter in 2001, but he suffered from several injuries that season, only making 16 appearances and scoring four goals in Serie A, as Inter narrowly missed out on the Serie A title; however, he bagged an impressive five goals in nine appearances in Europe, as Inter reached the semi-finals of the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

, and finished the season with a total of ten goals in all competitions. The following season, he was not picked regularly for the first team, and he went on loan once again to

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 centuri ...

in 2003, where he made 28 appearances, scoring four goals during the 2003–04 season.

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

signed him on transfer deadline day in August 2004 on a season-long loan but this was wrecked by injury and he only made a handful of appearances. He did however score against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

on the penultimate day of the season; in total he made three appearances and scored one goal during the 2004–05 season. In July 2005 Ventola signed a two-year contract with Atalanta. In his first season back at the club, he helped his team to win the 2005–06 Serie B title with his decisive goalscoring performances, scoring 15 goals in 35 appearances. He scored six goals in 29 games during the 2006–07 Serie A season, but he later became excluded from the club and his contract was not renewed. In total he scored 35 goals for the club in 101 appearances between league and

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 ...

matches over three seasons (two in Serie A and one in Serie B). In June 2007 he joined

Torino F.C. Torino Football Club (), commonly referred to as Torino or simply Toro, is an Italian professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont. They currently play in Serie A. Founded as ''Foot-Ball Club Torino'' in 1906, Torino are among the mos ...

on a two-year contract. With Torino, he made 21 appearances, scoring four goals during his first season; during his second season he received less playing time, scoring two goals in 14 appearances. In Torino's 3–1 home loss against Lazio, he replaced Sereni in goal, who had been sent off, as Torino had already made three substitutions, failing to stop a

Mauro Zárate Mauro Matías Zárate (; born 13 March 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward Argentine Primera División club Club Atlético Platense Zárate started his career with Vélez Sarsfield in his native country, play ...

penalty. At the end of the season, Torino were relegated to Serie B, and Ventola's contract was not renewed. Ventola subsequently moved to

Lega Pro 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 ...

team

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

, making his debut for the team on 9 November 2009, in a 3–0 win over

Lecco Lecco (, , ; lmo, label=Lecchese, Lècch ) is a city of 48,131 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). ...

. He scored his first goal on 17 January 2010, in a draw against

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

. On 25 April, he scored a brace in a 3–3 draw against Cremonese, which allowed Novara to win promotion to

. He retired on 27 January 2011, at the age of 33, due to persisting physical problems. In total he score 90 career goals in 342 appearances in official competitions.

International career

Ventola played his first competitive international match for the

Italy national under-17 football team The Italy national U-17 football team is the national under-17 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, held every year. The team, if qualified ...

(made up of players born in and after 1977), in a 1994 UEFA European Under-16 Championship qualifying fixture; in total, he scored one goal in two appearances for the under-17 side, featuring as a substitute for Ivano Montanaro, and as a starter respectively. He also scored one goal in the group stage of the

1996 UEFA European Under-18 Championship The UEFA European Under-18 Championship 1996 Final Tournament was held in France and Luxembourg. It also served as the European qualification for the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship. Teams The following teams qualified for the tournament: ...

for the

Italy national under-19 football team The Italy national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, held every year. UEFA U-18 Cha ...

, serving as the team's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. After the team was eliminated, Ventola was immediately promoted to the Italy national under-21 football team as one of their youngest players. He made his debut for the Italy under-21 side on 3 October 1996, at the age of 18, in a 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying match, coming on as a substitute for Fabrizio Cammarata. Ventola made 25 appearances with the Italy Under-21 and Under-23 sides, scoring 12 goals, winning the

and the 2000 UEFA Under-21 European Championship with the team; he also represented Italy at the

, where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the tournament by eventual runners-up

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") , i ...

. Although he was never capped at senior level, he was called up by manager

Dino Zoff Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian national team in the 1982 tournament, at th ...

to the Italian senior side for a Euro 2000 qualifying match against

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, at the Stadio Friuli of Udine, on 10 October 1998, but remained on the bench as an unused substitute in the eventual 2–0 win.

Style of play

An agile and talented right-footed player, with good technique, Ventola was considered one of Bari's and Italy's most promising prospects in his youth, although he suffered many injuries throughout his career. His main attributes as a striker were his speed, power, heading ability, positional sense, eye for goal, and ability to provide depth to his team with his runs. Although he usually played as a

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

striker, he was also capable of playing in a deeper role as a

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, due to his ability to link up with and create chances for his teammates.

Personal life

Ventola has a son, Kelian (b. 22 September 2003), with his wife, Brazilian-born, Swiss-raised model Kartika Luyet. In 2013,

Erick Thohir Erick Thohir (born 30 May 1970) is an Indonesian businessman and politician who has served as Indonesia's Minister of State Owned Enterprises since 2019. He is the founder of Mahaka Group, a conglomeration that focuses on media, sports and enter ...

's president at the time, stated that Ventola is his all-time favorite Inter player. Ventola lives in Dubai, where he works as a pundit for Abu Dhabi Media. His nephew Danilo Giacinto Ventola is now a professional footballer.

Honours

Bari *

: 1996–97 Atalanta *

: 2005–06 Novara *

Lega Pro Prima Divisione Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest 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. Before the 1978� ...

: 2009–10 (Group A) * Supercoppa di Lega Prima Divisione: 2010 Italy *

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fir ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

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 football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the compe ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

References

External links

La Gazzetta dello Sport career profile

Profile on archivio.inter.it

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ventola, Nicola 1978 births Living people Italian men's footballers Olympic footballers for Italy Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics SSC Bari players Inter Milan players Bologna FC 1909 players Atalanta BC players ACR Siena 1904 players Crystal Palace F.C. players Torino FC players Novara FC players Premier League players Sportspeople from the Metropolitan City of Bari Italy men's under-21 international footballers Italian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Italian expatriate sportspeople in England Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Men's association football forwards Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Italy Competitors at the 1997 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in football Footballers from Apulia