User:Rmudg/Roberto Piccoli

Roberto Piccoli (born in Bergamo, Italy on 27 January 2001) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a center-forward for Serie A club Genoa, on loan from Atalanta.

Club career
 Youth career 

Piccoli began playing football at the age of 10 for Tritium Calcio, which plays in the fourth division of Italian football. At the age of 13, Piccoli made a move to the Atalanta youth academy after being noticed by Maurizio Costanzi, head of Atalanta youth development. He would remain with Atalanta for the entirety of his youth career.

Piccoli had a successful youth career while playing for Atalanta in the Campionato Primavera 1. In the 2018/19 season, Piccoli scored 14 goals in the league which eventually helped his Atalanta side 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.

 Spezia Calcio 

2020 - 2021 (loan)

On 15 September 2020, he joined Spezia on a season-long loan.

Piccoli scored his first goal for Spezia in a 1-2 loss on 20 December 2020 against Inter Milan.

 Genoa 

2022 (loan)

Joined Genoa on loan for the remainder of the 2021/22 season after spending the first half of the season with Atalanta.

Piccoli made his Genoa debut against Roma coming on as a substitute on 2 February 2022 in a 0-0 draw.

Atalanta

Piccoli made his professional debut in a 0–0 Serie A tie with Empoli on 15 April 2019.

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. This was his first goal for the Bergamo club in the top flight.

Piccoli has made a total of 15 appearances for Atalanta in Serie A, while only scoring one goal for the Bergamo club.

International career
 Youth 

Roberto Piccoli made his first appearance in the Italian national team setup when he came on as a sub for the Italy U15's in a friendly match against England U15 on 24 April 2016 where the Italians were defeated 2-3.

With the Italy U19 squad he took part in the 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. While qualifying for the 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Roberto Piccoli scored two goals in a 2-0 victory against the Serbian U19's on 26 March 2019. 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.

On 3 September 2021 he made his debut with the Italy U21 squad, playing as a starter in the qualifying match won 3–0 against Luxembourg. 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.

 Senior 

Roberto Piccoli has yet to make his senior debut for the Italian national team.

Style of play
Regarded as a talented young prospect, Piccoli is a player with good technique and a tall stature of 1.87 meters, 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 Roberto Piccoli as great young talent who is a harder worker and a player that brings great value to the team.

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.

Personal life
On 22 January 2021, Roberto Piccoli met Pope Francis

Piccoli has a passion for cycling, which he uses to maintain fitness.

Honors
Atalanta
 * 2x Italian youth champion (Primavera) 18/19,19/20
 * Italian Supercoppa Winner (Primavera) 19/20

Individual


 * Italian Golden Boy: 2021
 * 20 man shortlist for the European Golden Boy award: 2021