Luciano Valente (footballer, born 2003)

Last updated

Luciano Valente
Luciano valente-1662326033.jpg
Valente in 2022
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-10-04) 4 October 2003 (age 21) [1]
Place of birth Groningen, Netherlands
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Feyenoord
Number 40
Youth career
2007–2014 GVAV-Rapiditas
2014–2023 Groningen
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2022–2025 Groningen 86 (9)
2025– Feyenoord 0 (0)
International career‡
2021–2022 Italy U19 3 (0)
2022 Italy U20 1 (0)
2025– Netherlands U21 8 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 June 2025
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 July 2025

Luciano Valente (born 4 October 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Eredivisie club Feyenoord. Born to an Italian father and a Dutch mother, he currently plays for the Netherlands at the youth international level, having represented Italy at the Under-20 level in the past.

Contents

Club career

Groningen

Born in Groningen, Valente started playing football at local club GVAV-Rapiditas, before joining Groningen's youth sector in 2014. [2] He subsequently came through the club's ranks, winning a national under-17 championship in 2019 in the process. In July 2021, he signed his first professional contract with Groningen and started training with the first team. [2]

On 14 August 2022, Valente made his professional debut for Groningen, coming in as a substitute for Laros Duarte in the 79th minute of the Eredivisie match against Ajax, which ended in a 6–1 defeat for his side. [3] On 8 September 2023, the midfielder extended his contract with the club until 2026, with an option for another season. [4] Groningen eventually finished bottom of the Eredivisie that season, ending their 23-year stay in the league. [5]

On 29 October 2023, Valente scored his first professional goal, during a 2–1 defeat to Cambuur in the Eerste Divisie. On 8 December 2023, he scored his first brace in a 2–0 league win over Telstar. [6] [7] Groningen promoted back to the Eredivisie that season, finishing as runners-up to Willem II. [8] Valente scored his first Eredivisie goal on 22 September 2024, during a 2–1 derby defeat to Heerenveen. On 14 May 2025, in what turned out to be his final game for Groningen, Valente was sent off with a red card for the first time, during a 2–2 draw against Ajax.

Feyenoord

On 2 July 2025, Valente signed a four-year contract at Feyenoord, which paid a reported fee of around € 7 million for him to Groningen. [9] At Feyenoord, Valente would play with squad number 40. [10]

International career

Being born from an Italian father and a Dutch mother, Valente has been able to choose to represent either countries internationally. [11] [12] He went on to represent the former country at various youth international levels, having featured for the Italian under-19 [4] [13] and under-20 national teams. [4] [14] However, he was called up for the Netherlansd under-21 team for the first time on 17 March 2025. [15] On 21 March 2025, Valente made his debut for the Netherlands under-21 team in a friendly away against Italy. [16] Four days later, he scored his first goal for the team in a friendly 0–2 win over Romania. [17]

On 30 May 2025, Valente was called up for the Dutch squad for the European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia by head coach Michael Reiziger, as a replacement for the injured Dirk Proper. [18] At the tournament, Valente appeared in all games and scored in the group games against Finland (2–2) and Ukraine (2–0 win), before the Netherlands were knocked out by England in the semi-finals.

Style of play

Valente is an attacking midfielder, who can also play in several positions through the middle. [11] He has been praised for his strength and his positioning, as well as his ability to create chances, either for himself or his team-mates. [11]

Personal life

His father, Roberto, is Italian and works at a local pizzeria in Haren. [12]

Career statistics

As of match played 14 May 2025 [19]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational CupContinentalTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Groningen 2022–23 Eredivisie 20020—220
2023–24 Eerste Divisie 34751—398
2024–25 Eredivisie32210—252
Total86981—9410
Feyenoord 2025–26 Eredivisie00000000
Career total86981009410

    References

    1. ↑ Luciano Valente at WorldFootball.net
    2. 1 2 "Valente tekent contract, Jahren versterkt FC op huurbasis" (in Dutch). FC Groningen. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
    3. ↑ "Ajax vs. Groningen 6 - 1". Soccerway. 14 August 2022.
    4. 1 2 3 "Nieuw contract voor Valente bij FC Groningen" (in Dutch). FC Groningen. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
    5. ↑ "Pepi's 12th goal not enough, Groningen relegated to 2nd tier". Associated Press. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
    6. ↑ "Willem II juicht heel laat in Den Haag, NAC en Groningen klimmen" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
    7. ↑ Heij, Andor (8 December 2023). "Luciano Valente schiet FC Groningen langs Telstar". OOG Groningen (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
    8. ↑ "FC Groningen returns to the Eredivisie after just one season". Eredivisie. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
    9. ↑ "Feyenoord presenteert Luciano Valente: 'Er is altijd maar één optie geweest'" [Feyenoord presents Luciano Valente: 'There has always been only one option']. Voetbal International. 2 July 2025. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
    10. ↑ "Luciano Valente tekent bij Feyenoord" [Luciano Valente signs with Feyenoord] (in Dutch). Feyenoord. 2 July 2025. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
    11. 1 2 3 Nalesso, Pietro (5 November 2021). "Luciano Valente, chi è il nuovo azzurrino per Nunziata". MondoPrimavera (in Italian). Retrieved 9 September 2023.
    12. 1 2 "Valente: 'Vertrouwen van de club doet me heel goed'" (in Dutch). FC Groningen. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
    13. ↑ "Grazie ad una rete di Degli Innocenti, gli Azzurrini vincono la prima amichevole con l'Ungheria" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
    14. ↑ "A Varese tris dell'Italia contro la Svizzera. I gol di Montevago, Fabbian e De Nipoti" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
    15. ↑ Kruijt, Bart (17 March 2025). "Bijzonder Jong Oranje-debuut lonkt voor opgeroepen Valente" [Special Jong Oranje debut beckons for called-up Valente] (in Dutch). Voetbal International . Retrieved 2 July 2025.
    16. ↑ "Valente debuteert voor Jong Oranje in 'zijn' Italië: "Een jongensdroom"" [Valente makes his debut for Jong Oranje in 'his' Italy: "A boyhood dream"] (in Dutch). ESPN. 21 March 2025. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
    17. ↑ "Wereldgoal Valente absolute hoogtepunt bij oefenzege Jong Oranje in Roemenië" [Valente's world goal is the absolute highlight in the Dutch U21 practice win in Romania] (in Dutch). ESPN. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
    18. ↑ "FC Groningen-talent Valente na afhaken Proper alsnog met Jong Oranje naar EK" [FC Groningen talent Valente to go to European Championship with Jong Oranje after dropping out of Proper] (in Dutch). NU.nl. 30 May 2025. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
    19. ↑ "Luciano Valente". soccerway.com.
    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.