Nicolò Fagioli (born 12 February 2001) 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 lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for club

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

and the Italy national team.

Club career

Youth career

In 2015, Fagioli moved to Juventus' youth setup, playing the 2015–16 season with the under-17s. Fagioli was early promoted to the ''Primavera'' (under-19s) side in the 2017–18 season, in which he scored 13 goals in 25 games. In 2018, Fagioli was included in ''

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'''s best 60 world talents.

First team breakthrough

Fagioli made his

Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, 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 ...

debut for Juventus U23, the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

of Juventus, on 24 September 2018, in a 4–0 defeat against

Carrarese Carrarese Calcio 1908, commonly referred to as Carrarese, is an Italian football club based in Carrara, Tuscany. The team plays in Serie B, second tier of Italian football, after promotion from Serie C in 2023–24. History The club was foun ...

, which was his only game of the 2018–19 season. On 27 January 2019, Fagioli was first called up to the first team for a

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

match against

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

. On 27 June 2020, Fagioli won the Coppa Italia Serie C after a 2–1 win against Ternana in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. In 2019–20, Fagioli played five league games, helping Juventus U23 reach the promotion play-offs, where he played one game against

Padova Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of ...

. On 1 November, Fagioli scored his first goal for Juventus U23 in a 1–1 home draw against

Lecco Lecco (, , ; ) is a city of approximately 47,000 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''). The Bergamasqu ...

. Fagioli ended the 2020–21 season with two goals scored in 20 appearances for Juventus U23. On 27 January 2021, Fagioli made his debut for Juventus, playing as a starter in a 4–0

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

win over SPAL. His

debut came on 22 February 2021, coming on as a substitute for Rodrigo Bentancur in the 69th minute in a 3–0 home win against

Crotone Crotone (; ; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( or ; ), it became a great Greek city, home of the renowned mathematician-philosopher Pythagoras amongst other famous citizens, and one ...

. On 31 August 2021, Fagioli was sent on a one-year loan to

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie 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. It had b ...

side Cremonese. On 12 September, Fagioli debuted for Cremonese in a 2–0 win against

Cittadella Cittadella () is a medieval walled city in the province of Padua, northern Italy, founded in the 13th century as a military outpost of Padua. The surrounding wall has been restored and is in circumference with a diameter of around . There are fo ...

. Seven days later, Fagioli scored his first goal for Cremonese in a 2–1 against

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. Fagioli ended the season with a total of three goals in 33 appearances and helped Cremonese to be promoted in Serie A. On 10 August 2022, Juventus announced that Fagioli had renewed his contract until 2026. On 14 September, he made his Champions League debut in a 2–1 defeat against Benfica. On 29 October, he scored his first Serie A goal in a 1–0 away win over

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

, with a curling shot at the 70th minute. Prior to this goal, he had played only 39 league minutes. Eight days later, he replicated against Inter Milan, netting the 2–0 goal. Afterwards, Fagioli emerged to become one of the team's best players; he also won the Serie A Under-23 Player of the season. On 18 May 2023, Fagioli fractured his right collarbone in a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

match against

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, ruling him out for two months. On 17 October 2023, the

Italian Football Federation The Italian Football Federation (, ; FIGC ), known colloquially as (), is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It manages a ...

imposed a seven-month ban on Fagioli for violating betting rules, and he would not return to playing until 21 May 2024, coming off the bench against

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

Fiorentina

On 4 February 2025, Fagioli was loaned to

with an obligation to buy.

International career

Fagioli was a starter in most games for Italy U17 at the

2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship (also known as 2018 UEFA Under-17 Euro) was the 17th edition of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship (36th edition if the Under-16 era is also included), the annual international youth association foo ...

. In the final against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, he came on as a substitute in the 55th minute and provided two assists in the next eight minutes to help his team come back from 0–1 deficit and take the 2–1 lead. Netherlands eventually equalized and beat Italy in the penalty shootout. With Italy U19 Fagioli took part in the

2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-19 Euro 2019) was the 18th edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship (68th edition if the Under-18 and Junior eras are included), the annual international youth associ ...

. On 3 September 2021, he made his debut with the Italy U21 squad, playing as a substitute in the qualifying match won 3–0 against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. On 16 November 2022, days after receiving his first senior call-up for the

Italy national football team The Italy national football team () has represented Italy in men's international Association football, football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for fo ...

by head coach Roberto Mancini, Fagioli made his debut for the ''Azzurri'' during a friendly game against

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

Style of play

Fagioli is a ''

trequartista In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

'', mainly fielded as ''fantasista.'' Fagioli can also move down the pitch as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

or as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, acting as a

deep-lying playmaker In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

in the ''regista'' role. During his career, Fagioli has also played as a second striker, mezz'ala, or

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

. Fagioli has also often been compared to

Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian association football, football manager (association football), manager and former professional player. Considered one of the greatest Midfielder (association football)#Deep-lying playmaker, mi ...

due to his playing style. His main qualities are his vision, technique, and long passing ability, although he is also an effective ball-winner.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Juventus U23 * Coppa Italia Serie C: 2019–20 Juventus *

: 2020–21 Individual * Serie A Best Under-23: 2022–23

References

External links

Nicolò Fagioli
at the Juventus FC website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fagioli, Nicolo Living people 2001 births Sportspeople from Piacenza Footballers from the Province of Piacenza Italian men's footballers Italy men's youth international footballers Italy men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Piacenza Calcio 1919 players US Cremonese players Juventus FC players Juventus Next Gen players ACF Fiorentina players Serie C players Serie B players Serie A players UEFA Euro 2024 players Sportspeople involved in betting scandals 21st-century Italian sportsmen