Giovanni Pablo Simeone Baldini (; born 5 July 1995) is an Argentine 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 striker for

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 ...

club

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 ...

, on loan from

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 ...

, and the Argentina national team.

Early life

The son of former Argentine international footballer

Diego Simeone Diego Pablo Simeone González (; ; born 28 April 1970, nicknamed El Cholo (), is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder; he has been the manager of Atlético Madrid since December 2011. In his cl ...

and Carolina Baldini, Giovanni Simeone was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina, while his father was playing for

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

. His family moved to Italy in 1997, but later returned to Spain in 2003 following his father's career club changes. Two years later he moved to Argentina, and joined River Plate's youth setup in 2008 when his father was appointed coach of the first team. He has two younger brothers, Gianluca and

Giuliano People with the Italian given name or surname Giuliano () have included: In arts and entertainment Surname * Geoffrey Giuliano, American author * Maurizio Giuliano, writer and Guinness-record-holding traveler Given name * Giuliano Gemma, actor ...

, both footballers.

Club career

River Plate

After progressing through the youth ranks, Simeone signed a three-year professional deal with the club in November 2011. In July 2013, he was called up by the main squad for the pre-season; Simeone made his league debut on 4 August 2013, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 away defeat against

Gimnasia La Plata Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (; ''La Plata Gymnastics and Fencing Club''), also known simply as Gimnasia, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1887 as "Club de Gimnasia ...

. Later that month he renewed his contract, signing until 2016. Simeone scored his first professional goal on 8 September, netting the second of a 3–0 home win against Tigre.

Loan to Banfield

On 6 July 2015, Simeone joined fellow

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; en, "First Division"), known officialy as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Binance for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in Argentina, organised by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). Th ...

side Banfield on a season-long loan deal. On 12 July 2015, he scored the match-winning goal on his debut in a 1–0 victory against

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Río de la Plata, Rio de la Plata, in the , on the south east of the Greater Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and it is the seat of the Quilmes Partido, eponymous county. With a population of 230 ...

Genoa

On 18 August 2016, Simeone signed for Italian club

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 ...

for €3 million. He scored his first goal, on his first start for the club, in a 1–1 draw with

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

on 25 September 2016. On 27 November, Simeone netted a

brace Brace(s) or bracing may refer to: Medical * Orthopaedic brace, a device used to restrict or assist body movement ** Back brace, a device limiting motion of the spine *** Milwaukee brace, a kind of back brace used in the treatment of spinal cur ...

in Genoa 3–1 win over

leaders

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 ...

Fiorentina

Among speculation of

's interest in signing the young player to be coached by his father

, Giovanni signed with Serie A club

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 ...

on 16 August 2017, for an undisclosed fee. On 29 April 2018, Simeone 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 ...

's 3–0 league win against

Cagliari

On 30 August 2019, Simeone joined

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 ...

on a year-long loan deal from Fiorentina, including an obligatory purchase clause at the end of the period. On 1 September, he made his debut in a 2–1 defeat against

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 ...

. Simeone's first goal came on 15 September, in a 3–1 win against

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

. After an inconsistent first part of the season, he scored in four consecutive games upon returning from the COVID-19 lockdown; he finished the seasons with 12 goals overall. In the following season, Simeone scored a brace in a 3–2 win against

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 ...

; he ended the 2020–21 season with six goals scored.

Hellas Verona

On 26 August 2021, Simeone joined Serie A side

on a season-long loan deal with an option to make the deal permanent. On 24 October, he scored all four goals in a 4–1 win over

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

. It was his second hat-trick in Serie A, and both came against sides managed by

Maurizio Sarri Maurizio Sarri (; born 10 January 1959) is an Italian professional football manager who is the current manager of club Lazio. Sarri did not play football professionally, taking part as an amateur centre back and coach while working as a banker. ...

. On 30 October, Simeone netted two goals against Juventus, for the second time in his career, as Verona won 2–1. On 17 June 2022, he joined Hellas Verona on a permanent deal with a contract lasting until 2026.

Loan to Napoli

On 18 August 2022, Simeone joined

on a season-long loan with an option to buy. On 7 September, he scored a goal on his Champions League debut in a 4–1 victory over

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, in which he celebrated his goal by bursting into tears and kissing a tattoo of the Champions League logo which he got at the age of 13.

International career

Simeone holds both

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

nationality, as well as carrying Italian ancestry, but represents Argentina internationally. Capped for Argentina at under-20 level, Simeone finished as top scorer at the 2015 South American Youth Football Championship, helping Argentina win its fifth title in the competition. On 8 September 2018, Simeone scored on his senior international debut, in a 3–0 friendly win over

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

in Los Angeles. He was part of a team that won the friendly Adidas Cup against Mexico in November 2018.

Style of play

Simeone is an elegant yet powerful and opportunistic

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 ...

with an eye for goal, who is capable of playing anywhere along the front line; although he has been deployed 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 has also been used in a central role as a main striker, and is a competent and efficient finisher with both feet, despite being naturally right footed. A tenacious and energetic player, he is known for his work-rate and defensive contribution off the ball, and often drops into midfield in order to help his team win back possession. He is also known for his speed and intelligent attacking movement, which enables him to create space and provide depth for his team. Regarded as a promising young player, he also possesses good technical skills, as well as flair and finesse on the ball, and is capable of linking-up with his teammates and bringing other forwards into play.

Personal life

On 1 January 2014, aged 18, Simeone obtained

Spanish citizenship Spanish nationality law refers to all the laws of Spain concerning nationality. Article 11 of the First Title of the Spanish Constitution refers to Spanish nationality and establishes that a separate law is to regulate how it is acquired and los ...

. On May 25, 2022 he married the Italian model Giulia Coppini in the church of San Salvatore al Monte (

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Simeone goal.''

Honours

River Plate *

: 2014 Final *

Copa Campeonato The Copa Campeonato Primera División (familiarly known as Superfinal) was an official Argentine football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association. It was played in a single match format between the Torneo Inicial and Torn ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...

Argentina U20 *

South American Youth Football Championship The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and es, Torneo Juventudes de América, "Campeonato Sudamericano Sub 20" or pt, Juventude da América (English: "America's Youth") is a South American f ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Individual * South American Youth Football Championship Top Goalscorer:

* Serie A Player of the Month: October 2021

References

External links

ESPN Deportes profile
*
Giovanni Simeone
at Topforward * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simeone, Giovanni 1995 births Living people Footballers from Madrid Citizens of Argentina through descent Argentine footballers Argentine people of Italian descent Naturalised citizens of Spain Association football forwards CF Rayo Majadahonda players Club Atlético River Plate footballers Club Atlético Banfield footballers Genoa C.F.C. players ACF Fiorentina players Cagliari Calcio players Hellas Verona F.C. players S.S.C. Napoli players Argentine Primera División players Serie A players Argentina under-20 international footballers Olympic footballers of Argentina Argentina international footballers 2015 South American Youth Football Championship players Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Argentine expatriate footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy Simeone family