Matteo Politano

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Matteo Politano
Personal information
Date of birth (1993-08-03) 3 August 1993 (age 32)
Place of birth Rome, Italy
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Position Winger
Team information
Current team
 Napoli
Number 21
Youth career
2004–2012 Roma
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Roma 0 (0)
2012–2013 → Perugia (loan) 28 (8)
2013–2015 Pescara 72 (11)
2015–2019 Sassuolo 96 (20)
2018–2019 → Inter Milan (loan) 36 (5)
2019–2021 Inter Milan 11 (0)
2020–2021 → Napoli (loan) 52 (11)
2021– Napoli 149 (17)
International career‡
2011–2012 Italy U19 3 (0)
2012–2014 Italy U20 7 (3)
2013 Italy U21 2 (0)
2018– Italy 18 (4)
Medal record
Men's Football
Representing  Italy
CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions
Runner-up 2022 England
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11:12, 14 December 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 16 November 2025

Matteo Politano (Italian pronunciation: [matˈtɛːo poliˈtaːno]; born 3 August 1993) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Serie A club Napoli and the Italy national team.

Club career

[edit | edit source]

Roma

[edit | edit source]

Of Calabrian origin from Fiumefreddo Bruzio,[2][3] Politano is a youth product of A.S. Roma, with whom he won the 2010 "Allievi" U17 league,[4] as well as the 2011 Campionato Nazionale Primavera and the 2012 Coppa Italia Primavera. He was the sixth highest scorer of Roma's youth squad in the 2011–12 season (7 goals), behind Junior Tallo, Nicolás López, Gianluca Leonardi, Federico Viviani and Giammario Piscitella. In July 2012, Politano was loaned to Perugia.[5] He made his professional debut in the Coppa Italia. Politano was the starting forward in the 2012–13 Lega Pro Prima Divisione, with 3 goals in first 5 league matches in September.

Pescara

[edit | edit source]

On 30 June 2013, Pescara signed Politano (€500,000) and Piscitella (€1.5 million) as part of the deal that Caprari returned to Roma (€2 million);[6][7][8][9] however, Caprari returned to Pescara again (€1.5 million) for Piscitella (€1.5 million) in January 2014.

On 27 June 2015, Roma bought back Politano for €601,000, with Caprari moving to Pescara outright for €125,000.[10][11]

Sassuolo

[edit | edit source]

On 2 July 2015, Serie A club Sassuolo signed Politano in a temporary deal with an option to purchase.[12] In June 2016, Sassuolo exercised their option to buy Politano.

Inter Milan

[edit | edit source]

On 30 June 2018, Politano signed for Inter Milan on a season-long loan deal from Sassuolo, with an option to buy in June 2019.[13]

He made his official debut for the club on 19 August in the first match of 2018–19 Serie A against his parent club Sassuolo, which ended in a 1–0 away loss.[14] On 15 September, Politano played his 100th Serie A match in a 1–0 shock loss to Parma at home.[15] Two weeks later, he made his debut in the UEFA Champions League in a 2–1 comeback win over Tottenham Hotspur at San Siro in the first group stage match.[16]

On 29 September, he opened his scoring account for Inter in the league match against Cagliari, netting the second with a long-range strike in a 2–0 home win.[17] During the course of 2018–19 season, Politano was the most used out-field player, having made 48 appearances in all competitions; only goalkeeper Samir Handanović playing more than him. As a result, on 19 June 2019 Inter exercised their option to buy Politano from Sassuolo.[18]

However, with the appointment of head coach Antonio Conte and subsequent switch of formation from 4–3–3 to 3–5–2, Politano soon lost his place in the team's usual starting line-up.[19] In January 2020, Politano passed the medical at Roma and was due to be exchanged for Leonardo Spinazzola yet the transfer collapsed as Inter were not entirely satisfied with Spinazzola's physical conditions and failed at re-negotiation of the deal.[20]

Napoli

[edit | edit source]

On 28 January 2020, Politano moved to Napoli on a two-year loan with an obligation to make deal permanent.[21] On 29 October 2020, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 away win over Real Sociedad in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League.[22]

International career

[edit | edit source]

Politano received his first Italy U19 call-up against the Italy U20 "C" side in December 2011. He then played two times during the team's 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship elite qualification campaign (featuring as a substitute for Elio De Silvestro)[23] and appeared in two friendlies before the elite round of the competition.

On 5 November 2016, Politano was called up to the senior squad for the first time for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Liechtenstein and a friendly match against Germany by manager Gian Piero Ventura.[24] He later made his senior international debut for the national team on 28 May 2018, under manager Roberto Mancini, starting for Italy in a 2–1 friendly win over Saudi Arabia.[25] On 20 November 2018, he scored his first goal for Italy on his second cap in the 94th minute of a 1–0 friendly match win over the United States, held in Genk.[26]

Style of play

[edit | edit source]

Politano is a quick and diminutive left-footed player, with an eye for goal, who is gifted with pace, vision, good technique, and dribbling ability at speed, as well as good close control and first-time passing ability in close spaces.[13] A versatile player, he is usually deployed as a winger, and is capable of playing on either flank, as well as in numerous other attacking roles across the front line, including as a second striker.[27] He also possesses a good shot from distance, and is a threat from set-pieces.[28]

Personal life

[edit | edit source]

On 20 November 2021, it was announced that Politano tested positive for COVID-19, while being asymptomatic, amid the pandemic in Italy;[29] he recovered by 29 November.[30]

Married in June 2018 to Silvia Di Vincenzo, he later became engaged to PR Ginevra Sozzi.[31] On June 17, 2021, their first daughter, Giselle, was born.[32]

Career statistics

[edit | edit source]

Club

[edit | edit source]
As of match played 18 December 2025[33]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Coppa Italia Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Perugia (loan) 2012–13 Lega Pro 28 8 3 0 – 4 2 35 10
Pescara 2013–14 Serie B 31 6 1 0 – – 32 6
2014–15 Serie B 41 5 3 0 – 5[a] 1 49 6
Total 72 11 4 0 – 5 1 81 12
Sassuolo 2015–16 Serie A 28 5 1 0 – – 29 5
2016–17 Serie A 32 5 1 0 9[b] 3 – 42 8
2017–18 Serie A 36 10 3 1 – – 39 11
Total 96 20 5 1 9 3 – 110 24
Inter Milan (loan) 2018–19 Serie A 36 5 2 0 10[c] 1 – 48 6
Inter Milan 2019–20 Serie A 11 0 0 0 4[d] 0 – 15 0
Inter total 47 5 2 0 14 1 – 63 6
Napoli (loan) 2019–20 Serie A 15 2 3 0 2[d] 0 – 20 2
2020–21 Serie A 37 9 4 1 8[b] 1 1[e] 0 50 11
Napoli 2021–22 Serie A 33 3 1 0 5[b] 2 – 39 5
2022–23 Serie A 27 3 1 0 9[d] 1 – 37 4
2023–24 Serie A 37 8 1 0 8[d] 1 2[e] 0 48 9
2024–25 Serie A 37 3 2 0 – – 39 3
2025–26 Serie A 15 0 1 0 6[d] 0 1[e] 0 23 0
Napoli total 201 28 13 1 38 5 4 0 256 34
Career total 444 72 27 2 61 9 13 3 545 86
  1. ^ Appearances in Serie B promotion play-offs
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ a b c d e Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in Supercoppa Italiana

International

[edit | edit source]
As of match played 16 November 2025[33][34]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Italy 2018 2 1
2019 1 0
2020 0 0
2021 1 2
2022 4 0
2023 4 0
2024 0 0
2025 6 1
Total 18 4
Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first.[34]
List of international goals scored by Matteo Politano
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 20 November 2018 Luminus Arena, Genk, Belgium File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 1–0 1–0 Friendly
2. 28 May 2021 Sardegna Arena, Cagliari, Italy File:Flag of San Marino.svg San Marino 3–0 7–0
3. 6–0
4. 8 September 2025 Nagyerdei Stadion, Debrecen, Hungary Error creating thumbnail:  Israel 3–2 5–4 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

[edit | edit source]

Napoli

Individual

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Matteo Politano e l’Inter nel destino … in Calabria
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  18. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  19. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  20. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  21. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  22. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  23. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  24. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  25. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  26. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  27. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  28. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  29. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  30. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  31. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  32. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  33. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  34. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  35. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  36. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  37. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  38. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
[edit | edit source]
  • Profile at the SSC Napoli website
  • FIGC profile (in Italian)
  • Matteo Politano – UEFA competition record (archive)Lua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Retrieved from "http://70.231.62.181/index.php?title=Matteo_Politano&oldid=10848616"