Andrea Belotti

Andrea Belotti
Personal information
Full nameAndrea Belotti
Date of birth20 December 1993
Place of birthCalcinate, Italy
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionForward
Club information
Current team
Palermo
Number99
Youth career
2006–2012AlbinoLeffe
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2012–2014AlbinoLeffe37(14)
2013–2014→ Palermo (loan)24(10)
2014–Palermo24(5)
National team‡
2012Italy U196(2)
2012–2013Italy U209(4)
2013–Italy U2115(8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 February 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 March 2015

Andrea Belotti (born 20 December 1993) is an Italian footballer who plays as a forward for Italian Serie A club Palermo.

Club career

Born in Calcinate, Province of Bergamo, Lombardy, Belotti started his career at the second largest team of the province, then-Serie B club AlbinoLeffe. A youth team player since 2010, Belotti made his first team debut on 10 March 2012 (league week 30). He then played a successive substitute appearances from rounds 32 to 34 and started 4 games from rounds 35 to 39, only missing round 37.[1] He also scored 13 goals as team top-scorer for the youth team throughout the 2011–12 season, also winning a youth title, Trofeo Dossena, in June 2012.[2]

AlbinoLeffe were relegated at the end of season, and played the 2012–13 season in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, with Belotti as the starting striker of the club. Belotti played his first senior match of the season during the 2012–13 Coppa Italia, partnering Simone Pontiggia and Karamoko Cissé.[3] The club lost 0–3 to Chieti.

He completed the season with 14 goals, and gained interest from higher-level teams; in August 2013, recently relegated Serie B club Palermo agreed a loan bid with AlbinoLeffe, with an option to turn the move into a co-ownership by the end of the season. Belotti made his debut with the Sicilians on 24 September 2013, as a substitute for Davide Di Gennaro in a game against Bari, and immediately provided an assist to Kyle Lafferty in a 1–2 loss. In his second game of the season, against Brescia, he was again used during the game and scored the equaliser (match ended in a 1–1 draw).

On July 2014, Palermo announced to have executed the option to acquire 50% of Belotti's transfer right from AlbinoLeffe, effectively turning the loan move to a co-ownership.[4] Later on September 2014, Palermo reached an agreement with AlbinoLeffe for the remaining half, thus fully acquiring him for good.[5] He made his first Serie A goals on 24 September 2014, scoring twice and providing a man-of-the-match performance in a 3–3 away draw against Napoli.

International career

Belotti received his first U19 call-up in December 2011, against Lega Pro representatives. He scored a goal in the match, winning 4–2.[6][7] He played all 3 friendlies for U19 before the elite qualification of U19 EURO; In the elite qualification, Belotti was the centre forward in the 4–2–3–1 formation,[8] but only scored once in the all 3 appearances.[9]

He made his debut for the Italy U-21 team on 14 August 2013 in a friendly match won 4–1 against Slovakia.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.albinoleffe.com/component/campionato1112/?task=giocatore&giocatore=11381
  2. ↑ "Il trofeo Dossena è dell'AlbinoLeffe!" (in Italian). UC AlbinoLeffe. 16 June 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  3. ↑ "AlbinoLeffe sconfitto all'esordio in Coppa Italia" (in Italian). UC AlbinoLeffe. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  4. ↑ "ACQUISTATA LA METÀ DI BELOTTI" (in Italian). US Città di Palermo. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "RISCATTATA LA SECONDA META' DI BELOTTI "RINGRAZIO LA SOCIETA' PER LA FIDUCIA"" (in Italian). US Città di Palermo. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "GOALS AND GOOD PLAY BY THE U.19 IN COVERCIANO UNDER WATCHFUL EYE OF PRANDELLI" (in Italian). FIGC. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  7. ↑ http://www.legapro.it/tabellino-italia-lega-pro-under-19/
  8. ↑ "EUROPEI: GLI AZZURRINI BATTONO 2-1 IL BELGIO AL DEBUTTO" (in Italian). FIGC. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  9. ↑ http://www.uefa.com/under19/season=2012/teams/player=250050378/index.html

External links