Daniele Rugani

Daniele Rugani
Personal information
Full name Daniele Rugani
Date of birth (1994-07-29) 29 July 1994
Place of birth Lucca, Italy
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Playing position Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Juventus
Number 24
Youth career
2000–2013 Empoli
2012–2013 → Juventus (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013– Juventus 22 (2)
2013–2015 → Empoli (loan) 78 (5)
National team‡
2010–2011 Italy U17 13 (3)
2011–2012 Italy U18 9 (0)
2012–2013 Italy U19 11 (0)
2013 Italy U20 2 (0)
2014– Italy U21 15 (2)
2016– Italy 2 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 December 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2016

Daniele Rugani (born 29 July 1994) is an Italian footballer who plays as a centre back for Serie A club Juventus and the Italy national team. He began his professional club career with Empoli in Serie B in 2013, where he immediately helped the club achieve Serie A promotion, and was named the 2014 Serie B Footballer of the Year. His defensive performances the following season saw him named to the 2015 Serie A Team of the Year, and earned him a transfer to Juventus, where he immediately won the Serie A title during his first season with the club. At international level, he has represented the Italy national under-21 football team at the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Club career

Early career with Empoli and Juventus loan

Born in Lucca, Italy, Rugani began his footballing career with Tuscan side Empoli in 2000, at the age of 6.[2] He remained within the club's youth academy for twelve full seasons, before being transferred to Serie A giants Juventus on loan in August 2012, for €150,000 fee.[3] After joining Juventus, Rugani was registered with the club's Primavera (under-20) youth squad where he was a regular starter within the side during the 2012–13 season,[4] winning the Coppa Italia Primavera.[5]

Juventus and Empoli loan

After his successes during his first season with Juventus, Rugani was purchased by the club on 31 July 2013 in a co-ownership deal for €500,000[3][6] and then sent back to Empoli on a season-long loan deal ahead of their 2013–14 Serie B campaign.

At age 20, Rugani was Empoli's star defender during their promotion–achieved campaign, as he finished the season having made 40 appearances and scoring 2 goals for the club. He scored his first career goal from a header off of a corner on 22 March 2014, in a 4–0 home win over Reggina.[7] The club finished the season in 2nd place, thus achieving automatic promotion to Serie A, alongside champions Palermo.[8]

On 18 June 2014, it was confirmed that the co-ownership agreement between the two clubs would be renewed, with the player remaining with newly promoted Empoli for the 2014–15 Serie A campaign on loan from Juventus.[9] Rugani made his Serie A debut on 31 August 2014, at the age of 20, in a 2–0 away defeat to Udinese,[10] later scoring his first goal in Serie A on 20 September, in a 2–2 away draw against Cesena.[11] On 2 February 2015, Juventus bought out the remaining half of Daniele Rugani’s registration rights from Empoli, for an additional €3.5 million.[12] Rugani was a key player for Empoli that season, appearing in all 38 of Empoli's league matches that season without being substituted or booked, in addition to scoring 3 goals, as the club finished the league in 15th place.[13][14][15]

Juventus return

2015–16 season

In the summer of 2015, Rugani officially returned to Juventus.[16] He made his debut with the club on 30 September 2015, coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 home win over Sevilla in the UEFA Champions League group stage, also making his European debut in the process.[17] He made his first start with the club on 16 December, in a 4–0 win over cross-city rivals Torino in the Derby della Mole in the round of 16 of the Coppa Italia.[18] His league debut with the club came four days later, as he came on for veteran defender Andrea Barzagli in the 56th minute of a 3–2 away win over Carpi.[19] He made his first league start for the club in a 2–1 away win over Sampdoria in Serie A, on 10 January 2016.[20] On 24 April, Rugani was booked for the first time in his entire Serie A career in his 53rd Serie A appearance. He received a yellow card in the 72nd minute of a 2–1 away win over Fiorentina; he had last been carded at club level with Empoli, on 1 March 2014, in an away Serie B fixture against Siena.[21] Following Napoli's loss to Roma the following day, Juventus clinched the league title with three games to spare.[22]

2016–17 season

On 21 September 2016, Rugani made his first appearance of the season and scored his first goal for Juventus, in a 4–0 home win over Cagliari.[23] On 25 September 2016, it was confirmed that Rugani would be sidelined for six weeks after limping off the pitch a day before away to Palermo with a sprained right knee; tests at the J-Medical centre revealed he suffered a strained collateral lateral ligament.[24] He returned to training early on 20 October.[25]

International career

Rugani has represented Italy at various youth levels since 2010. His first cap for the under-21 team came on 5 March 2014 in a European qualifier against Northern Ireland, in which he scored the first goal for the azzurini in a 2–0 victory.[26]

On 9 November 2014, he was called up by Antonio Conte to the senior Italy squad ahead of a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Croatia and a friendly against Albania.[27]

With the Italy U-21 he took part at the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship under manager Luigi Di Biagio.[28]

On 31 May 2016, Rugani was named one of three reserves for Antonio Conte's senior side for Euro 2016.[29]

Rugani made his senior international debut on 1 September 2016, with newly appointed coach Giampiero Ventura, coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 friendly defeat to France.[30][31]

Style of play

Rugani is a tall, tactically versatile, and physically strong centre-back, who is good in the air, both defensively and offensively. He is known in particular for his anticipation, intelligence, and marking ability, despite his lack of notable pace or mobility.[32][33][34] He is also considered to be a correct player,[33][35] who often avoids committing to challenges, preferring to restrict his opponents through his positioning.[36] Due to his confidence in possession, he is capable of playing the ball out from the back-line.[33][34][37] Regarded as one of the most promising young Italian players of his generation,[38] in 2015, he was named one of the best players in the world born after 1994, by Don Balón.[39]

Statistics

Club

As of 3 December 2016[8]
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Empoli
2013–14 40220––422
2014–15 38310––393
Total 78530–– 815
Juventus
2015–16 170301000210
2016–17 5200100062
Total 222302000272
Career total 10076020001087

    International

    As of 15 November 2016[8]
    Italy national team
    YearAppsGoals
    201620
    Total20

    Honours

    Club

    Juventus[8]

    Individual

    References

    1. ↑ "Daniele Rugani". juventus.com.
    2. ↑ Alfredo Giacobbe (15 January 2015). "Preferiti: Daniele Rugani" (in Italian). Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    3. 1 2 "Annual Financial Report 30 June 2013" (PDF). Juventus F.C. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
    4. ↑ "Operazioni di mercato con l'Empoli" (in Italian). Juventus.com. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    5. ↑ "Napoli-Juventus 1-2: Coppa Italia Primavera ai bianconeri dopo i supplementari" (in Italian). Sport Mediaset. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    6. ↑ "Kabashi and Rugani sign for Juventus". Juventus F.C. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
    7. ↑ "Serie B, Pescara-Palermo 1-2, Belotti gol. Empoli a valanga sulla Reggina" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 22 March 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    8. 1 2 3 4 Daniele Rugani profile at Soccerway
    9. ↑ Marco Conterio (18 June 2014). "ESCLUSIVA TMW - Empoli-Juve, incontro ok: Rugani resta azzurro" (in Italian). Tutto Mercato Web.com. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    10. ↑ Francesco Velluzzi (31 August 2014). "Udinese, doppio Di Natale: Empoli battuto 2-0" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    11. ↑ Guglielmo Longhi (20 September 2014). "Serie A, Cesena-Empoli 2-2, gol di Marilungo, Defrel, Tavano e Rugani" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    12. ↑ "Juventus complete full Rugani purchase". Juventus.com. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    13. ↑ "Rugani, l'immacolato" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    14. ↑ "Impressive Empoli". Football Italia. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    15. ↑ "Arsenal still in for Rugani". Football Italia. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    16. ↑ Christoph Kockeis (24 June 2015). "Rugani: I'm ready for Juventus now". Goal.com. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    17. ↑ "Juventus 2 - 0 Sevilla FC". Eurosport. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    18. ↑ "Coppa: Four-star Juve crush Toro". Football Italia. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    19. ↑ "Carpi 2 – 3 Juventus". BBC Sport.com. 20 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    20. ↑ "Line-ups: Sampdoria-Juventus". Football Italia. 10 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
    21. ↑ "Fiorentina 1 - 2 Juventus". Football Italia. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
    22. ↑ Paolo Bandini (26 April 2016). "Juventus' relentless triumph suggests no end in sight to their dominance". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
    23. ↑ "Four-star Juve back on top". Football Italia. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
    24. ↑ "Rugani and Asamoah out 45 days". Football Italia. 25 September 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
    25. ↑ "Rugani back in Juventus training". Football Italia. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
    26. ↑ "Azzurri Generation: Daniele Rugani". Vivo Azzurro.it. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    27. ↑ "Liverpool's Mario Balotelli recalled to Italy squad for Euro qualifier". The Guardian. Press Association. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
    28. ↑ "Daniele Rugani". UEFA.com. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
    29. ↑ "Rugani in Azzurri reserves". Football Italia. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
    30. ↑ "Italy: Azzurri flop with France". Football Italia. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
    31. ↑ Marco Fallisi (1 September 2016). "Italia-Francia 1-3: Ventura stecca il debutto, non serve il gol di Pellè" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
    32. ↑ "Juve best school for Rugani". Football Italia. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    33. 1 2 3 Roberto Beccantini (10 July 2015). "La sfida di Rugani non interessa solo la Juventus" (in Italian). Eurosport. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    34. 1 2 Lelio Donato (14 March 2014). "Profilo - Daniele Rugani, il futuro della difesa della Juventus" (in Italian). Goal.com. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    35. ↑ "Rugani, l'immacolato" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    36. ↑ Antonino Milone (5 August 2015). "Rugani: "Per la Juve diventerò più cattivo"" (in Italian). Tutto Sport. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    37. ↑ FRANCESCO SAVERIO INTORCIA (2 June 2015). "Rugani, il ragazzino alla Scirea: "Mai un giallo, litigare non serve"" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    38. ↑ Adriano Serafini (18 November 2011). "Sabatini punta Rugani" (in Italian). Il Tempo. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    39. ↑ "La lista dei 101 migliori giovani talenti del calcio mondiale" (in Italian). Eurosport. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    40. ↑ "Serie A, 'Gran Galà del calcio': trionfa la Juve". Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 15 December 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
    41. ↑ "Oscar del Calcio, dominio Juve. Buffon: "Donnarumma ha doti da grande"" [Serie A Oscars, Juve dominate. Buffon: "Donnarumma has the characteristics to be great"] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.

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