Luiz Felipe (footballer, born March 1997)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Ramosand the second or paternal family name is Marchi.

Luiz Felipe

Luiz Felipe playing for Lazio in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Luiz Felipe Ramos Marchi [1]
Date of birth	(1997-03-22) 22 March 1997 (age 27) [1]
Place of birth	Colina, São Paulo, Brazil
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) [1]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Al-Ittihad
Number	5
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2016	Ituano	17	(0)
2016–2022	Lazio	106	(2)
2016–2017	→ Salernitana (loan)	7	(1)
2022–2023	Betis	27	(0)
2023–	Al-Ittihad	19	(0)
International career‡
2017	Brazil U20	2	(0)
2019	Brazil U23	2	(0)
2022	Italy	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 August 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 June 2022

Luiz Felipe Ramos Marchi (born 22 March 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad. Born in Brazil and having previously represented his birth nation at youth levels, he plays for the Italy national team.

Club career

Early Years

Luiz Felipe began his football journey in the youth ranks of Colina Atlético, a team from his hometown, Colina, in the interior of the state of São Paulo. At the age of 13, during a trial, he played for 15 minutes in a friendly match against older players from the Ituano U20 team. Juninho Paulista, who was then the coordinator of the Ituano youth academy, was impressed by Luiz's performance and integrated him into Ituano’s youth setup. ^{[2] [3]}

Ituano

After impressing in the youth ranks and being regarded as a prospect for the first team, Luiz Felipe made his senior debut for Ituano in a 0–0 draw against Primavera in Indaiatuba, ^[4] during the 6th round of the 2015 Copa Paulista. ^[5]

Lazio

On August 26, 2016, Luiz Felipe traveled to Rome to undergo medical tests and sign a five-year contract with Lazio. ^[6] Lazio paid a fee of €500,000 for the transfer. ^[7]

Salernitana

After being signed by Lazio, Luiz Felipe was loaned to Salernitana, a club in Italy’s second division, Serie B, to gain experience. He made his debut for Salernitana on September 10, 2016, in a 2–1 win over Benevento, scoring the winning goal. ^[8]

Return to Lazio

Following a strong stint with Salernitana, Luiz Felipe was recalled by Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi and gradually became a key player for the team. ^[9] He scored his first goal for Lazio on December 26, 2018, in a 2–0 victory against Bologna in the 18th round of the 2018-19 Serie A. ^[10] His second goal came in a 3–1 win against Juventus on December 7, 2019, ending Lazio’s 16-year winless streak against Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. ^{[11] [12]} On January 15, 2021, Luiz Felipe reached the milestone of 100 appearances for Lazio during the 18th round of the 2020-21 Serie A against AS Roma, a match that Lazio won 3–0. ^[13] In March 2022, he announced he would not renew his contract with Lazio, seeking a new challenge in his career. ^[14] In total, he played 144 matches and scored three goals during his five seasons at Lazio. ^[15]

Real Betis

On July 5, 2022, Luiz Felipe signed a five-year contract with Real Betis, joining the La Liga side on a free transfer after leaving Lazio. ^[16]

International career

On 16 March 2019, Luiz Felipe was called up by the head coach of the Italy national under-21 football team, Luigi Di Biagio. Felipe would reject the call as a sign of his loyalty for his native Brazil; Luis Felipe would debut with Brazil national under-23 football team in 2019.

On 24 January 2022, Luiz Felipe accepted a call-up by Italy national football team manager Roberto Mancini to join the Azzurri for a three-day training camp in Coverciano. ^[17]

On 18 March 2022, Luiz Felipe was selected by Roberto Mancini to join the Italy national football team for a World Cup Qualifier match against North Macedonia national football team on 24 March 2022, making this his first call up to the Italian senior level for a match. ^[18]

Personal life

Luiz Felipe was born and raised in Colina, São Paulo, his given name being a homage to Brazilian football manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. ^[19]

He possesses Italian citizenship through jus sanguinis, through an Italian great-grandfather of his, originally from Vicenza but who subsequently settled in Brazil. ^[19]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 24 August 2024 ^[20]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			State league		National cup [a]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ituano	2015	Paulista	—		—		0	0	—		3 [b]	0	3	0
	2016	Série D	9	0	8	0	—		—		1 [b]	0	18	0
	Total		9	0	8	0	0	0	—		4	0	21	0
Salernitana (loan)	2016–17	Serie B	7	1	—		—		—		—		7	1
Lazio	2017–18	Serie A	18	0	—		3	0	10 [c]	0	0	0	31	0
	2018–19		17	1	—		3	0	5 [c]	0	—		25	1
	2019–20		26	1	—		1	0	2 [c]	0	1 [d]	0	30	1
	2020–21		14	0	—		0	0	4 [e]	0	—		18	0
	2021–22		31	0	—		2	0	7 [c]	0	—		40	0
	Total		106	3	—		9	0	28	0	1	0	144	3
Real Betis	2022–23	La Liga	23	0	—		1	0	5 [c]	0	1 [f]	0	30	0
	2023–24		4	0	—		—		—		—		4	0
	Total		27	0	—		1	0	5	0	1	0	34	0
Al-Ittihad	2023–24	Saudi Pro League	18	0	—		2	0	5 [g]	0	2 [h]	0	27	0
	2024–25		1	0	—		0	0	—		—		1	0
	Total		19	0	—		2	0	5	0	2	0	28	0
Career total			168	3	8	0	12	0	38	0	8	0	234	3

1. Includes Copa do Brasil, Coppa Italia, Copa del Rey, King Cup
2. Appearances in Copa Paulista
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
5. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
6. Appearance in Supercopa de España
7. Appearances in AFC Champions League
8. Appearances in Saudi Super Cup

Honours

Lazio

• Coppa Italia: 2018–19
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2017, 2019

References

1. "FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023™: List of Players: Al Ittihad FC" (PDF). FIFA. 6 December 2023. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
2. "Quem é Luiz Felipe, o zagueiro que recusou a seleção da Itália para defender o Brasil | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
3. "Falta de chuteira, incentivo do avô e orgulho da mãe: a história de Luiz Felipe até chegar à Azzurra". ge (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 17 May 2022.
4. Comunicação, Drive. "Oriundo da base, zagueiro Luiz Felipe comemora sequência no Ituano". Federação Paulista Futebol (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
5. "Primavera-SP x Ituano - Copa Paulista 2015". globoesporte.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
6. GloboEsporte.comItu, Por; SP*. "Luiz Felipe, zagueiro do Ituano, faz exames e deve assinar com o Lazio". globoesporte.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 14 June 2021.
7. Periscópio, Jornal (1 August 2018). "Ex-Ituano poderá ser novidade na Seleção Brasileira" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
8. Nápoli, Daniel (11 October 2016). "Zagueiro Luiz Felipe estreia na Itália, marcando gol" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
9. "Destaque da Lazio nas últimas temporadas, Luiz Felipe completará 100 jogos pelo clube: "Privilégio"". esportes.yahoo.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
10. "Brasileiro Luiz Felipe Ramos celebra primeiro gol com a camisa da Lazio". ge (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
11. "Conheça Luiz Felipe, zagueiro brasileiro da Lazio que marcou gol na poderosa Juventus". OneFootball (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
12. "Luiz Felipe vibra com gol marcado contra Juventus, no italiano". Lance! (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
13. "Luiz Felipe completa 100 jogos pela Lazio em clássico contra a Roma nesta sexta: "Privilégio"". ge (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
14. "Convocado para a Itália, Luiz Felipe não renovará com a Lazio e negocia com o Bétis, da Espanha". ge (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 September 2022.
15. "Luiz Felipe despediu-se da Lazio depois de 5 anos para se juntar ao Betis". pt.besoccer.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 September 2022.
16. Bulla, Víctor (5 July 2022). "OFICIAL: El Betis ficha a Luiz Felipe Ramos, el primer fichaje bético 2022/23". 90min.com/es. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
17. "Nazionale, convocati per lo stage Balotelli, Joao Pedro, Luiz Felipe e Frattesi" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
18. "Luiz Felipe, Joao Pedro Called up for Italy Against North Macedonia". News 18. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
19. "Lazio, Luiz Felipe tra sogni e realtà. La madre: "Lui un predestinato"" (in Italian). La Lazio siamo noi. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
20. Luiz Felipe at Soccerway. Retrieved 22 January 2022.

External links

• Luiz Felipe at TuttoCalciatori.net (in Italian)
• Luiz Felipe at Soccerway