Diego Coppola

Last updated

Diego Coppola
Norway Italy - June 2025 A 23 (cropped).jpg
Coppola with Italy in 2025
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-12-28) 28 December 2003 (age 21)
Place of birth Bussolengo, Italy
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Brighton & Hove Albion
Number 42
Youth career
2020–2022 Hellas Verona
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2021–2025 Hellas Verona 81 (4)
2025– Brighton & Hove Albion 1 (0)
International career‡
2021 Italy U18 1 (0)
2021–2022 Italy U19 13 (1)
2022 Italy U20 1 (0)
2023–2025 Italy U21 11 (0)
2025– Italy 2 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 31 August 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 22 June 2025

Diego Coppola (born 28 December 2003) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion and the Italy national team.

Contents

Club career

Hellas Verona

After coming through the youth ranks of Hellas Verona, Coppola made his professional debut with the first team on 15 December 2021, coming on as a substitute during a 4–3 Coppa Italia loss to Empoli. [1] He subsequently made his Serie A debut on 15 January 2022, replacing Adrien Tameze at the 80th minute of the league game against Sassuolo. [2] On 27 February, the defender made his first start for Verona, playing the entirety of the Serie A game against Venezia. [3]

On 20 April 2022, Coppola officially extended his contract with the club, signing a new five-year deal. [4] On 4 February 2024, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 away defeat against Napoli. [5]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 17 June 2025, Coppola signed for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion for a reported fee of £9.4m, signing a five-year deal. [6] [7] He made his debut on 27 August, starting and earning an assist in Brighton's 6–0 away win over Oxford United in the EFL Cup. [8] Four days later, he made his first Premier League appearance, coming on as a 95th minute substitute for Yankuba Minteh in a 2–1 comeback win against Manchester City. [9]

International career

Coppola was born in Italy to an Italian father and Dutch mother. [10] He has represented Italy at various youth international levels, having played for the under-18, under-19 and under-20 national teams. [11] In May and December 2022, Coppola was involved in training camps led by the Italian senior national team's manager, Roberto Mancini, and aimed to the most promising national talents. [12] [13]

Coppola received his first call-up to the senior Italy national team on 26 May 2025. [14] He debuted on 6 June against Norway, starting and playing the full match, with Italy losing 3–0. [15]

Style of play

A centre-back who can play both in a back three or four, Coppola has shown good athleticism despite his height, as well as a notable tactical intelligence and decent ball-playing skills. [16] Positioning, marking, and anticipation are his strongest traits in the defensive phase of his game. [16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 31 August 2025 [17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] League cup [b] OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Hellas Verona 2021–22 Serie A 4010——50
2022–23 Serie A19000—1 [c] 0200
2023–24 Serie A24220——262
2024–25 Serie A34210——352
Total81440—10864
Brighton & Hove Albion 2025–26 Premier League 100010—20
Career total824401010884
  1. ↑ Includes Coppa Italia
  2. ↑ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ↑ Appearance in Serie A relegation play-off

International

As of match played 9 June 2025 [18]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Italy 202520
Total20

References

  1. ↑ "Verona vs. Empoli - 15 December 2021 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  2. ↑ Nalesso, Pietro (16 January 2022). "Verona, Coppola debutta anche in Serie A". MondoPrimavera (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  3. ↑ Zarra, Angelo (27 February 2022). "Hellas, esordio da titolare in Serie A per Coppola". MondoPrimavera (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  4. ↑ Brianti, Simone (21 April 2022). "Ufficiale: Hellas Verona, il baby Coppola prolunga il contratto con gli scaligeri". MondoPrimavera (in Italian). Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  5. ↑ "Napoli come from behind to edge out struggling Verona". beIN SPORTS. 4 February 2024.
  6. ↑ "Albion sign defender Coppola". Brighton & Hive Albion FC. 17 June 2025.
  7. ↑ Naylor, Andy (17 June 2025). "Brighton sign centre-back Diego Coppola from Hellas Verona". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  8. ↑ Begley, Emlyn (27 August 2025). "Clinical Brighton smash six past Oxford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  9. ↑ Rajan, Adwaidh (31 August 2025). "Brighton 2-1 Manchester City: Brajan Gruda scores last-minute winner". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  10. ↑ "Deze 'Nederlander' speelt voor Jong Italië: "Ik spreek een beetje Nederlands"". ESPN.nl. 22 March 2025.
  11. ↑ "Diego Coppola convocato dall'Italia Under 19". Tutto Hellas Verona (in Italian). 24 August 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  12. ↑ "Raduno dei giocatori di interesse nazionale, iniziato il lavoro del secondo gruppo azzurro" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  13. ↑ "Stage a Coverciano dal 20 al 22 dicembre, convocati due gruppi di calciatori di interesse nazionale" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  14. ↑ "Six players recalled and one first call-up in latest Italy national team squad for 2026 World Cup qualifiers". Football Italia. 26 May 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  15. ↑ "Coppola: "Not the debut I hoped for, Italy had wrong approach"". Yahoo Sports . Yahoo . Retrieved 7 June 2025– via Football Italia.
  16. 1 2 Nalesso, Pietro (18 March 2022). "Diego Coppola, il "baby" mastino scaligero". MondoPrimavera (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  17. ↑ Diego Coppola at Soccerway . Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "Diego Coppola". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
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