Manolo Gabbiadini

Manolo Gabbiadini (Italian pronunciation: [maˈnolo ɡabbjaˈdini]; born 26 November 1991) is an Italian footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Napoli.

Club career

Atalanta

Gabbiadini began his professional career with Atalanta B.C. He made his Serie A debut for Atalanta on 14 March 2010, in a league match against Parma, when he came on as a 79th minute substitute for Simone Tiribocchi.^[1] Following his debut, Gabbiadini made one further appearance for the club during the 2009-10 Serie A campaign.

On 9 July 2010, he joined Serie B side A.S. Cittadella along with Daniele Gasparetto in co-ownership deal for a peppercorn of €500,^[2] as part of the negotiation that saw Atalanta sign Matteo Ardemagni.^[3][4] He scored 5 goals in 27 appearances (including 15 starts) during the 2010-11 Serie B season.

On 21 June 2011 he returned to Atalanta after his co-ownership deal was resloved for €1.5 million for the 50% registration rights.^[5][6] During the 2011-12 Serie A campaign, Gabbiadini was fully integrated into the club's first team. He made 25 league appearances for the club, including 8 starts, and scored his first Serie A goal on 25 March 2012, in the home match won 2–0 against Bologna. He also scored in his lone 2011-12 Coppa Italia appearance for the nerrazzurri

Juventus

On 24 August 2012, Juventus officially signed Gabbiadini in a new co-ownership agreement for €5.5 million, however it involved €3.5 million cash along with the co-ownership of James Troisi's contract which was valued at €2M. Interestingly, Troisi was a free agent just 2 days prior to the deal, but signed by Juventus for the sole purpose of this negotiation. Immediately following his transfer to the city of Turin, Gabbiadini was loaned to fellow Serie A side, Bologna on a season long loan deal. The loan deal was not confirmed until the final week of the 2012 summer transfer window, though Gabbidini already trained with Bologna days before the deal was officially finalized.^[7][8] He enjoyed a strong season at Bologna, scoring seven goals in 31 appearances.

On 19 June 2013, the co-ownership agreement between Atalanta and Juventus was renewed, with the players registration rights remaining with Juventus.^[9]

Sampdoria

On 9 July 2013, U.C. Sampdoria acquired the 50% registration rights of Gabbiadini from Atalanta for €5.5 million, with Juventus retained the another 50% registration rights. Gabbiadini would spend the 2013-14 Serie A for the Ligurian club.^[10] In his first season with the Blucerchiati, Manolo scored 10 goals, a personal best, in 35 appearances.

Napoli

In the January 2015 transfer window, Gabbiadini joined S.S.C. Napoli for a reported fee of €13 million, to be split equally between Sampdoria and Juventus, each owning 50% of the player at the time of the deal.^[11] (Juventus declared that their revenue was €6.25 million.^[12]) He made his debut on 11 January against former team Juventus at the Stadio San Paolo, replacing José Callejón for the last 17 minutes of a 1–3 defeat.^[13] His first goal for the team came on 1 February, the winner in a 2–1 victory away to Chievo Verona from Ivan Strinić's assist.^[14]

International career

On 17 November 2010 he made his debut with the Italy U-21 squad in a friendly game against Turkey. On 29 March 2011 he scored his first goal for the U-21 team in a friendly game against Germany. On 6 October 2011, he scored an hat-trick in the away match won 7–2 against Liechtenstein. He took part at the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championships in Israel, scoring two goals against hosts Israel in the group stage, as Italy went on to reach the final, only to lose to Spain.^[15]

On 15 August 2012 he made his debut with the Italian national team, playing in the second half of the friendly match against England held in Bern, which Italy lost 2–1.^[16]

Style of play

Gabbiadini is versatile, creative, and hardworking forward, who is capable of playing in several offensive positions, as a striker, supporting forward, attacking midfielder, or as a winger on either flank. His preferred role is on the right, however, where he is capable of curling shots on goal with his stronger left foot. A dynamic player, he possesses pace, positional sense, and good technique, which, along with his strength, allows him to play with his back to goal and hold up the ball for team-mates. Gabbiadini is capable both of creating and scoring goals, due to his intelligence, and his powerful and accurate shot with his left foot; he is also an accurate set-piece taker.^[17][18][19]

Personal life

His older sister Melania Gabbiadini is also a forward, who has spent most of her career with AGSM Verona and plays internationally for Italy's women's team.^[20]

References

External links

• Profile at Soccerway
• Profile at Lega-Calcio.it (Italian)
• Profile at La Gazzetta dello Sport (2009–10) (Italian)
• Profile at Football.it (Italian)
• FIGC National Team data (Italian)
• (Italian)