Giovanni Di Lorenzo

For the journalist, see Giovanni di Lorenzo (journalist).

Giovanni Di Lorenzo

Di Lorenzo playing for Napoli in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Giovanni Di Lorenzo [1]
Date of birth	(1993-08-04) 4 August 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, Italy
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Right-back
Team information
Current team	Napoli
Number	22
Youth career
2004–2009	Lucchese
2009–2010	Reggina
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2015	Reggina	58	(0)
2012–2013	→ Cuneo (loan)	27	(0)
2015–2017	Matera	58	(3)
2017–2019	Empoli	73	(6)
2019–	Napoli	197	(14)
International career‡
2013	Italy U20	3	(0)
2013	Italy U21	3	(0)
2019–	Italy	44	(5)
Medal record Men's Football Representing   Italy UEFA European Championship Winner 2020 Europe UEFA Nations League 2021 Italy 2023 Netherlands CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions Runner-up 2022 England
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:46, 25 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 November 2024

Giovanni Di Lorenzo (born 4 August 1993) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Serie A club Napoli, which he captains, and the Italy national team.

Club career

Early career with Reggina and loan to Cuneo

Di Lorenzo began his career with the Reggina youth system in 2009. On 29 May 2011, he made his professional debut for the senior side in a Serie B match at Sassuolo. He spent the 2012–13 season on loan with Lega Pro Prima Divisione side Cuneo, collecting 27 appearances and drawing attention due to his promising performances. ^[2]

Matera and Empoli

Between 2015 and 2017, Di Lorenzo played for Matera, collecting 58 appearances and scoring 3 goals. ^[2]

Di Lorenzo was signed by Empoli in August 2017. ^[3] After helping the side achieve promotion to Serie A, he made his debut in the Italian top flight on 19 August 2018 against Cagliari; in the return fixture against the same opponent, he scored his first Serie A goal. ^[2]

Napoli

On 7 June 2019, Di Lorenzo joined Napoli for €8 million. ^[4] During his first year at Napoli, Di Lorenzo became a first team starter, taking them to seventh in the Serie A and helping them secure a win against Juventus in the Coppa Italia Final. ^[5] Napoli also reached the Round of 16, in the Champions League, ^[6] with Di Lorenzo getting 2 assists and playing every game. In his second year at the club, he helped guide the team into the Round of 32, at the Europa League, however, they lost to Granada, ^[7] 3–2 on aggregate. Napoli also finished fifth in the league. Di Lorenzo has scored 7 goals for Napoli, in the League and Domestic Cups. ^[8]

On 15 July 2020, the right-back was linked to a move with Manchester United, ^[9] but instead opted to sign a 5 year deal with Napoli, seeing him remain at the club until 2026. ^[10]

On 14 July 2022, Di Lorenzo was named the new Napoli club captain following the departures of Lorenzo Insigne and Kalidou Koulibaly. ^[11] On 4 October, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 6–1 away win over Ajax during the 2022–23 season. ^[12]

International career

Di Lorenzo has represented Italy at U20 and U21 youth levels. ^[13]

On 14 August 2013, Di Lorenzo made his debut with the Italy U21 national team under the guidance of coach and former Italian International footballer Luigi Di Biagio in a friendly match against Slovakia which Italy went on to win 4–1.

He made his senior international debut on 15 October 2019, playing as a starter in a 5–0 away win against Liechtenstein, in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match. ^[14]

In June 2021, he was included in Italy's 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020 by manager Roberto Mancini. ^[15] After beating Belgium on July 2, Di Lorenzo gained notoriety by celebrating his victory by taking off his shorts and running around in his briefs. ^[16] On 11 July, Di Lorenzo 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; during the final, Di Lorenzo played the entire match. ^[17]

On 8 September, Di Lorenzo scored his first goal for the Italy senior national team, the final goal of 5–0 home win over Lithuania in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier; he had also contributed to Giacomo Raspadori's first goal for Italy, the third of the match. ^{[18] [19] [20]}

Style of play

Initially a forward in his youth, Di Lorenzo was nicknamed "Batigol" by his friends due to his goal-scoring ability, in honour of Argentine striker Gabriel Omar Batistuta. He later switched to playing in more defensive roles and was occasionally deployed as a holding midfielder, before being moved to his current position of right-back. A versatile player, he is also capable of playing as a centre-back, an attack-minded wing-back or a right winger due to his offensive qualities. Although he is not the quickest player, Di Lorenzo is tall, possesses good technique, can play with both feet and is known for his stamina, physical qualities and ability in the air. ^{[2] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]} While he is mainly known for his offensive contribution, he is also a strong defender, and is known for his consistency, which led pundits to rate him as one of the best right-backs in both Serie A and world football in his prime. ^{[26] [27] [28]} He has also stood out for his leadership. ^[29]

Personal life

Di Lorenzo was born in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana ^[30] to Campanian parents from Bucciano in the province of Benevento. ^[31] On May 25, 2022 he married the Italian Clarissa Franchi in the church of Segromigno in Monte, in the province of Lucca. ^[32] The couple have two daughters: Azzurra and Carolina. ^[33]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 25 January 2025 ^[34]

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
Reggina	2010–11	Serie B	1	0	–		–		–		1	0
	2011–12		1	0	–		–		–		1	0
	2013–14		20	0	–		–		–		20	0
	2014–15	Lega Pro	36	0	2	0	–		2	0	40	0
	Total		58	0	2	0	–		2	0	62	0
Cuneo (loan)	2012–13	Lega Pro	27	0	–		–		1	0	28	0
Matera	2015–16	Lega Pro	33	2	1	0	–		–		34	2
	2016–17		24	1	7	0	–		2	1	33	2
	2017–18		1	0	2	0	–		–		3	0
	Total		58	3	10	0	–		2	1	70	4
Empoli	2017–18	Serie B	36	1	0	0	–		–		36	1
	2018–19	Serie A	37	5	1	0	–		–		38	5
	Total		73	6	1	0	–		–		74	6
Napoli	2019–20	Serie A	33	3	5	0	8 [a]	0	–		46	3
	2020–21		36	3	4	1	8 [b]	0	1 [c]	0	49	4
	2021–22		33	1	1	0	8 [b]	0	–		42	1
	2022–23		37	3	0	0	10 [a]	2	–		47	5
	2023–24		36	1	1	0	8 [a]	1	2 [c]	0	47	2
	2024–25		22	3	2	0	–		–		24	3
	Total		197	14	13	1	42	3	3	0	255	18
Career total			419	24	26	1	42	3	8	1	490	28

1. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearance(s) in Supercoppa Italiana

International

As of match played 17 November 2024 ^[35]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Italy	2019	2	0
	2020	3	0
	2021	14	2
	2022	6	1
	2023	7	0
	2024	12	2
Total		44	5

Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Di Lorenzo goal. ^[35]

List of international goals scored by Giovanni Di Lorenzo

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 September 2021	Stadio Città del Tricolore, Reggio Emilia, Italy	15	Lithuania	5–0	5–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	12 November 2021	Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy	18	Switzerland	1–1	1–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	16 November 2022	Arena Kombëtare, Tirana, Albania	24	Albania	1–1	3–1	Friendly
4	14 October 2024	Stadio Friuli, Udine, Italy	42	Israel	2–0	4–1	2024–25 UEFA Nations League A
5					4–1

Honours

Empoli

• Serie B: 2017–18 ^[34]

Napoli

• Serie A: 2022–23 ^[36]
• Coppa Italia: 2019–20 ^[37]

Italy

• UEFA European Championship: 2020 ^[17]
• UEFA Nations League third place: 2020–21, ^[38] 2022–23 ^[39]

Individual

• Serie A Team of the Year: 2021–22, ^[40] 2022–23 ^[41]
• Serie A Team of the Season: 2022–23 ^[42]
• ESM Team of the Year: 2022–23 ^[43]

Orders

• 

  5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana : 2021 ^[44]

References

1. "Comunicato Ufficiale N. 32" [Official Statement No. 32](PDF) (in Italian). Lega Serie A. 4 September 2018. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
2. "Giovanni Di Lorenzo, primo acquisto del Napoli! 10 milioni all'Empoli" (in Italian). Europa Calcio. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
3. "Calciomercato Empoli, preso il difensore Di Lorenzo a titolo definitivo". tuttosport.com (in Italian). 30 August 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
4. "Empoli, Di Lorenzo: "Per tutti ero Bati. Sogno l'azzurro, ma prima la salvezza"" [Empoli, Di Lorenzo: "For everyone I was Bati. I dream of blue, but first of all salvation"]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 6 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
5. "Match Report | 2019-20 | Finale | Lega Serie A". www.legaseriea.it (in Italian). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
6. UEFA.com. "Barcelona-Napoli 2020 History | UEFA Champions League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
7. UEFA.com. "Granada-Napoli 2021 History | UEFA Europa League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
8. "Giovanni Di Lorenzo Domestic League Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
9. "Di Lorenzo's agent responds to Man Utd transfer talk after successful Euro 2020 campaign | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
10. "Official: Di Lorenzo extends with Napoli - Football Italia". 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
11. "Spalletti on Kim, Kvicha and New Napoli Captain - Football Italia". 14 July 2022.
12. Church, Ben (5 October 2022). "'Even Maradona would have been proud,' says coach as Napoli thrashes Ajax 6-1 in Champions League". CNN.
13. "Inter go for Di Lorenzo?" (in Italian). Football Italia staff. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
14. "Historic manita in Liechtenstein". Football Italia. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
15. "Mancini names uncapped striker Raspadori in final Italy Euro 2020 squad". Reuters. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
16. "Italy strips down to underwear in odd celebration after Euro 2020 win over Belgium". Fox News . 3 July 2021.
17. McNulty, Phil (11 July 2021). "England lose shootout in Euro 2020 final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
18. "Italy-Lithuania". UEFA.com. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
19. "L'Italia torna a vincere: 5-0 show alla Lituania". sport.sky.it (in Italian). Retrieved 12 September 2021.
20. "Italia-Lituania 5-0: Kean, Raspadori e Di Lorenzo rimettono gli azzurri sulla strada per i Mondiali". la Repubblica (in Italian). 8 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
21. "Giovanni Di Lorenzo, una sommessa vinta da Vittorio Tosto, con un futuro tutto da scrivere" (in Italian). GazzettaToscana.it. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
22. Matrone, Pierpaolo (13 October 2019). "ESCLUSIVA - Di Lorenzo, lì dove tutto cominciò: "Per noi resta 'Giovannino', tanto era già il più alto di tutti! Non lo sentivi, pensava solo a sudare. Fece tanti gol..."" (in Italian). Tutto Napoli. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
23. "Napoli, il nuovo ti fa bello: 4 nuovi acquisti già in gol". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 21 September 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
24. Giagnorio, Francesco (15 January 2021). "Quali sono le differenze per l'Italia con la presenza in campo di Toloi o Di Lorenzo?" (in Italian). 90min.com. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
25. "Di Lorenzo becomes Napoli's 1st summer signing for reported €10M fee". theScore.com. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
26. "Capello highlights Di Lorenzo-Dimarco battle in Napoli vs Inter - Football Italia". football-italia.net. 3 December 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
27. "The 25 best right backs in world football - ranked". 90min.com. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
28. Barracane, Marianna (13 October 2023). "Giovanni Di Lorenzo, come è diventato uno dei migliori terzini italiani" (in Italian). Esquire. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
29. Moore, Steven (3 February 2023). "Giovanni Di Lorenzo Interview". TLN. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
30. "Di Lorenzo convocato all'Europeo a 12 anni dal debutto in rossonero". Il Tirreno (in Italian). 3 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
31. De Luca, Francesco (24 November 2022). "Capitani, Giovanni Di Lorenzo cuore di Napoli: domani il libro omaggio con il Mattino". Il Mattino (in Italian). Naples. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
32. "Giovanni Di Lorenzo sposa Clarissa Franchi: l'abito bianco è con la scollatura effetto tattoo". Stile e Trend Fanpage (in Italian). 25 June 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
33. "Giovanni Di Lorenzo papà bis, è nata la figlia Carolina: "Benvenuto amore nostro"". Spettacolo Fanpage (in Italian). 28 February 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
34. "Giovanni Di Lorenzo". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
35. "Di Lorenzo, Giovanni" (in Italian). FIGC. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
36. "Napoli win Serie A for first time in 33 years". BBC Sport. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
37. "Coppa: Napoli beat Juventus on penalties". Football Italia. 17 June 2020.
38. "Italy 2-1 Belgium: Azzurri secure third place at Nations League finals". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). 10 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
39. "Netherlands 2-3 Italy: Azzurri claim third place with thrilling win". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). 18 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
40. "Milan pigliatutto, premiati Pioli, Maldini e 4 giocatori. Leao il migliore: "Qui sono maturato"". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
41. "Gran Galà del Calcio: tutti i vincitori della serata LIVE". Sky Sport (in Italian). 4 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
42. "EA Sports™ FIFA 23 Serie A Team of the Season". Serie A. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
43. Evans, Jamie (1 August 2023). "ESM Team of the 2022-23 Season". World Soccer. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
44. "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 SSC Napoli website
• Profile at the Italian Football Federation website (in Italian)
• Giovanni Di Lorenzo – UEFA competition record ( archive )