Davide Merola (born 27 March 2000) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward or a winger for Serie C Group B club Pescara.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 27 March 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward / Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Pescara | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2011 | Juve Sammaritana | ||
| 2011–2012 | Capua | ||
| 2012–2019 | Inter Milan | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019 | Inter Milan | 0 | (0) |
| 2019–2024 | Empoli | 4 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Arezzo (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Grosseto (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → Foggia (loan) | 27 | (9) |
| 2022–2023 | → Cosenza (loan) | 14 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | → Pescara (loan) | 50 | (24) |
| 2024– | Pescara | 5 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015 | Italy U15 | 8 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | Italy U16 | 9 | (5) |
| 2016–2017 | Italy U17 | 17 | (8) |
| 2017–2019 | Italy U18 | 12 | (8) |
| 2018–2019 | Italy U19 | 13 | (3) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:51, 13 October 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 July 2019 | |||
Club career
editHe began playing football in 2005, at the age of five, for Juve Sammaritana. Later he managed to get noticed with Capua by various observers from all over Italy. After having done several auditions, 2014 is bought by Inter.[1] On 2 July 2017 he signed a youth registration contract to stay at Inter Milan until 2020. He debuted with Primavera on 10 September 2017 in a Campionato Primavera 1 against Udinese and marked the occasion by scoring a goal. With the Inter Milan youth sector he was twice the top scorer and also won the Supercoppa Primavera, Primavera Championship and Torneo Viareggio. On 11 March 2019, he was summoned to play in the first team and debuted three days later, on the occasion of the UEFA Europa League, against Eintracht Frankfurt.[2]
On 20 August 2019 it was announced that Merola moved to Empoli.[3]
On 4 October 2020, he was loaned to Arezzo.[4] On 14 January 2021, he was sent on a new loan to Grosseto.[5]
On 18 August 2022, Merola moved on loan to Serie B side Cosenza.[6]
On 31 January 2023, Merola joined Serie C side Pescara on loan with a conditional obligation to buy.[7] On 5 February, he scored a brace on his debut for the club, contributing to a 5–0 league win over Potenza.[8][9]
International career
editWith the Italy U17 team he took part in the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and with the Italy U19 team in took part in the 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.
Style of play
editMerola has been described as classic striker who mainly operates inside the penalty area. Equipped with a very strong and precise shot, he is known for his lethal eye for goal, and became highly regarded for his goalscoring ability since the beginning of his career. Despite his diminutive stature and slender physique, he is also known for having a penchant for scoring goals with his head, due to his speed of execution. A highly technically gifted player, Merola is left-footed, and is also known for his ability on set pieces, often scoring from free kicks.[10]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 6 October 2024[11]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Inter Milan | 2018–19 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Empoli | 2019–20 | Serie B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Serie B | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 1 | 2 | |||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | ||
| Arezzo (loan) | 2020–21 | Serie C | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Grosseto (loan) | 2020–21 | Serie C | 13 | 0 | — | — | 2[b] | 2 | 15 | 2 | ||
| Foggia (loan) | 2021–22 | Serie C | 27 | 9 | 1 | 1 | — | 4[b] | 1 | 32 | 11 | |
| Cosenza (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie B | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||
| Pescara (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie C | 13 | 7 | — | — | 6[b] | 1 | 19 | 8 | ||
| 2023–24 | Serie C | 37 | 17 | 4 | 1 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 43 | 18 | ||
| Pescara | 2024–25 | Serie C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Total | 55 | 24 | 4 | 1 | — | 8 | 1 | 67 | 26 | |||
| Career total | 120 | 34 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 142 | 42 | ||
- ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
- ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in Serie C promotion play-offs
Honours
editClub
editInter Milan
edit- Supercoppa Primavera: 2017
- Campione Primavera: 2017
- Torneo di Viareggio: 2017
Individual
edit- Capocannoniere: 2016, 2017
References
edit- ^ "Gianluca Di Marzio :: Il nuovo che avanza. Raiola racconta il talento Davide Merola: "Destinato al grande salto"". gianlucadimarzio.com (in Italian). Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- ^ "Inter, Merola ed Esposito: esordio dei due baby campani nella terribile notte di Europa League". AreaNapoli.it (in Italian). Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- ^ "Davide Merola joins Empoli" (Press release). inter.it. 20 August 2019. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- ^ "Davide Merola è un nuovo calciatore del Cavallino" (in Italian). Arezzo. 4 October 2020. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "Davide Merola in prestito al Grosseto" (in Italian). Empoli. 14 January 2021.
- ^ "Davide Merola al Cosenza" (in Italian). Empoli. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- ^ "DAVIDE MEROLA E' BIANCAZZURRO" (in Italian). Delfino Pescara 1936. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- ^ "Tonfo del Potenza, 5-0 in casa del Pescara", RaiNews (in Italian), 5 February 2023, retrieved 6 February 2023
- ^ Giancarli, Enrico (5 February 2023). "Serie C Pescara Potenza, show e cinquina biancazzurra (5-0)". Rete8 (in Italian). Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ^ Grandoni, Alessandro. "Davide Merola, Attaccante, Inter - La scheda tecnica". www.calcionazionale.it (in Italian). Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ "Davide Merola". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
External links
edit
- Davide Merola at Soccerbase.com