Leonardo Spinazzola

Leonardo Spinazzola (Italian pronunciation: [leoˈnardo spinatˈtsɔːla]; born 25 March 1993) is an Italian footballer who plays as a left-sided midfielder or wing-back for Serie A club Roma and the Italy national team.

Leonardo Spinazzola
Spinazzola in 2017
Personal information
Full name Leonardo Spinazzola
Date of birth (1993-03-25) 25 March 1993
Place of birth Foligno, Italy
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Full back
Club information
Current team
 Roma
Number 37
Youth career
1999–2007 Virtus Foligno[2]
2007–2010 Siena
2010–2012 → Juventus (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2019 Juventus 10 (0)
2012–2013 → Empoli (loan) 7 (1)
2013 → Lanciano (loan) 3 (0)
2013–2014 → Siena (loan) 24 (1)
2014–2015 → Atalanta (loan) 2 (0)
2015 → Vicenza (loan) 10 (0)
2015–2016 → Perugia (loan) 34 (0)
2016–2018 → Atalanta (loan) 48 (0)
2019– Roma 30 (2)
National team‡
2011 Italy U19 1 (0)
2012 Italy U20 1 (0)
2017– Italy 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:02, 1 November 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 October 2020

Club career

Early years with Siena, Juventus, and loan spells across Italy

Born in Foligno, Spinazzola started his career at Siena's youth setup.[3] In 2010, he joined Juventus in a temporary deal, being assigned to the Primavera squad. In June 2012 Juventus signed half of the registration rights for €400,000.

On 5 July 2012 Spinazzola and Filippo Boniperti were loaned to Serie B side Empoli in a season-long loan.[4] On 1 September he played his first match as a professional, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–2 away draw against Novara.[5]

Spinazzola scored his first professional goal on the 15th, but in a 2–4 loss at Livorno.[6] After appearing in only seven matches, his loan spell was cut short and he moved to Virtus Lanciano also in a temporary deal in January 2013.[7]

Spinazzola only appeared in three matches with Virtus, all from the bench. On 10 August 2013 he was again loaned, this time to his first club Siena;[8] he appeared regularly with the latter, contributing with 24 matches and one goal for the latter, which narrowly missed out play-offs.

In June 2014 the co-ownership agreement between Siena and Juventus was renewed again. However, after the bankruptcy of Siena in July, Juventus acquired the remaining 50% registration rights of Spinazzola from Siena for free.

On 11 August 2014, Spinazzola joined Serie A side Atalanta also in a loan deal.[9] On 23 August, he made his debut for the club, scoring the last goal of a 2–0 home win against Pisa in the Coppa Italia.[10][11] Spinazzola made his debut in the Italian top flight on 31 August, replacing Marcelo Estigarribia in the 82nd minute of a 0–0 home draw against Verona.[12] After spells on loan with Vicenza and Perugia, Spinazzola returned to Atalanta in July 2016.[10]

After spending two seasons on loan with Atalanta, Spinazzola returned to Juventus in the summer of 2018.[13] Following an injury that ruled him out for the first half of the 2018–19 season, Spinazzola made his Juventus debut on 12 January 2019, in a 2–0 away win over Bologna in the Coppa Italia.[14] He made his Champions League debut on 12 March, starting in a 3–0 home win over Atlético Madrid, in the round of 16 of the tournament, which enabled Juventus to advance to the quarter-finals 3–2 on aggregate.[15][16]

Roma

On 1 July 2019, Leonardo Spinazzola joined Roma from Juventus for €29.5 million, signing a four-year contract with the club, while Luca Pellegrini moved in the opposite direction.[17][18] In January 2020, Spinazzola was close to a transfer move to Inter Milan in exchange for Matteo Politano yet the deal collapsed at the last minute as Inter was not entirely satisfied with Spinazzola's physical conditions and failed at re-negotiation.[19]

International career

On 28 March 2017, Spinazzola made his senior international debut for the Italy national football team, along with four other players, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 friendly away win against the Netherlands.[20]

Style of play

Although naturally right-footed,[21] Spinazzola prefers playing on the left flank, either as a full-back, wing-back, or winger; a versatile player, he is also capable of playing on the right side of the pitch.[21][22][23][24] A quick, athletic, and offensive-minded player, he is known for his stamina, speed, acceleration, physicality, and his outstanding dribbling skills, which enable him to beat his man in one on one situations on the wing with feints or changes of pace. He is also capable of playing the ball first time, cutting into the centre and providing in-swinging crosses to teammates, or providing depth to his team with his attacking runs down the flank. Defensively, he is known for his anticipation and ability in the air.[22][23] His versatility, characteristics, role, and playing style have drawn comparisons with former Italy and Juventus wing-back Gianluca Zambrotta,[22][23] whom Spinazzola himself has cited as one of his major influences.[24]

Career statistics

Club
As of 1 November 2020[25]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Empoli (loan) 2012–13 Serie B 7110––81
Virtus Lanciano (loan) 2012–13 Serie B 3000––30
Siena (loan) 2013–14 Serie B 24120––261
Atalanta (loan) 2014–15 Serie A 2031––51
Vicenza (loan) 2014–15 Serie B 10000––100
Perugia (loan) 2015–16 Serie B 34020––360
Atalanta (loan) 2016–17 Serie A 30020––320
2017–18 1801060–250
Total 4803160–571
Juventus 2018–19 Serie A 100101000120
Roma 2019–20 Serie A 2410081–322
2020–21 610020–81
Total 30200101–403
Career total 1684121171001976

International
As of match played 14 October 2020[26]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Italy 201750
201800
201930
202020
Total100

Honours

Club

Juventus Youth

Juventus[25]

Individual

References
  1. "Leonardo Spinazzola" (in Italian). A.S. Roma. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  2. Dall'intervista di Matteo Magri, «Non avrei mai fatto il calciatore senza la forza di mia madre», Corriere.it, edizione di Bergamo, 26 novembre 2016.
  3. "Allievi Nazionali" (in Italian). A.C. Siena. Archived from the original on 13 November 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2017.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. "Maxi scambio tra Juventus ed Empoli" [Mega exchange between Juventus and Empoli] (in Italian). Spazio Juve. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014.
  5. "Novara Empoli 2–2: E' mancata la vittoria, bisogna formare il gruppo" [Novara Empoli 2–2: The team failed to win, it's necessary to create a group] (in Italian). Novara Today. 1 September 2012.
  6. "Irresistibile Livorno, 4-2 contro l'Empoli" [Unstoppable Livorno, 4–2 against Empoli]. Il Tirreno (in Italian). 15 September 2012.
  7. "Virtus Lanciano, piace Spinazzola dell'Empoli" [Virtus Lanciano, Empoli likes Spinazzola] (in Italian). Tutto Mercato Web. 8 January 2013.
  8. "Calciomercato Siena, Giacomazzi e Spinazzola bianconeri" [Transfer market Siena, Giacomazzi and Spinazzola are bianconeri] (in Italian). Serie B News. 10 August 2013.
  9. "Ufficiale – Spinazzola all'Atalanta in prestito" [Official – Spinazzola to Atalanta on loan] (in Italian). Tutto Mercato Web. 11 August 2014.
  10. "Leonardo Spinazzola all'Atalanta" (in Italian). Atalanta. 7 July 2016. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  11. "Coppa: Atalanta push past Pisa". Football Italia. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  12. "Atalanta 0–0 Verona". Football Italia. 31 August 2014.
  13. Ben Gladwell (20 July 2018). "Juventus season tickets sell out after Cristiano Ronaldo arrival". ESPN FC. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  14. Ryan Benson (13 January 2019). "Allegri salutes Spinazzola for 'excellent' Juventus debut". Goal.com. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  15. "Line-ups: Juventus v Atletico Madrid". Football Italia. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  16. Murray, Scott (12 March 2019). "Juventus 3-0 Atlético Madrid (agg: 3-2): Champions League last 16, second leg – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  17. "Roma complete signing of Spinazzola". A.S. Roma. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  18. "AS Roma signed Leonardo Spinazzola from Juventus, who signed Luca Pellegrini from Roma..." Football News 24. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  19. https://www.gazzetta.it/Calciomercato/17-01-2020/politano-spinazzola-colpo-farsa-mercato-360182975263_preview.shtml?refresh_ce-cp
  20. Valerio Clari (28 March 2017). "Olanda-Italia 1-2, Eder e Bonucci ribaltano l'autogol di Romagnoli" [Holland-Italy 1-2, Eder and Bonucci overturn Romagnoli's own goal] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  21. Gianni Verschueren (28 August 2017). "Juventus Transfer News: Leonardo Spinazzola Update, Latest Keita Balde Rumours". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  22. Francesco Federico Pagani (22 March 2017). "Leonardo Spinazzola, il terzino che sarà" (in Italian). www.ateralbus.it. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  23. Hasan Saiyid (22 March 2019). "Spinazzola the new Zambrotta". Football Italia. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  24. "Spinazzola: 'Juventus my dream'". Football Italia. 3 December 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  25. "L. Spinazzola". Socccerway. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  26. "Spinazzola, Leonardo" (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  27. "TMW VIAREGGIO – Trionfa la Juventus" (in Italian). TuttoMercatoWeb. 23 February 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  28. "Ciro Immobile turns 20 in a perfect week!". juventus.it. 20 February 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012.
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