Roberto Piccoli

Last updated

Roberto Piccoli
Piccoli Cagliari 2024 (Roberto Piccoli).jpg
Piccoli with Cagliari in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth (2001-01-27) 27 January 2001 (age 24)
Place of birth Bergamo, Italy
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) [1]
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Fiorentina
Number 91
Youth career
2011–2019 Atalanta
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2019–2025 Atalanta 15 (1)
2020–2021 → Spezia (loan) 20 (5)
2022 → Genoa (loan) 5 (0)
2022–2023 → Hellas Verona (loan) 7 (0)
2023 → Empoli (loan) 15 (2)
2023–2024 → Lecce (loan) 35 (5)
2024–2025 → Cagliari (loan) 37 (10)
2025 Cagliari 0 (0)
2025– Fiorentina 8 (1)
International career‡
2016 Italy U15 3 (0)
2016–2017 Italy U16 14 (4)
2018 Italy U18 3 (2)
2018–2020 Italy U19 22 (5)
2021 Italy U21 4 (0)
2025– Italy 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11:20, 11 November 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 01:18, 15 October 2025 (UTC)

Roberto Piccoli (born 27 January 2001) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Fiorentina and the Italy national team.

Contents

Club career

Youth

Piccoli began playing football at the age of ten for Tritium Calcio, which plays in the fourth division of Italian football. At the age of thirteen, he made a move to the Atalanta youth academy after being noticed by Maurizio Costanzi, head of Atalanta youth development. Piccoli remained with Atalanta for the entirety of his youth career. [2]

Piccoli had a successful youth career while playing for Atalanta in the Campionato Primavera 1. In the 2018–19 season, he scored 14 goals in the league which eventually helped Atalanta lift the Campionato Primavera 1 trophy. Piccoli had a similar performance in the 2019–20 season where he scored a total of 7 goals in the league which eventually saw his Atalanta side lift the Campionato Primavera 1 title once again. [3]

Atalanta

Piccoli made his professional debut in a goalless Serie A draw against Empoli on 15 April 2019. [4] On 15 September 2020, he joined Spezia on a season-long loan. [5] Piccoli scored his first goal for Spezia in a 1–2 loss against Inter Milan on 20 December 2020. [6]

Returning to Atalanta on 21 August 2021, Piccoli came on as a substitute for Atalanta in an away match against Torino and scored the winning goal in the 93rd minute, which was first goal for the Bergamo-based club in the top flight. [7] Piccoli made several more substitute appearances for Atalanta throughout the season, and was named in the starting lineup for the first time against Lazio on 22 January 2022. [8] Piccoli has made a total of 15 appearances for Atalanta in Serie A whilst only scoring one goal for Atalanta. [9]

Loan moves

In 2022, Piccoli joined Genoa on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season after spending the first half of the season with Atalanta. [10] He made his league debut against in a goalless draw against Roma as a substitute on 5 February. [11] He made five appearances for Genoa during the remainder of the season, but did not score any goals. [12] On 30 June, Piccoli joined Hellas Verona on loan for the 2022–23 season. [12] [13]

On 31 January 2023, Piccoli moved on loan to Empoli for one season, with an option to buy for Empoli and counter-option to buy back for Atalanta. [14] On 31 August, his loan to Empoli was cut short and he moved on loan to Lecce instead, with an option to buy. [15]

Later career

Piccoli lining up for Cagliari in 2024 RobertoPiccoli.png
Piccoli lining up for Cagliari in 2024

On 17 July 2024, Piccoli moved to Cagliari on loan with an option to buy set at €12 million. [16] On 24 June 2025, the club activated the option to buy and he signed a four-year contract. [17] On 25 August 2025, Piccoli joined another Serie A club Fiorentina, reportedly signing a five-year contract for a fee of €25 million. [18]

International career

Youth

On 24 April 2016, Piccoli debuted for Italy U15 as a substitute in a friendly match against England U15 on 24 April 2016, in which the Italians lost 2–3. [19] [ unreliable source? ]

With the Italy U19 squad Piccoli took part in the 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. While qualifying for the 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, he scored two goals in a 2–0 victory against the Serbian U19 on 26 March 2019. [20] Piccoli's U-19 side was knocked out in the group stage of the tournament after suffering defeats to both Portugal U19 and Spain U19. [21]

On 3 September 2021, Piccoli made his debut with the Italy U21 squad as a starter in a 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification won 3–0 against Luxembourg. [22] Roberto Piccoli's last appearance for the Italy U21 squad was on 16 November 2021, playing as a starter in a friendly match won 4–2 against Romania U21. [23]

Senior

Following an impressive first-half to the 2024-25 Serie A season with Cagliari, Piccoli spoke about his hopes for a possible call-up for the Italian senior team in an exclusive interview with Steven Moore of Canadian Serie A Broadcaster TLN TV, stating that he is "focused on working hard at the club level" as this is "the only way you can get to the national team." [24] On 14 October 2025, he eventually debuted in a 3–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification home victory against Israel, replacing Mateo Retegui in the 90th minute. [25]

Style of play

Regarded as a talented young prospect, Piccoli is a player with good technique and a tall stature of 193 centimeters, while mostly being deployed as a center-forward. His height allows him to be dangerous in the air. Gian Piero Gasperini, Atalanta's head coach, describes Piccoli as great young talent who is a harder worker and a player that brings great value to the team. [26] [ unreliable source? ] [27] Piccoli describes himself as a center-forward who loves to exploit the depth of the defense, while being technically gifted but also explaining he can still improve in that area. Piccoli has said that he is inspired by the likes of Duván Zapata and Mario Mandžukić. [27]

Personal life

On 22 January 2021, Piccoli met Pope Francis. [28] [ unreliable source? ] He has a passion for cycling, which he uses to maintain fitness. [29]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 9 November 2025 [30]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCup Europe OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Atalanta 2018–19 Serie A 200000–20
2019–20 100000–10
2021–22 1210000–121
Total151000000151
Spezia (loan) 2020–21 Serie A20531––236
Genoa (loan) 2021–22 Serie A50–––50
Hellas Verona (loan) 2022–23 Serie A7010––80
Empoli (loan) 2022–23 Serie A132–––132
2023–24 2010––30
Total152100000162
Lecce (loan) 2023–24 Serie A35511––366
Cagliari (loan) 2024–25 Serie A371031––4011
Cagliari 2025–26 Serie A0011––11
Total37104200004112
Fiorentina 2025–26 Serie A81003 [a] 1–112
Career total14224104310015529

International

As of match played 14 October 2025
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Italy 202510
Total10

Honours

Atalanta

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Roberto Piccoli" (in Italian). Hellas Verona FC. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  2. ↑ "Piccoli, la bicicletta per mantenersi in forma e segnare valanghe di gol". La Giovane Italia (in Italian). 24 August 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2022.[ dead link ]
  3. ↑ "Archivio". Serie A (in Italian). Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "Atalanta vs. Empoli". Soccerway. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  5. ↑ "Roberto Piccoli per l'attacco delle Aquile" (Press release) (in Italian). Spezia. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  6. ↑ Benson, Ryan (12 February 2022). "Internazionale v Spezia Match Report". Goal . Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  7. ↑ "2021–22 Serie A: Torino vs Atalanta". Atalanta. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "Serie A, Lazio–Atalanta 0–0, pagelle: Demiral un drago, Luis Alberto invisibile, Gasperini disinnesca Sarri". Eurosport (in Italian). TNT Sports International. 22 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  9. ↑ "Roberto Piccoli". Serie A. 6 February 2022. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  10. ↑ "Roberto Piccoli È Rossoblù". Genoa C.F.C. (in Italian). 6 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022.
  11. ↑ "2021–22 Serie A: Genoa". Serie A. 5 February 2022. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022.
  12. 1 2 "Verona, ufficiale Piccoli: arriva in prestito dall'Atalanta". Sky Sport Italy (in Italian). 30 June 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  13. ↑ "Un nuovo attaccante per l'Hellas Verona: benvenuto, Roberto Piccoli!" (in Italian). Hellas Verona. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  14. ↑ "Roberto Piccoli è un nuovo calciatore azzurro". Empoli F.C. (Press release) (in Italian). 31 January 2023. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  15. ↑ "Piccoli È Un Nuovo Calciatore Del Lecce" [Piccoli is a New Lecce Player]. U.S. Lecce (in Italian). Lecce. 31 August 2023. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  16. ↑ "Piccoli al Cagliari". Cagliari (in Italian). Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  17. ↑ "Piccoli è del Cagliari" [Piccoli is at Cagliari] (in Italian). Cagliari Calcio. 24 June 2025. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  18. ↑ "Official: Roberto Piccoli joins Fiorentina. What are the details of the deal?". OneFootball. 25 August 2025. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  19. ↑ "Roberto Piccoli of Italy U15 competes with Bukayio Saka of England..." Getty Images. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Serbia U19 vs. Italy U19". Soccerway. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  21. ↑ "Under-19 Euro 2019: all the highlights". UEFA . 27 July 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  22. ↑ "Esordio con vittoria per la nuova Italia. Nicolato: "Ho visto un grande impegno, ma dobbiamo lavorare"" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  23. ↑ "Italy U21 vs. Romania U21". ESPN. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  24. ↑ Bettoni, Lorenzo (7 March 2025). "Piccoli: 'Kean the best Serie A striker'". Football Italia. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  25. ↑ "Piccoli, esordio Azzurro e occasione viola: da Gattuso a Pioli per prendersi la Fiorentina". Labaro Viola (in Italian). 15 October 2025. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  26. ↑ Golden Boy Gala Full Livestream, 13 December 2021, retrieved 4 February 2022
  27. 1 2 "Atalanta, Gasp lancia Piccoli: "Mi ispiro a Zapata e Mandzukic"". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 16 April 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  28. ↑ "Roberto Piccoli Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  29. ↑ "Roberto Piccoli, l'ultimo talento di Zingonia". Sky Sport Italy (in Italian). 2 May 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  30. ↑ "R. Piccoli". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  31. ↑ "Archivio". Serie A (in Italian). Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  32. ↑ "Supercoppa Primavera TIM on 21/1 in Bergamo". Atalanta. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  33. ↑ "UEFA Youth League in numbers". UEFA . Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  34. ↑ "Darwin e Gonçalo Ramos Galardoados" [Darwin and Gonçalo Ramos Awarded]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 3 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  35. ↑ "Piccoli wins the Italian Golden Boy 2021". Atalanta. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  36. ↑ Tolmich, Ryan (15 October 2021). "Golden Boy award: Pedri, Bellingham and Reyna among 20-player shortlist". Goal. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
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.