Leonardo Pavoletti

Italian footballer (born 1988)

Leonardo Pavoletti
Pavoletti in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth (1988-11-26) 26 November 1988 (age 35)
Place of birth Livorno, Italy
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Cagliari
Number 30
Youth career
Gruppo Sportivo CNFO
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 Armando Picchi 59 (16)
2008–2009 Viareggio 26 (7)
2009–2010 Pavia 28 (9)
2010–2011 Juve Stabia 7 (0)
2011 Casale 11 (3)
2011–2012 Virtus Lanciano 36 (16)
2012–2015 Sassuolo 44 (12)
2013–2014 → Varese (loan) 33 (24)
2015–2017 Genoa 44 (23)
2017–2018 Napoli 6 (0)
2017–2018 → Cagliari (loan) 33 (11)
2018– Cagliari 135 (36)
International career‡
2019 Italy 1 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:47, 16 December 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2019

Leonardo Pavoletti (Italian pronunciation: [leoˈnardo pavoˈletti]; born 26 November 1988) is an Italian professional footballer who captains Serie A club Cagliari and plays for the Italy national team as a striker.

Early and personal life

Known to friends as 'Pavoloso', Pavoletti played tennis up until the age of ten, when he began playing football. His father Paolo is a tennis coach. He also owns a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig called Mou.[2]

Club career

Early career

Born in Livorno, Pavoletti started playing in the youth ranks of Gruppo Sportivo CNFO (Cantiere Navale Fratelli Orlando), he started his career at Armando Picchi. Then had spells at Viareggio, A.C. Pavia, S.S. Juve Stabia and Casale, showing good goalscoring form. He then went to Virtus Lanciano and was awarded the title of top scorer in 2011–12 Lega Pro Prima Divisione season, contributing to the promotion of the team with 16 goals in all competitions and 15 in the league.

Sassuolo

In the summer 2012, Pavoletti joined Sassuolo, scoring 5 goals in the first 4 league appearances for the Serie B side. However, during the season, he suffered a suspension of 40 days for doping, resulting in positive tests of tuaminoheptane after 26 December 2012 game against Livorno, Sassuolo lodged an appeal against the ban due to the assumption of Rinoflumicil, found in a nasal decongestant.[3] Pavoletti returned to help Sassuolo win th Serie B title and earn promotion to Serie A for the first time in their history, after playing 33 matches and scoring 11 goals.

After making only two appearances in Serie A for Sassuolo during the beginning of the 2013–14 season, on 2 September 2013, the last day of the Italian transfer window, Pavoletti joined Serie B side Varese on loan.

Varese loan

On 2 September 2013, Pavoletti went on loan to Varese with the right of purchasing his rights at the end of the season. He made his debut six days later, in a 3–0 away victory against Latina in the third game of the 2013–14 Serie B season, also marking the occasion by scoring the final goal of match. In the following game he scored a brace, this time at the expense of Pescara in a 3–2 defeat. He finished the season with 36 appearances and 25 goals, with four of them against Novara Calcio in the relegation playoffs after Varese finished 18th, with Pavoletti scoring a brace in a 2–0 victory and then a 2–2 draw to win 4–2 on aggregate to keep Varese in Serie B and condemning Novara Calcio to relegation. With 24 goals, including 4 in the playoffs, he finished as the second-highest goalscorer in Serie B, behind only Trapani striker Matteo Mancosu, who scored 26 goals.

On 17 June 2014, Varese exercised their option and signed 50% of the player's rights from Sassuolo in a co-ownership deal for a reported €800,000 fee.[4] However, the following day, on 18 June, Sassuolo immediately bought back the full rights to the player, for €400,000 net.[5]

Return to Sassuolo

Pavoletti's form during 2013–14 season for Varese reportedly alerted the attention of Steaua Bucharest, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Leeds United.[6] Pavoletti turned down a last minute transfer deadline deal on 31 August 2014 to Leeds United deciding to stay at Sassuolo where he would compete for places up front with highly rated strikers Simone Zaza, Nicola Sansone and Domenico Berardi.

On 13 December 2014, Pavoletti scored his first Serie A goal in Sassuolo's 2–1 loss against Palermo.[7]

After making 8 Serie A appearances, mainly as a substitute, towards the end of December 2014, Pavoletti was again linked with a move to English side Leeds United, he also attended Leeds' 2–0 loss against Wigan Athletic on 26 December, sitting alongside Leeds Sporting Director Nicola Salerno, Pavoletti also attended Leeds' training ground, ahead of an anticipated loan move in January 2015.[8]

Genoa

On 29 January 2015, after turning down a loan move to Leeds United, Pavoletti joined fellow Serie A side Genoa on loan[9] for free,[10][11] with an option to purchase.[9] In the same deal Francesco Acerbi moved in the opposite direction outright,[9] for an additional €1.8 million,[10] as well as Lorenzo Ariaudo moved to Genoa on loan.[9] Pavoletti had a successful spell scoring 6 goals in 10 Serie A games for Genoa. On 7 July 2015, Genoa signed Pavoletti[12] for €4 million transfer fee.[11][13]

Napoli

On 2 January 2017, Pavoletti joined Serie A club Napoli, for a reported fee of €18 million.[14][15]

Cagliari

On 30 August 2017, Pavoletti joined Cagliari on loan, with an obligation to buy at the end of season, for €10 million plus bonuses, making him the club's most expensive acquisition ever.[16][17] He signed a 1+4-year contract, which included a €1 million annual salary plus bonuses.[16][17] He made his club debut on 11 September against Crotone in a 1–0 home victory,[18] and scored his first goal for the club in a 2–3 loss at home to his former club Genoa on 15 October.[19][20] He finished his first season with the club with 11 goals in 33 appearances in Serie A, nine of which were headers, the most headed goals scored by any player in one of Europe's major leagues throughout the 2017–18 season.[21]

On 25 August 2019, Pavoletti was stretchered off just before half-time in an eventual 1–0 home defeat to Brescia in Cagliari's opening league match of the season; it was later revealed that he had injured the ACL and meniscus in his right knee, and would be ruled out for at least three months.[22][23][24]

International career

On 27 August 2016, Pavoletti was called up to the Italy senior squad by manager Gian Piero Ventura for a friendly against France on 1 September and a 2018 World Cup qualification match on 5 September against Israel.[25][26]

On 15 March 2019, Pavoletti received an international call up from Roberto Mancini for the team's UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Finland and Liechtenstein.[27] On 26 March, Pavoletti made his debut for the national team, also scoring his first goal, the final goal of a 6–0 home win over Liechtenstein.[28]

Style of play

Pavoletti has been described as a large, direct, and "old fashioned" centre-forward, due to his hold-up play with his back to goal and, in particular, his ability in the air, as well as the fact that he mainly operates in the penalty area; however, he is also known for his movement across the entire attacking area of the pitch. His height, combined with his heading accuracy, timing, and elevation give him an edge in winning aerial challenges; as such, many of his goals are from headers, and he often functions as a target-man. A tall, physically strong, determined, and hard-working right-footed striker, although he is neither particularly quick nor particularly skilful from a technical standpoint, he is known for his intelligent attacking movement, positional sense, and eye for goal, as well as his link-up play, and his ability to get on the end of his teammates' crosses and finish off chances in the six-yard box with his head as well as either foot.[nb 1]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 16 December 2023[48]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Juve Stabia 2010–11 Lega Pro 8 0 0 0 — — 8 0
Virtus Lanciano 2011–12 Lega Pro 33 15 3 1 — — 36 16
Sassuolo 2012–13 Serie B 33 11 2 0 — — 35 11
2013–14 Serie A 2 0 1 1 — — 3 1
2014–15 Serie A 9 1 3 0 — — 12 1
Total 44 12 6 1 0 0 0 0 50 13
Varese (loan) 2013–14 Serie B 36 20 1 0 — 2 4 39 24
Genoa 2014–15 Serie A 10 6 0 0 — — 10 6
2015–16 Serie A 25 14 1 1 — — 26 15
2016–17 Serie A 9 3 1 1 — — 10 4
Total 44 23 2 2 0 0 0 0 46 25
Napoli 2016–17 Serie A 6 0 4 0 — — 10 0
Cagliari (loan) 2017–18 Serie A 33 11 0 0 — — 33 11
Cagliari 2018–19 Serie A 32 16 2 2 — — 34 18
2019–20 Serie A 2 0 1 0 — — 3 0
2020–21 Serie A 31 4 3 0 — — 34 4
2021–22 Serie A 33 5 2 0 — — 35 6
2022–23 Serie B 26 7 2 0 — — 28 7
2023–24 Serie A 11 4 1 0 — — 12 4
Total 168 47 10 2 0 0 0 0 178 49
Career total 339 117 26 6 0 0 2 4 367 127

International

As of 26 March 2019[26]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Italy 2019 1 1
Total 1 1
Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pavoletti goal.
List of international goals scored by Leonardo Pavoletti[26]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 26 March 2019 Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma, Italy  Liechtenstein 6–0 6–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours

Sassuolo

Individual

References

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  2. ^ Menicucci, Paolo (3 January 2017). "Who is Napoli's new signing Leonardo Pavoletti? - UEFA Champions League - News - UEFA.com". UEFA.com. UEFA. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Sassuolo player fails doping test". Football Italia. 15 January 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  4. ^ "Leonardo Pavoletti, l'uomo duplicato" (in Italian). sportellate.it. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  5. ^ U.S. Sassuolo Calcio S.r.l. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2014 (in Italian), PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
  6. ^ "VIDEO Emoţii pentru Claudiu Keşeru? Steaua a găsit un vîrf care vine din Serie A şi a fost o maşină de goluri sezonul trecut" (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 29 November 2014.
  7. ^ "Palermo 2 Sassuolo 1". Goal.com. 13 December 2014.
  8. ^ "Pavoletti Given Leeds Tour". Football Italia. 27 December 2014.
  9. ^ a b c d "UFFICIALI: ARIAUDO, LAXALT, PAVOLETTI" (in Italian). Genoa C.F.C. 30 January 2015. Archived from the original on 31 January 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  10. ^ a b Genoa C.F.C. S.p.A. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2015, PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A. (in Italian)
  11. ^ a b U.S. Sassuolo Calcio S.r.l. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2015, PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A. (in Italian)
  12. ^ "Calciomercato: Leonardo Pavoletti ceduto al Genoa" (in Italian). U.S. Sassuolo Calcio. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  13. ^ Nicolò Schira (24 June 2015). "Genoa, Pavoletti riscattato: al Sassuolo vanno 4 milioni" [Genoa, Pavoletti acquired: 4 million go to Sassuolo] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  14. ^ "Il Napoli ufficializza l'acquisto di Pavoletti" [Napoli formalizes the purchase of Pavoletti] (in Italian). S.S.C. Napoli. 2 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  15. ^ "Sky: Pavoletti to Napoli is done". Football Italia. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Pavoletti in rossoblù" [Pavoletti in "red-blue"] (Press release) (in Italian). Cagliari Calcio. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  17. ^ a b "Cagliari, colpo Pavoletti: al Napoli vanno 10 milioni più bonus". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 29 August 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
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  19. ^ "Cagliari-Genoa 2-3, Rigoni super" (in Italian). /www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it. 15 October 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  20. ^ Guerra, Marco (15 October 2017). "Cagliari-Genoa 2-3, pagelle e tabellino". www.cagliarinews24.com (in Italian). Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  21. ^ "Cagliari, Pavoletti da record europeo: 9 gol di testa" (in Italian). www.unionesarda.it. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
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  24. ^ "Cagliari 0–1 Brescia". ESPN FC. 25 August 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
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  26. ^ a b c "PAVOLETTI LEONARDO" (in Italian). FIGC Database. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  27. ^ "Italy: Pavoletti & Quag in, Balotelli out". Football Italia. 15 March 2019.
  28. ^ "Euro 2020: Italy hit Liechtenstein for six". Football Italia. 26 March 2019.
  29. ^ "Preziosi: 'Simeone would suit Napoli'". Football Italia. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  30. ^ "Lucariello: "Preferisco Pavoletti a Zaza"" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. 14 November 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  31. ^ Luca Incoronato (1 January 2017). "Calciomercato Napoli, manca la firma per Pavoletti: Giuntoli pensa ai giovani" (in Italian). CalcioMercato.it. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  32. ^ "Genoa, Pavoletti killer d'area: tutti i goal segnati negli ultimi 11 metri" (in Italian). Goal.com. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  33. ^ Blair Newman (4 June 2016). "Scouting AC Milan Transfer Target Leonardo Pavoletti". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  34. ^ Simone Ducci (16 February 2019). "Cagliari-Parma, Pavoletti: "Vi svelo il segreto della mia elevazione"" (in Italian). www.calciomercato.it. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  35. ^ Blair Newman (30 April 2016). "AC Milan vs. Frosinone: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  36. ^ "Weekend numbers: Lionel Messi 335, Mo Salah 50, Lewandowski 200". ESPN FC. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  37. ^ Mina Rzouki (12 November 2016). "Napoli hunt for a hitman". Football Italia. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
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  39. ^ Roberto Carta (30 August 2017). "Cagliari, un ritardo… Pavoloso" (in Italian). www.cagliarinews24.com. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  40. ^ Furio Zara (15 May 2018). "Pavoletti e i grandi specialisti di testa dell'Italia e del mondo" (in Italian). www.calciomercato.com. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  41. ^ Brunetti, Alessandro (19 January 2016). "Da Borriello e Milito a Pavoletti, i grandi bomber forgiati da Gasperini" (in Italian). it.eurosport.com. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  42. ^ Bulfon, Donato (28 January 2016). "PROFILING – PAVOLETTI: il bomber inaspettato" (in Italian). www.pianetamilan.it. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  43. ^ Cardia, Ivan (1 November 2018). "Cagliari, Pavoletti: "Mi trovo bene. La testa? Arriveranno i gol di piede"" (in Italian). www.tuttomercatoweb.com. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  44. ^ Atturo, Emanuele (15 December 2016). "Pavoletti prendere o lasciare" (in Italian). www.ultimouomo.com. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  45. ^ "Pavoletti, l'elevazione è super. Lui scherza sui social: "Potevo fare meglio?". VIDEO" (in Italian). sport.sky.it. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  46. ^ Brunetti, Alessandro (19 January 2016). "Da Borriello e Milito a Pavoletti, i grandi bomber forgiati da Gasperini" (in Italian). Eurosport. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  47. ^ Cossu, Mauro (26 August 2018). "Cagliari, le pagelle di CM: Pavoletti è super, Romagna sfortunato" (in Italian). www.calciomercato.com. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  48. ^ a b "Leonardo Pavoletti". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  49. ^ "Bomber Lega Pro, Le Noci e Pavoletti capocannonieri della Prima Divisione B davanti a Evacuo" (in Italian). Lega Pro. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2016.

Notes

External links

  • Leonardo Pavoletti at TuttoCalciatori.net (in Italian)
  • Leonardo Pavoletti at Soccerway
  • Leonardo Pavoletti – UEFA competition record (archive) Edit this at Wikidata
  • FIGC Profile
  • v
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Cagliari Calcio – current squad