| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Davide Santon | ||
| Date of birth | 2 January 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Portomaggiore, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Full back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Newcastle United | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2005 | Ravenna | ||
| 2005–2008 | Internazionale | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2008–2011 | Internazionale | 40 | (0) |
| 2011 | → Cesena (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2011– | Newcastle United | 6 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007 | Italy U-16 | 4 | (2) |
| 2007–2008 | Italy U-17 | 12 | (2) |
| 2008 | Italy U-20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2009– | Italy U-21 | 15 | (0) |
| 2009– | Italy | 7 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 January 2012. † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Davide Santon (born 2 January 1991 in Portomaggiore, Ferrara) is an Italian professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Newcastle United, and for the Italian national team. He started his career as an right sided attacker later reverting to an attacking full back who can play on both sides and is known for his energetic runs down the flank.
Contents |
Santon joined Inter's youth system at age 14 from Ravenna. He started out as a winger before moving into a defensive role. After helping the Primavera side win the 2006–07 Campionato Primavera and reaching the final play-off for a second consecutive season,[1] he was called-up to join the first team for the 2008–09 pre-season training in South Tyrol[2] and training sessions during the first half of the season.
José Mourinho first named Santon in the line up for a September Champions League game against Panathinaikos and the next three games but did not use him. On 21 January 2009, Santon made his debut in the Coppa Italia quarterfinal win against Roma, playing the entire match. Four days later, he made his Serie A debut in a 1–0 victory against Sampdoria. He made his European debut in the home draw with Manchester United, tasked with marking Cristiano Ronaldo. Santon garnered praise for his performance prompting Ronaldo to comment: .[3] "I was impressed by Santon, he is a really interesting lad and a great footballer."[4] Mourinho praised Santon for his personality and tactical versatility[5] and Santon was handed the starting role for the next game. He started 13 league games and made two substitute appearances, thus winning his first senior honour, the 2008–09 Serie A title.
He had also become subject of praise from former Italy head coach Marcello Lippi in 2009, who described Santon as "A predestined that reminds of a young Paolo Maldini."[6]
Santon made his first appearance for Inter in the 2009–10 season against Parma on Matchday 3, and subsequently started the game against Cagliari the week after. He was out until the new year after sustaining a right knee lateral meniscus injury while on international duty.[7][8] He made his return in January as a substitute against Bari[9] and called back into the starting eleven for the injured Cristian Chivu. However, his return was short-lived as he injured[10] the same knee again after returning too soon from the previous injury and required surgery, thus sidelining him for another three to five weeks.
In 2010–11 season, as first Santon was an understudy of Chivu, but after Maicon's injury[11] (and later Chivu), Santon returned to starting line-up in November (except the Milan derby and Champions League matchday 5). He then played twice as right wing-forward due to the injury crisis at Inter, the first one in a 5–2 win against Parma;[12] in that match the coach preferred Cordoba and Zanetti on both full back positions, which he also used in the Champions League against Twente.
On 31 January 2011, the final day of the transfer window, Santon was sent out on loan to Cesena as part of the deal that saw Yuto Nagatomo join Internazionale in exchange.[13]
On August 30, 2011, Santon signed for English club Newcastle United on a 5 year contract, for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £5.3m.[14][15] He instantly struck a chord with the Toon Army when he cheekily confessed he’d never seen a Mackem in Milan.[16] (Intimating that Newcastle United's local rivals Sunderland, never qualify to play in European competitions) He made his Newcastle debut on 16 October 2011 as a second half substitute against Tottenham Hotspur.[17] He went on to make his first league start for the club in December away to Norwich City, before making his full home debut the next week against Swansea City.
Santon has played for Italy since the U-16 level and made a goal-scoring debut on April 2007 in a 3–1 win over Slovenia. On 31 March 2009, he made his debut for the Italy U-21 squad in a friendly against the Netherlands, played at Parkstad Limburg Stadion, Kerkrade and ended in a 1–1 draw.[18]
Santon made his debut with the senior Italian team aged 18, on 6 June 2009 in a friendly game against Northern Ireland played in Pisa.[19] He played the whole match and his solid performances earned him praise from his peers as well as coach Marcello Lippi.[20] Lippi was impressed enough to name him in the roster for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, but Santon did not manage to make an appearance in the tournament.
| Club | League | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other1 | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Internazionale | Serie A | 2008–09 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 2009–10 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Cesena | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Newcastle United | Premier League | 2011-12 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Total | 57 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 72 | 0 | ||
As of 4 January 2012
1 includes Supercoppa Italiana, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||