Bryan Cristante

Bryan Cristante
Personal information
Full nameBryan Cristante
Date of birth3 March 1995
Place of birthSan Vito al Tagliamento, Italy
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Benfica
Number24
Youth career
2006–2009LiventinaGorghense
2009–2013Milan
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2011–2014Milan3(1)
2014–Benfica5(0)
National team‡
2010Italy U162(0)
2011–2012Italy U1710(0)
2012–2013Italy U186(3)
2013–2014Italy U199(4)
2014–Italy U201(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 January 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 April 2015

Bryan Cristante (Italian pronunciation: [ˈbrajan kriˈstante]; born 3 March 1995) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Portuguese club Benfica.

Club career

Early career

Cristante was born in San Vito al Tagliamento but raised in the nearby San Giovanni di Casarsa, where he started playing football as a child.[1] He moved on to Liventina Gorghense, an amateur club in the province of Treviso, before joining A.C. Milan in 2009.[2]

Milan

Throughout his time in the club's youth system he was a member of the under-15 squad who won the Campionato Giovanissimi Nazionali in 2010,[3] scoring eight goals,[1] as well as a member of the under-17 side who won the Campionato Allievi Nazionali in 2011.[4]

He made his professional debut for the club on 6 December 2011, aged 16 years and 278 days, coming on as a substitute for Robinho in a UEFA Champions League group stage match against Viktoria Plzeň, which ended in a 2–2 draw.[5] He thus became the youngest ever Milan player to feature in a Champions League game and third youngest overall.[6][7]

Cristante was elected as the best player at the Torneo di Viareggio 2013. On 4 March 2013, Cristante signed his first professional contract, which will keep him at Milan until 2018. He joined the first team squad at the start of the 2013/2014 season.[8]

On 10 November 2013 he made his debut in Serie A, coming on as a substitute for Kaká in a match against Chievo Verona, which ended in a 0-0 draw.[9]

On 6 January 2014 Bryan scored his first goal for the club thanks to an assist from Kaká, in a 3–0 victory at the San Siro against Atalanta.

Benfica

On 1 September 2014, Bryan signed a five-year contract with Portuguese champions Benfica[10][11] for a transfer fee of €4,84 million.[12]

On 12 December, Cristante debuted in a Primeira Liga victory at Vitória Setúbal (0–5).[13] On 14 January, Cristante scored his first goal for Benfica in a home win against Arouca (4–0) in the third round of league cup.[14]

International

Cristante is an Italian youth international and has represented them at various levels. He is also eligible for Canada and holds a passport through his father.[15]

Club statistics

As of match played 30 December 2014.[16]
Club Season League Cup Europe1 Other2 Total
Apps GoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Milan 2011–12 0000100010
2012–13 000000—00
2013–14 311000—41
Total 311010——51
Benfica 2014–15 2030301090
Total 2030301090
Career total 51404000141

1European competitions include the Champions League and Europa League.
2Other tournaments include the Supercoppa Italiana and Taça da Liga.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Simone Gambino (7 December 2011). "An introduction to Bryan Cristante - AC Milan's 16-year-old Champions League wonderkid". goal.com (PERFORM). Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  2. ↑ Pietro Mazzara (4 December 2011). "DNA vincente e serietà: ecco chi è Bryan Cristante". milannews.it (in Italian). Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  3. ↑ "Campionato Giovanissimi Nazionali 2009/10". acmilan.com (in Italian). Associazione Calcio Milan. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "Campionato Allievi Nazionali 2010/11". acmilan.com (in Italian). Associazione Calcio Milan. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  5. ↑ Ian Holyman (6 December 2011). "Plzeň secure late draw with Milan to end on a high". uefa.com (Union of European Football Associations). Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  6. ↑ Gaetano De Stefano (7 December 2011). "Pato and Robinho not enough, AC Milan fluff the finish in Prague". gazzetta.it (La Gazzetta dello Sport). Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  7. ↑ Lu. Guaz. (7 December 2011). "Cristante, il suo nome nella storia". ilgiorno.it (in Italian) (Il Giorno). Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "Bryan Cristante: il gioellino della "Cantera" rossonera". milanpassion.it (in Italian). Milan Passion. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  9. ↑ http://www.milannews.it/i-tabellini/chievo-milan-0-0-il-tabellino-della-gara-127953
  10. ↑ "SL Benfica sign Bryan Cristante". SL Benfica.pt. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  11. ↑ "Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF). S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). CMVM. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  12. ↑ "Cristante rendeu ao Milan mais do que Balotelli" [Cristante gave Milan more than Balotelli] (in Portuguese). O Jogo. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  13. ↑ "V. Setúbal-Benfica, 0-5 (crónica)". Maisfutebol.iol.pt (in Portuguese). 12 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  14. ↑ "Benfica - Arouca (Fase 3 - jornada 2 Taça da Liga 2014-2015) - Liga Portugal". LPFP (in Portuguese). 14 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  15. ↑ Squizzato, Daniel (22 May 2014). "CanMNT: Benito Floro says success in upcoming friendlies important for "psychology and mentality"". MLS Soccer.
  16. ↑ "Italy - B. Cristante - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 January 2014.

External links