Luca Caldirola

Luca Caldirola

Caldirola warming up for Werder Bremen in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth	(1991-02-01) 1 February 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth	Desio, Italy
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) [1]
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Monza
Number	5
Youth career
1995–1999	Base 96
1999–2010	Inter Milan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2011	Inter Milan	0	(0)
2010–2011	→ Vitesse (loan)	11	(0)
2011–2013	Cesena	18	(0)
2011–2012	→ Inter Milan (loan)	0	(0)
2012–2013	→ Brescia (loan)	38	(0)
2013–2019	Werder Bremen	46	(1)
2015–2016	→ Darmstadt 98 (loan)	34	(0)
2017–2019	Werder Bremen II	3	(0)
2019–2021	Benevento	67	(8)
2021–	Monza	84	(3)
International career
2006–2007	Italy U16	14	(1)
2007–2008	Italy U17	9	(0)
2009	Italy U18	3	(0)
2009–2010	Italy U19	7	(0)
2010	Italy U20	1	(1)
2010–2013	Italy U21	31	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 June 2024

Luca Caldirola (born 1 February 1991) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Monza. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play as a left-back.

Club career

Inter Milan

2009–10 season

Caldirola started his career at Inter Milan, where he was the team captain at under-20 level (Primavera) and was occasionally called up to join the first team during the 2009–10 season, without making any appearances, however, on the pitch. ^[2] Caldirola also played for various youth teams in Lombardy as goalkeeper and midfielder before joined Inter ^[3] at the age of eight. ^[4] He played in a friendly match for the Inter first team in 2009. ^[5]

2010–11 season

On 29 June 2010, Inter loaned out Caldirola to Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem of the Eredivisie for the entire 2010–11 season; he is the second Italian player to be part of the Arnhem club, after Marco De Marchi. ^[6] Inter also reduced the age limit of its Primavera team to under-19 in 2010, keeping only three players born in 1991 in the 2010–11 season as back-ups for the first team.

Half of the registration rights of Caldirola — and Luca Garritano — were sold to Cesena as part of the deal that brought defender Yuto Nagatomo to the San Siro in June 2011, after a successful loan. ^[7] Half of the registration rights of Caldirola was valued €2.5 million; Caldirola signed a four-year contract. ^[8] Both Caldirola and Garritano returned to Inter in a temporary deal for the 2011–12 season.

2011–12 season

Caldirola with Inter Milan in the late 2011

On 7 December 2011, Caldirola made his first team debut for Inter in a UEFA Champions League group stage match against CSKA Moscow which ended in a 2–1 loss at San Siro. ^[9]

On 4 January 2012, Inter confirmed that Caldirola signed a loan deal until the end of the season with the Serie B outfit Brescia. ^[10]

2012–13 season

In June 2012, the co-ownership deal was renewed and Caldirola reported to Cesena in pre-season on 10 July 2012, where he played the first half of the season for the Romagna club before again being loaned to Brescia in January 2013, ^[11] where he finished the campaign with 15 league appearances.

In June 2013 Inter bought back Caldirola for €2.5 million, with Riccardo Melgrati and Thomas Pedrabissi moved to Cesena outright for €750,000 and €1 million respectively; Cesena also signed Yago Del Piero in co-ownership deal for €250,000, thus the deals only involves €500,000 cash to Cesena. ^[12]

Werder Bremen

On 26 June 2013, SV Werder Bremen confirmed the signing of Luca Caldirola from Inter on a four-year contract, ^[13] for a €2.5 million transfer fee. ^[14]

He missed most of the 2016–17 season due to injuries. ^[15] With his contract running out at the end of the month, he agreed to a two-year contract extension on 15 June 2017. ^[15]

After an envisaged transfer away from the club did not materialise in summer 2018, Caldirola trained with Werder Bremen's reserves in the first half of the 2018–19 season. ^[16]

Darmstadt 98 (loan)

On 15 July 2015, Caldirola was loaned out for a season to SV Darmstadt 98. ^[17]

Benevento

On 30 January 2019, Caldirola joined Italian Serie B side Benevento on a free transfer, returning to Italy after five years. ^{[18] [16]}

Monza

On 17 July 2021, Caldirola moved to Monza in the Serie B on a two-year contract. ^[19]

International career

Caldirola has represented his native country of Italy at all youth levels, from under-16 to under-20. ^[20]

On 17 November 2010, he made his debut with the Italy under-21 team in a friendly match against Turkey in a 2–1 victory played in Fermo.

In 2009, he participated at the UEFA Under-19 Championship with the Italians.

In May 2011, he was called-on by Ciro Ferrara to play the games of the 2011 Toulon Tournament. Under the management of Devis Mangia, in 2012, Caldirola was named captain of the under-21 side, where he led the Azzurini in the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 5 November 2023 ^[21]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [lower-alpha 1]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Vitesse	2010–11	Eredivisie	11	0	—		—		—		11	0
Inter Milan	2011–12	Serie A	—		—		1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	—		1	0
Brescia	2011–12	Serie B	19	0	—		—		—		19	0
Cesena	2012–13	Serie B	18	0	1	0	—		—		19	0
Brescia	2012–13	Serie B	19	0	—		—		—		19	0
Werder Bremen	2013–14	Bundesliga	33	0	1	0	—		—		34	0
	2014–15	Bundesliga	7	1	1	0	—		—		8	1
	2016–17	Bundesliga	5	0	0	0	—		—		5	0
	2017–18	Bundesliga	1	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
	Total		46	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	48	1
Darmstadt 98 (loan)	2015–16	Bundesliga	34	0	2	0	—		—		36	0
Werder Bremen II	2016–17	3. Liga	2	0	—		—		—		2	0
	2017–18	3. Liga	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	Total		3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Benevento	2018–19	Serie B	16	3	0	0	—		—		16	3
	2019–20	Serie B	33	3	1	0	—		—		10	3
	2020–21	Serie A	18	2	0	0	—		—		18	2
	Total		67	8	1	0	0	0	0	0	68	8
Monza	2021–22	Serie B	24	0	1	0	—		3	0	28	0
	2022–23	Serie A	27	2	0	0	—		—		27	2
	2023–24	Serie A	10	1	1	0	—		—		11	1
	Total		61	3	2	0	0	0	3	0	66	3
Career total			278	12	8	0	1	0	3	0	290	12

1. Includes Coppa Italia, DFB-Pokal
2. Appearance in UEFA Champions League

References

1. "Luca Caldirola". AC Monza. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
2. "Luca Caldirola joins SBV Vitesse". F.C. Internazionale Milano. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
3. "NAMES FOR THE FUTURE: LUCA CALDIROLA". F.C. Internazionale Milano. 28 April 2004. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
4. "Three youngsters with first team for TIM Trophy". F.C. Internazionale Milano. 13 August 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
5. "TIM Trophy: Inter 1–0 A.C. Milan". F.C. Internazionale Milano. 14 August 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
6. "Vitesse huurt Caldirola van Internazionale" (in Dutch). Vitesse. 29 June 2010. Archived from the original on 5 August 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
7. "Transfer market: Nagatomo belongs to Inter now". F.C. Internazionale Milano. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
8. A.C. Cesena SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2012 (in Italian)
9. Mark Doyle (7 December 2011). "Inter 1-2 CSKA Moscow: Russians snatch victory in San Siro to join Serie A side in knockout stages". Goal.com. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
10. "Transfer market: Caldirola joins Brescia on loan". inter.it. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
11. "Calciomercato Inter: Caldirola torna al Brescia" [Transfer market Inter: Caldirola returns to Brescia] (in Italian). Calciomercato.com. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
12. AC Cesena SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2013 (in Italian)
13. "Transfer fix! Vier-Jahresvertrag für Luca Caldirola" (in German). Werder Bremen. 26 June 2013. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
14. F.C. Internazionale Milano SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2013 (in Italian)
15. Hanke, Maik (15 June 2017). "WERDER BESTÄTIGT CALDIROLA-VERLÄNGERUNG". WerderStube (in German). Retrieved 15 June 2017.
16. "Caldirola-Wechsel zu Benevento Calcio perfekt". Deichstube (in German). Kreiszeitung. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
17. "Lilien leihen Luca Caldirola von Werder Bremen aus" (in German). SV Darmstadt 98. 15 July 2015. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
18. "UFFICIALE: Benevento, colpo Caldirola per la difesa" (in Italian). Retrieved 30 January 2019.
19. "Luca Caldirola è del Monza" [Luca Caldirola is a Monza player]. AC Monza (in Italian). 17 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
20. "NOME: CALDIROLA LUCA" (in Italian). FIGC.it. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
21. Luca Caldirola at Soccerway. Retrieved 13 November 2022.

External links

• Official website
• Profile at AC Monza
• Luca Caldirola – UEFA competition record ( archive )
• Luca Caldirola at Soccerway