Matteo Politano

Matteo Politano (Italian pronunciation: [matˈtɛːo poliˈtaːno]; born 3 August 1993) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a winger (on both the left and the right flanks) or as a second striker for Italian club Napoli on loan from Inter Milan and the Italy national team. On October 18th 2020, Politano was granted the ability to play for Belgium due to Belgian grandparents.

Matteo Politano
Personal information
Date of birth (1993-08-03) 3 August 1993
Place of birth Rome, Italy
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger, second striker
Club information
Current team
 Napoli
(on loan from Inter Milan)
Number 21
Youth career
2004–2012 Roma
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Roma 0 (0)
2012–2013 → Perugia (loan) 28 (8)
2013–2015 Pescara 72 (11)
2015–2019 Sassuolo 96 (20)
2018–2019 → Inter Milan (loan) 36 (5)
2019– Inter Milan 11 (0)
2020– → Napoli (loan) 34 (8)
National team‡
2011–2012 Italy U19 3 (0)
2012–2014 Italy U20 7 (3)
2013 Italy U21 2 (0)
2018– Italy 3 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 07:53, 7 February 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 March 2019

Club career

Roma

Of Calabrian origin from Fiumefreddo Bruzio,[2][3] Politano is a youth product of A.S. Roma, with whom he won the 2010 "Allievi" U17 league,[4] as well as the 2011 Campionato Nazionale Primavera and the 2012 Coppa Italia Primavera. He was the sixth highest scorer of Roma's youth squad in the 2011–12 season (7 goals), behind Junior Tallo, Nicolás López, Gianluca Leonardi, Federico Viviani and Giammario Piscitella. In July 2012, Politano was loaned to Perugia.[5] He made his professional debut in the Coppa Italia. Politano was the starting forward in the 2012–13 Lega Pro Prima Divisione, with 3 goals in first 5 league matches in September.

Pescara

On 30 June 2013, Pescara signed Politano (€500,000) and Piscitella (€1.5 million) as part of the deal that Caprari returned to Roma (€2 million) ;[6][7][8][9] however, Caprari returned to Pescara again (€1.5 million) for Piscitella (€1.5 million) in January 2014.

On 27 June 2015, Roma bought back Politano for €601,000, with Caprari moving to Pescara outright for €125,000.[10][11]

Sassuolo

On 2 July 2015, Serie A club Sassuolo signed Politano in a temporary deal with an option to purchase.[12] In June 2016, Sassuolo exercised their option to buy Politano.

Inter Milan

On 30 June 2018, Politano signed for Inter Milan on a season-long loan deal from Sassuolo, with an option to buy in June 2019.[13]

He made his official debut for the club on 19 August in the first match of 2018–19 Serie A against his parent club Sassuolo, which ended in a 1–0 away loss.[14] On 15 September, Politano played his 100th Serie A match in a 1–0 shock loss to Parma at home.[15] Two weeks later, he made his debut in the UEFA Champions League in a 2–1 comeback win over Tottenham Hotspur at San Siro in the first group stage match.[16]

On 29 September, he opened his scoring account for Inter in the league match against Cagliari, netting the second with a long-range strike in a 2–0 home win.[17] During the course of 2018–19 season, Politano was the most used out-field player, having made 48 appearances in all competitions; only goalkepeer Samir Handanović playing more than him. As a result, on 19 June 2019 Inter exercised their option to buy Politano from Sassuolo.[18]

However, with the appointment of head coach Antonio Conte and subsequent switch of formation from 4–3–3 to 3–5–2, Politano soon lost his place in the team's usual starting line-up.[19] In January 2020, Politano passed the medical at Roma and was due to be exchanged for Leonardo Spinazzola yet the transfer collapsed as Inter was not entirely satisfied with Spinazzola's physical conditions and failed at re-negotiation of the deal.[20]

Napoli

On 28 January 2020, Politano moved to Napoli on a two-year loan with an obligation to make deal permanent.[21] On 29 October 2020, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 away win over Real Sociedad in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League.[22]

International career

Politano received his first Italy U19 call-up against the Italy U20 "C" side in December 2011. He then played two times during the team's 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship elite qualification campaign (featuring as a substitute for Elio De Silvestro)[23] and appeared in two friendlies before the elite round of the competition.

On 5 November 2016, Politano was called up to the senior squad for the first time for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Liechtenstein and a friendly match against Germany by manager Gian Piero Ventura.[24] He later made his senior international debut for the national team on 28 May 2018, under manager Roberto Mancini, starting for Italy in a 2–1 friendly win over Saudi Arabia.[25] On 20 November 2018, he scored his first goal for Italy on his second cap in the 94th minute of a 1–0 friendly match win over the United States, held in Genk.[26]

Style of play

Politano is a quick and diminutive left-footed player, with an eye for goal, who is gifted with pace, vision, good technique, and dribbling ability at speed, as well as good close control and first-time passing ability in close spaces.[13] A versatile player, he is usually deployed as a winger, and is capable of playing on either flank, as well as in numerous other attacking roles across the front line, including as a second striker.[27] He also possesses a good shot from distance, and is a threat from set-pieces.[28]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 6 February 2021[29]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
Division AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Perugia (loan) 2012–13 Lega Pro 28830–20338
Pescara 2013–14 Serie B 31610––326
2014–15 41530–51496
Total 721140–518112
Sassuolo 2015–16 Serie A 28510––295
2016–17 325109[lower-alpha 1]3–428
2017–18 361031––3911
Total 96205193–11024
Inter Milan (loan) 2018–19 Serie A 3652010[lower-alpha 2]1–486
Inter Milan 2019–20 110004[lower-alpha 3]0–150
Total 47520141–636
Napoli (loan) 2019–20 Serie A 152302[lower-alpha 3]0–202
2020–21 196316[lower-alpha 1]110298
Total 3486181104910
Career total 277522023158133660
  1. All appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  3. All appearances in UEFA Champions League

International
As of match played 26 March 2019[29][30]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Italy
201821
201910
Total31

International goals
Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first.[30]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.20 November 2018Luminus Arena, Genk, Belgium United States1–01–0Friendly

Honours

Napoli

References
  1. "Statistiche e profilo Giocatore: Matteo Politano" (in Italian). Sassuolo Calcio. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  3. Matteo Politano e l’Inter nel destino … in Calabria
  4. "CAMPIONATI NAZIONALI ALLIEVI E GIOVANISSIMI: ROMA E MILAN VINCONO LO SCUDETTO 2009-2010" (in Italian). FIGC. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  5. "Calciomercato Perugia, Politano in prestito per un anno" [Football Transfer Perugia, Politano in one-year loan] (in Italian). AC Perugia Calcio. 17 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  6. "Calciomercato e news" (in Italian). Delfino Pescara 1936. 2 July 2013. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  7. "Operazioni di mercato" (PDF) (in Italian). AS Roma. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  8. "Speciale calciomercato" (in Italian). Delfino Pescara 1936. 20 June 2013. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  9. "Esercizio Dei Diritti Di Opzione E Controopzione E Rapporti Di Partecipazione Ex Art. 102 Bis Noif" (PDF) (in Italian). AS Roma. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  10. "Alcuni movimenti del Pescara in questa prima fase di mercato" (in Italian). Delfino Pescara 1936. 27 June 2015. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  11. "2015 RELAZIONE FINANZIARIA ANNUALE" (PDF) (in Italian). A.S. Roma. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  12. "Calciomercato: arriva Matteo Politano dalla Roma" (in Italian). U.S. Sassuolo Calcio. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  13. "Matteo Politano is a new Inter player". Inter Milan. 30 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  14. Marcovitch, Joe (19 August 2018). "Sassuolo 1-0 Inter: Report, Ratings & Reaction as the Nerazzurri Slip to Defeat in Serie A Opener". 90min. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  15. "Inter-Parma, all you need to know". Inter Milan. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  16. Harry West (18 September 2018). "Inter 2 Tottenham 1: Icardi, Vecino complete dramatic late turnaround". Goal.com. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  17. "Results: Inter 2–0 Cagliari". legaseriea.it. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  18. "Matteo Politano signs for Inter on a permanent basis". Inter Milan. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  19. "Venerato: "Politano Can't Play 3-5-2, Conte Will Have To Work On Him"". sempreinter.com. Sempreinter. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  20. "Politano-Spinazzola, un colpo di farsa mercato" [Politano-Spinazzola, a blow to the farce market]. gazzetta.it (in Italian). RCS Media Group. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  21. "Matteo Politano joins Napoli" (Press release). inter.it. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  22. "Real Sociedad 0–1 Napoli". UEFA. 29 October 2020.
  23. "UEFA European Under-19 Championship Profile: Matteo Politano". UEFA.com. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  24. "Italy: Politano and Cataldi debut calls". football-italia.net. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  25. "Italy: Balotelli and Mancini ideal start". Football Italia. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  26. "Politano breaks the ice for Italy". Football Italia. 20 November 2018.
  27. Luca Bedogni (30 June 2018). "Politano alla Salah, ecco come Spalletti pensa di rivoluzionare l'Inter" (in Italian). www.calciomercato.com. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  28. Marco Lo Prato (13 November 2018). "Politano si è preso l'Inter, Keita è inciampato. Quali sono le prospettive?" (in Italian). www.fcinternews.it. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  29. "Matteo Politano". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  30. "Convocazioni e presenze in campo POLITANO MATTEO" (in Italian). figc.it. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  31. "Coppa: Napoli beat Juventus on penalties". Football Italia. 17 June 2020.
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