Nicolò Zaniolo facts for kids
Zaniolo playing for Italy U19 in 2018
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 2 July 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Massa, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder, winger | ||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Atalanta (on loan from Galatasaray) |
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| Number | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Genoa | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2016 | Fiorentina | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Virtus Entella | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Inter Milan | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2023 | Roma | 94 | (13) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Galatasaray | 10 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | → Aston Villa (loan) | 25 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | → Atalanta (loan) | 14 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| National team‡ | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Italy U18 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Italy U19 | 18 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Italy U21 | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2019– | Italy | 19 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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† Appearances (Goals). |
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Nicolò Zaniolo (born on 2 July 1999) is an Italian professional footballer. He plays as an attacking midfielder or right winger. Currently, he plays for Serie A club Atalanta. He is on loan from Süper Lig club Galatasaray. He also plays for the Italy national team.
Contents
Club Career
Early Football Days
Nicolò Zaniolo was born in Massa, Tuscany, Italy. He started his football journey in the youth system of Fiorentina. In 2016, he left Fiorentina and joined Virtus Entella.
He played for Entella's youth team for a few months. Then, at just 17 years old, he made his first professional game. This was on 11 March 2017, in a Serie B match. He played seven games for Virtus Entella in the 2016–17 season.
Time at Inter Milan
On 5 July 2017, Inter Milan signed Zaniolo. The club paid about €1.8 million for him. He played for Inter's youth team in the 2017–18 season. He was the top scorer for his team with 13 goals. They also won the Campionato Nazionale Primavera youth league.
Zaniolo played his first game for Inter in a friendly match on 9 July 2017. Even though he was part of the first team squad later, he did not play in any official games for Inter.
Playing for Roma
Becoming a Star: 2018–19 Season
In June 2018, Zaniolo moved to Roma. This was part of a deal that sent another player, Radja Nainggolan, to Inter. Zaniolo signed a five-year contract with Roma.
He played his first game for Roma on 19 September. This was also his first UEFA Champions League game. It was against Real Madrid. On 26 September 2018, at 19 years old, he played his first Serie A game. He scored his first Serie A goal on 26 December against Sassuolo.
The next year, in a Champions League match against FC Porto, Zaniolo made history. He became the youngest Italian player to score two goals in one Champions League game. Roma won that match 2–1. Because of his great performances, he was named the Serie A Young Player of the Year for the 2018-19 season.
Dealing with Injuries: 2019–21 Seasons
Zaniolo continued to play well, scoring goals and helping his team. But on 12 January 2020, he got a serious injury to his right knee. This was during a game against Juventus. He started training again in June 2020. Many famous football players, like Roberto Mancini and Francesco Totti, sent him messages of support.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused football games to stop for a while. This meant Zaniolo had more time to recover. On 5 July 2020, he returned to playing in a game against Napoli. A week later, he scored his first goal after his injury.
Sadly, Zaniolo missed the entire 2020–21 season. He got another serious knee injury in September 2020. This time it was in his left knee.
Return and Conference League Win: 2021–22 Season
He came back to play in July 2021. This was under Roma's new coach, José Mourinho. Zaniolo's return season was tough. He struggled with his fitness and often faced many fouls from other players. Coach Mourinho even spoke out about how often Zaniolo was fouled without the referees giving penalties.
Zaniolo scored his first goal after his second knee injury in a game against Trabzonspor. This was in the new UEFA Europa Conference League competition. He scored three goals in one game against Bodo/Glimt in the quarterfinals. This was his first "hat trick" (three goals in one game). On 25 May 2022, he scored the only goal in the final against Feyenoord. This goal helped Roma win the Europa Conference League trophy!
Leaving Roma: 2022–23 Season
Zaniolo continued to have some challenges with his form. He also dealt with thigh and shoulder injuries. He scored two goals in the UEFA Europa League but only one goal in the league.
Moving to Galatasaray
First Season: 2022–23
On 8 February 2023, Zaniolo moved to Süper Lig club Galatasaray in Turkey. This transfer set a new record for Turkish football. Galatasaray paid €15 million for him. His contract also included a special clause that allowed him to leave for €35 million.
Galatasaray did not announce his arrival with a big celebration. This was because of a terrible earthquake that happened just before he arrived. He chose the number 17 jersey. This was in memory of a 17-year-old Galatasaray fan who died in the earthquake.
He played very well in his first friendly game for Galatasaray. He scored a goal in stoppage time. He also scored in his first official game on 11 March, helping Galatasaray win 1–0. Zaniolo and Galatasaray became champions of the Süper Lig in the 2022–23 season. They won the league with two games left to play.
Loan to Aston Villa
On 18 August 2023, Zaniolo joined Premier League club Aston Villa in England on loan. He had played one game for Galatasaray in the Champions League qualifiers. This meant he could not play for Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League right away. He made his debut for Aston Villa on 27 August 2023.
In October 2023, Zaniolo faced some questions about his activities off the field. He left the Italy national team to return to England. He admitted to playing card games. However, he strongly denied any serious wrongdoing related to sports betting.
On 14 December 2023, he scored his first goal for Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League. On 22 December 2023, he scored his first Premier League goal. This was a very late goal that helped Aston Villa draw 1–1. On 13 May 2024, Zaniolo broke a bone in his foot during a game. This injury ended his season early.
Loan to Atalanta
On 5 July 2024, Zaniolo returned to Serie A in Italy. He joined Atalanta on a one-year loan from Galatasaray. The loan deal was worth €6.4 million. There is also a chance for Atalanta to buy him permanently for €15.5 million later.
International Career
Playing for Youth Teams
Zaniolo played for the Italy under-19 team. He helped them reach the final of the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Italy lost the final to Portugal.
He made his first game for the Italy U21 team on 11 October 2018. This was in a friendly match against Belgium.
Playing for the Senior National Team
On 1 September 2018, Zaniolo was called up to the senior Italy team. This was a big surprise because he had not even played a game in Serie A yet! He was called up for UEFA Nations League matches.
He made his debut for the senior team on 23 March 2019. He came on as a substitute in a 2–0 win against Finland. On 15 October, he started his first game for Italy. His first two goals for Italy came on 18 November. He scored two goals in a big 9–1 win against Armenia.
On 7 September 2020, Zaniolo suffered another serious knee injury. This happened during an Italy game against the Netherlands. On 17 May 2024, it was confirmed that Zaniolo would miss UEFA Euro 2024. This was because of the foot injury he got at Aston Villa.
How Nicolò Zaniolo Plays
Nicolò Zaniolo is a tall player, standing at 1.90 meters (about 6 feet 3 inches). He is strong and fast. He is also very good at dribbling the ball. He can play in many different positions in the midfield. He can be an attacking midfielder, a central midfielder, or even a box-to-box midfielder.
He can also play on the sides of the field as a winger. He is good at scoring goals and creating chances for his teammates. He can shoot powerfully from far away and makes smart runs into the box. Many people thought he was one of the most promising young players in Italy and Europe.
Personal Life
Nicolò Zaniolo's father, Igor Zaniolo, was also a professional footballer. He played as a forward. Nicolò has a son named Tommaso, who was born in 2021.
Images for kids
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Zaniolo playing for Italy U19 in 2018
See also
In Spanish: Nicolò Zaniolo para niños
