Simone Verdi (; born 12 July 1992) 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 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 club

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 ...

Club career

Early career

Verdi started playing football with amateur club Audax Travacò, before joining

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 h ...

at the age of 11. He made his professional debut for the club, aged 17, 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

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 ...

, on 13 January 2010. He then made his second appearance two weeks later, in the quarter-final against

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a fo ...

, which Milan lost 0–1. While playing for the

under-20 Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...

squad, the young striker scored his first goal 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 ...

in the return leg of the Primavera Cup final, on 14 April 2010. Milan went on to win the match 2–0, as Verdi also made an assist, and secured the trophy 3–1 on aggregate. Here, he was nicknamed ''Verdinho'', as his playing style resembled that of a Brazilian. In May 2010, Milan CEO

Adriano Galliani Adriano Galliani (born 30 July 1944) is an Italian entrepreneur and football executive who is the CEO of club Monza. He is known for being former vice-chairman and CEO of AC Milan from 1986 to 2017, a period in the club's history known as t ...

announced that Verdi, along with three other teammates, was expected to join the senior team permanently for the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season. Subsequently, Verdi signed his first professional contract with the club. However, he continued playing mainly in the

youth team 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 ...

Torino

At the beginning of the 2011–12 season, Verdi transferred 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 ...

club

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 a co-ownership deal for €2.5 million (exchanged with Gianmario Comi and €150,000 cash). He made his official debut for the club in the first league game of the season, a 2–1 away win against

Ascoli Ascoli may refer to: Places in Italy *Ascoli Satriano, a town and ''comune'' in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region *Province of Ascoli Piceno, a province of the Marche region **Ascoli Piceno, a city which is the seat of the province above ...

on 27 August 2011. He played 12 games in Serie B in the 2011–12 season with Torino, which finished in 2nd place and gained 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 Coppa ...

. In 2012–13, he played 4 games in

, making his official debut on 30 September 2012 as a substitute against

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 ...

Loans to Juve Stabia and Empoli

On 23 January 2013, he was loaned to

Juve Stabia Società Sportiva Juve Stabia is an Italian football club based in Castellammare di Stabia, Campania. Juve Stabia currently plays in Serie C, the third tier of Italian football system. History The football in Castellammare di Stabia From St ...

for the remainder of the season. In the summer of 2013 the co-ownership agreement between Milan and Torino was renewed for an additional year. For 2013–14, he was loaned to

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

. He played his first match for the ''Azzurri'' during the second round of

; won 5–1 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 which he also scored his first goal. On 23 November 2013, he scored his first goal in

, a 3–1 in a win away at

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 closed the season with 5 goals in 39 appearances, contributing to the promotion in

of the Tuscans. On 18 June 2014, the co-ownership between

and

was renewed for a third year, with Verdi loaned to Empoli again. He scored his first goal in

on 7 December 2014, the momentary advantage away 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 ...

, finishing 2–2. On 20 January 2015 he scored his first goal in

against

A.S. Roma ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...

, lost in extra time.

Return to Milan

In June 2015, Milan and Torino could not agree on a co-ownership deal. Verdi's future was determined by a blind auction which Milan won. On 14 July 2015, he played in a pre-season friendly against Legnano and scored one goal.

Loans to Eibar and Carpi

For the 2015–16 season he was loaned to

SD Eibar Sociedad Deportiva Eibar (in eu, Eibar Kirol Elkartea) is a professional Spanish football club based in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous Basque Country. Founded on 30 November 1940, the team currently plays in the Segunda División, the s ...

with the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

side having an option to buy. On 29 January 2016, Verdi was loaned to Carpi on a six-month deal.

Bologna

On 11 July 2016,

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 ...

completed the signing of Verdi. During the first part of the season he had a strong impact with 4 goals in 9 games. He signed a new four-year contract on 13 June 2017. On 4 November 2017, he scored two times from 25-meter free kicks in a home game against

Crotone Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages until ...

, first time with his left and next time with his right foot. On 21 January Verdi was made captain of Bologna following his decision to decline a move to Napoli in the transfer window. His side beat Benevento 3–0 at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.

Napoli

On 11 June 2018, Verdi signed a five-year contract with

for €25 million.

Return to Torino

On 2 September 2019, during the final minutes of the summer transfer window, Verdi was loaned to Torino for €3 million with an obligation to purchase of €20 million.

Loans to Salernitana and Hellas Verona

On 28 January 2022, he joined

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919, commonly referred to as Salernitana, is an Italian football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recentl ...

on loan. On 1 September 2022, Verdi moved to

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Italy, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in 1984–85. His ...

on loan with an option to buy and a conditional obligation to buy.

Como

On 25 August 2023, Verdi signed a contract with

for two seasons, with an option for third.

International career

On 22 September 2010, he was called up to the Italy under-19 to play a game against the Serbia under-19. On 31 May 2014, he was called up to the Italy under-21 side for which he made his debut on 4 June in the 4–0 friendly win over Montenegro. On 28 March 2017, Verdi made his senior international debut for the

Italy national football 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 ...

, along with four other players, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 friendly away win against 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

A dynamic and versatile forward or

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 ...

, Verdi can adapt to any offensive midfield role, both in the centre or on either

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

, due to his ambidexterity, although his favoured role is on the right flank; he is also capable of playing 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 ...

. He is mainly noted for 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 ...

ability, technique and remarkable speed on the ball, as well as his ability to create chances for teammates; he is also capable of finding spaces and make attacking runs from behind. In the

2016–17 Serie A The 2016–17 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 115th season of top-tier Italian football, the 85th in a round-robin tournament, and the 7th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...

season he was also noted for his shooting power and ability to score goals from long range, including free kicks. During his militancy in Napoli, he had declared that he was a natural left.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

AC Milan *

References

External links

*
Simone Verdi
at aic.football.it
International caps (part 1)
an
(part2)
at figc.it {{DEFAULTSORT:Verdi, Simone 1992 births Living people People from Broni Italian men's footballers Italy men's youth international footballers Italy men's under-21 international footballers Italy men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Serie A players Serie B players La Liga players AC Milan players Torino FC players SS Juve Stabia players Empoli FC players SD Eibar footballers AC Carpi players Bologna FC 1909 players SSC Napoli players US Salernitana 1919 players Hellas Verona FC players Como 1907 players Italian expatriate men's footballers Italian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Footballers from the Province of Pavia