Gaetano Castrovilli

Gaetano Castrovilli

Castrovilli in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Gaetano Castrovilli [1]
Date of birth	(1997-02-17) 17 February 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth	Canosa di Puglia, Italy
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Lazio
Number	22
Youth career
2006–2008	Minervino
2008–2015	Bari
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2017	Bari	11	(0)
2017–2024	Fiorentina	111	(12)
2017–2019	→ Cremonese (loan)	52	(5)
2024–	Lazio	6	(0)
International career‡
2017–2018	Italy U20	6	(2)
2018	Italy U21	2	(0)
2019–	Italy	4	(0)
Medal record Men's Football Representing   Italy UEFA European Championship Winner 2020 Europe
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:24, 27 October 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:22, 8 September 2021 (UTC)

Gaetano Castrovilli Cavaliere OMRI (born 17 February 1997) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as midfielder for Serie A club Lazio and the Italy national team. ^[2]

Club career

Castrovilli initially started playing football with the Minervino football school. At the age of 11, he joined the Bari youth system. He went on to make his debut for the first team in Serie B in 2015, and later broke into the starting line-up under manager Roberto Stellone during the 2016–17 season, making 11 appearances for the club in total. ^{[3] [4]}

His performances caught the attention of Fiorentina, and he was later sent on loan to join the Florentine youth side in order to take part in the Torneo di Viareggio in 2016, during which he scored a goal in a 1–1 draw against Argentine side Belgrano; the senior side eventually acquired him from Bari on a permanent basis that year for €400,000. After six months with the primavera side, in 2017 he was then sent on loan to Cremonese in Serie B for two seasons in 2017, where he made 53 appearances in total, scoring 5 goals. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

In 2019, he returned to Fiorentina, and was included in Vincenzo Montella's first team plans; he went on to make his Serie A debut against Napoli later that year. ^{[3] [4]}

In July 2024, Castrovilli joined Lazio on a free transfer. ^[6]

International career

Castrovilli made his senior debut for Italy under manager Roberto Mancini, on 15 November 2019, coming on as a late substitute for Lorenzo Insigne in a 3–0 away win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a Euro 2020 qualifier. ^[7]

Following an injury to Lorenzo Pellegrini, Castrovilli was called-up in June 2021 by Mancini for Italy's UEFA Euro 2020 squad. ^[8] He made his first and only appearance of the tournament in Italy's final group match, a 1–0 victory against Wales in Rome on 20 June, coming on as a late second-half substitute for Matteo Pessina; the result allowed them to top their group. ^[9] On 11 July, Castrovilli won the European Championship with Italy following a 3–2 penalty shoot-out victory over England at Wembley Stadium in the final, after a 1–1 draw in extra-time. ^[10]

Style of play

Castrovilli is a talented and versatile offensive–minded midfielder, with an eye for goal, who is capable of playing as an attacking midfielder or as an offensive–minded central midfielder, known as the mezzala role in Italian football jargon; he has also been deployed as a left winger, a position which allows him to cut onto his stronger right foot and shoot on goal. A fast, elegant, and dynamic player, despite not having a particularly low centre of gravity, he is capable of changing direction quickly, and is also known for his technique, dribbling skills, and use of feints, as well as his ability to exploit spaces and create a numerical advantage for his team when attacking with his late runs from deep. Due to his vision and intelligence, he is often involved in the build-up of attacking plays, although he is also known for his defensive work-rate, tackling, and ability to cover ground. ^{[3] [4] [11]}

Personal life

In 2022, Castrovilli married Rachele Risaliti, and they had their first child in February 2024.^{[ citation needed ]}

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 27 October 2024 ^[2]

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
Bari	2014–15	Serie B	1	0	–		–		–		1	0
	2016–17	Serie B	10	0	1	0	–		–		11	0
	Total		11	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	12	0
Cremonese (loan)	2017–18	Serie B	26	1	2	0	–		–		28	1
	2018–19	Serie B	26	4	1	1	–		–		27	5
	Total		52	5	3	1	0	0	0	0	55	6
Fiorentina	2019–20	Serie A	33	3	2	0	–		–		35	3
	2020–21	Serie A	34	5	3	0	–		–		37	5
	2021–22	Serie A	23	1	4	0	–		–		27	1
	2022–23	Serie A	15	2	4	0	7 [a]	2	–		26	4
	2023–24	Serie A	6	1	0	0	0	0	–		6	1
	Total		111	12	13	0	7	2	0	0	131	14
Lazio	2024–25	Serie A	6	0	0	0	0	0	–		6	0
Career total			180	17	17	1	7	2	0	0	204	20

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 8 September 2021 ^[2]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Italy	2019	1	0
	2020	0	0
	2021	3	0
Total		4	0

Honours

Fiorentina

• Coppa Italia runner-up: 2022–23 ^[12]
• UEFA Europa Conference League runner-up: 2022–23, ^[13] 2023–24

Italy

• UEFA European Championship: 2020 ^[10]

Orders

• 

  5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana : 2021 ^[14]

References

1. "Comunicato Ufficiale N. 228" [Official Statement No. 228](PDF) (in Italian). Lega Serie A. 12 June 2017. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
2. Gaetano Castrovilli at Soccerway
3. "Chi è Gaetano Castrovilli, l'ex ballerino che ha stregato la Fiorentina" (in Italian). Eurosport. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
4. "Castrovilli ci ha già fatto innamorare" (in Italian). L'Ultimo Uomo. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
5. "Viareggio, la Fiorentina con Castrovilli, ballerino mancato tra Kaka e Verratti". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 16 March 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
6. "Gaetano Castrovilli è un nuovo calciatore biancoceleste".
7. "Italy: Dominant display in Bosnia". Football Italia. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
8. "Figc, richiesta alla Uefa di sostituire il centrocampista Lorenzo Pellegrini" (in Italian). Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
9. Pritchard, Dafydd (20 June 2021). "Wales in last 16 despite defeat in Rome". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
10. McNulty, Phil (11 July 2021). "England lose shootout in Euro 2020 final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
11. "Bari calcio, la rivelazione Castrovilli: "Può essere la sorpresa di questo campionato"". la Repubblica (in Italian). 4 September 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
12. Porzio, Francesco (24 May 2023). "Inter win Coppa Italia as Lautaro Martinez brace downs Fiorentina, build momentum for Champions League final". CBS Sports. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
13. Stone, Simon (7 June 2023). "Fiorentina 1–2 West Ham United: Jarrod Bowen goal decides Europa Conference League final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
14. "Mattarella ha conferito onorificenze motu proprio ai giocatori e allo staff della Nazionale vincitrice del campionato europeo" (in Italian). quirinale.it. 16 July 2021. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.

External links

• Profile at the ACF Fiorentina website (in Italian)
• Gaetano Castrovilli at National-Football-Teams.com
• Gaetano Castrovilli at Soccerway
• Lega Serie A Profile Archived 2021-10-29 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian)
• FIGC Profile (in Italian)