Stefano Sturaro

Stefano Sturaro
Personal information
Full name Stefano Sturaro
Date of birth (1993-03-09) 9 March 1993
Place of birth Sanremo, Italy
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Juventus
Number 27
Youth career
Sanremese
2008–2012 Genoa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2014 Genoa 16 (1)
2012–2013 → Modena (loan) 8 (0)
2014– Juventus 35 (2)
2014–2015 → Genoa (loan) 13 (0)
National team‡
2011 Italy U18 4 (1)
2011–2012 Italy U19 6 (0)
2014–2015 Italy U21 6 (1)
2016– Italy 4 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 May 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2 July 2016

Stefano Sturaro (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsteːfano stuˈraːro]; born 9 March 1993) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Juventus and the Italy national team.

Sturaro began his career with local club Sanremese, and was signed by Genoa in 2008. After four years in the Genoese youth system he was loaned to Modena in 2012. He returned to Genoa in 2013, with whom he made his Serie A debut on 25 August 2013. In July 2014 he moved to Juventus, where he won consecutive the domestic doubles in his first two seasons with the club.

At international level, he also represented Italy at under-18 and under-19 levels, and represented the Italy under-21 at the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He made his senior Italy debut on 6 June 2016 against Finland, and was included in the squad for UEFA Euro 2016.

Club career

Early career

Born in Sanremo, Italy, Sturaro began his career with local outfit, Sanremese before being scouted and signed by Serie A side Genoa in 2008. After joining the Ligurian club, he was assigned to the club's youth categories.

Genoa, Modena

After two seasons with the Primavera squad, Sturaro was called up to the first team, and was loaned out to Modena in the Serie B on 23 July 2012.[2] On 1 December he made his professional debut, playing the last 33 minutes in a 1–0 home win over Novara.[3] He returned to Genoa having made 8 league appearances during the season.

On 25 August 2013, Sturaro made his Serie A debut, coming on as a late substitute in a 0–2 away loss against Inter.[4] He finished the season with 16 appearances and scored his maiden professional goal on 2 March 2014 in a home win against Catania.

Juventus

On 1 July 2014, Sturaro signed a five-year contract with Juventus, for a €5.5 million fee plus bonuses up to €5.5 million (€2 million for 2014–15 season which achieved;[5] €3.5 million for 2015 onwards).[6] The agreement also confirmed that Sturaro will spend the 2014–15 campaign on loan at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris outfit.[6] He was recalled on 2 February of the following year.[7][8]

On 5 May 2015, Sturaro made his debut in the UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid. He was a contributor in Juventus' 2–1 success at the Juventus Stadium. In this same game he made an important interception against a point blank range header from James Rodríguez, this was vital as it proved to be a match winning moment in the game.[9] He scored his first goal for Juventus on 23 May 2015, in a 3–1 home win over Napoli, after a notable dribbling run, as Juventus celebrated winning the Serie A title for the fourth consecutive time.[10]

On 8 August 2015 he assisted a goal in Juventus's 2–0 win over Lazio in the 2015 Supercoppa Italiana.[11] He scored his first goal of the 2015–16 season on 29 November, netting Juventus's second goal in the 89th-minute of a 3–0 away win over Palermo.[12] On 23 February 2016, Sturaro scored his first Champions League goal, the equalizing goal, in a 2–2 home draw to Bayern Munich in Juventus's first round of 16 leg.[13]

International career

With the Italy Under-21 side,[14] he took part at the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship; he was sent off in the opening defeat 2–1 against eventual champions Sweden, and was banned for the remainder of the group stage as Italy were eliminated in the first round.[15]

On 31 May 2016, Sturaro was selected as part of Antonio Conte's Italy national senior side for Euro 2016.[16] He made his senior debut on 6 June, as he came off the bench in Italy's last friendly match before Euro 2016 against Finland in a 2–0 victory in Verona.[17]

Style of play

A quick, hard-working, tactically versatile player, Sturaro is capable of playing anywhere in midfield, but is usually deployed as a box-to-box, central, or defensive midfielder in front of the back-line, due to his qualities as a ball-winner, as well as his good technique, and subsequent capacity to start attacking plays after obtaining possession;[18][19][20][21] he is also capable of playing as a defender,[19] due to his physical attributes and ability in the air.[21] Regarded as one of the most promising young footballers in the world,[22] due to his work-rate, composure, tenacity, and ability to read the game,[21] his playing style has drawn comparisons with compatriot and 2006 World Cup winner Gennaro Gattuso.[20][22] Unlike Gattuso, however, Sturaro is also known for his offensive contribution, and his ability to make attacking runs and advance into good positions, which has also led him to be compared to former Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal.[21][23] Although right-footed, Sturaro is also capable of distributing and striking the ball accurately with his left foot.[21][24]

Statistics

Club

As of 14 May 2016[25]
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Modena (Loan)2012–138020——100
Genoa 2013–1416100——161
2014–1513020——150
Total 29120——311
Juventus2014–15121102[lower-alpha 1]0—151
2015–16191206[lower-alpha 1]110282
Total 312308110433
Career Total 683708110844
  1. 1 2 All appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of 2 July 2016
Italy national team
YearAppsGoals
201640
Total40

Honours

Club

Juventus[25]

References

  1. ↑ "Stefano Sturaro". juventus.com. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  2. ↑ Ufficiale: Sturaro e William in prestito al Modena (Official: Sturaro and William on loan to Modena); Libero 24x7, 23 July 2012 (Italian)
  3. ↑ "Modena 1–0 Novara" (in Italian). Yahoo! Eurosport. 1 December 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  4. ↑ "Inter 2–0 Genoa" (in Italian). Lega Serie A. 25 August 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Relazione finanziaria annuale al 30 giugno 2015" (PDF (1.24MB)) (in Italian). Juventus F.C. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Agreement with Genoa C.F.C. for the acquisition of the player Stefano Sturaro" (PDF). Juventus FC. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  7. ↑ "A rundown of the Bianconeri's winter transfer window". Juventus FC. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "A fresh face in morning training". Juventus FC. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  9. ↑ Kizzo HD, "Stefano Sturaro DEFENDING James Rodriguez Header Juventus vs Real Madrid 2–1 HD", Me, May 5, 2015. May 6, 2015.
  10. ↑ Fabiana Della Valle (23 May 2015). "Juve-Napoli 3–1: Allegri onora la festa, Benitez dice quasi addio alla Champions" [Juve-Napoli 3–1: Allegri honours the celebration, Benitez almost says goodbye to the Champions League] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  11. ↑ Stefano Cieri (8 August 2015). "Juventus-Lazio 2–0: Mandzukic-Dybala, Allegri fa festa con i nuovi" [Juventus-Lazio 2–0: Mandzukic-Dybala, Allegri celebrates with the new signings] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  12. ↑ "Palermo 0 Juventus 3: Four Serie A wins in a row for improving champions". Four Four Two. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "CL: Juve comeback holds Bayern". Football Italia. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "Sturaro, Stefano" (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  15. ↑ Francesco Oddi (18 June 2015). "Sturaro, che succede? Rosso e k.o., stecca la prova da leader dell'Under 21" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  16. ↑ "Italy include Juventus' Stefano Sturaro in Euro 2016 squad over Jorginho". espnfc.com. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  17. ↑ "Sturaro joy at Italy debut". Football Italia. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  18. ↑ Francesco Gambaro (17 March 2013). "IL TALENTINO ROSSOBLÙ 4 STEFANO STURARO" (in Italian). Il Giornale. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  19. 1 2 "Dal Genoa alla Juventus, Sturaro al settimo cielo: "Che sogno, Conte non molla mai"" (in Italian). Goal.com. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  20. 1 2 "Di Biagio: "Sturaro? E' un Gattuso. E Berardi arriverà al top"" (in Italian). Tuttosport. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 "Alla scoperta di Stefano Sturaro" (in Italian). Juventus.com. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  22. 1 2 "Cinq choses à savoir sur Stefano Sturaro, le nouveau Gattuso" [Five things to know about Stefano Sturaro, the new Gattuso] (in French). L'Équipe. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  23. ↑ "Juventus: Sturaro studia da Vidal" (in Italian). CalcioMercato.com. 1 December 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  24. ↑ "Sturaro ha fatto sentire la sua presenza nel trionfo della Juventus" (in Italian). Goal.com. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  25. 1 2 Stefano Sturaro profile at Soccerway. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
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