Nicolò Rovella (born 4 December 2001) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Serie A club Lazio, on loan from Juventus.

Nicolò Rovella
Personal information
Date of birth (2001-12-04) 4 December 2001 (age 22)
Place of birth Segrate, Italy
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
Lazio (on loan from Juventus)
Number 65
Youth career
2005–2014 Accademia Inter
2014–2017 Alcione
2017–2019 Genoa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2021 Genoa 11 (0)
2021– Juventus 3 (0)
2021–2022Genoa (loan) 32 (0)
2022–2023Monza (loan) 25 (1)
2023–Lazio (loan) 20 (0)
International career
2018 Italy U17 6 (0)
2018–2019 Italy U18 9 (0)
2019–2020 Italy U19 10 (0)
2020–2023 Italy U21 21 (3)
Medal record
Representing  Italy
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Runner-up England 2018 U-17 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 April 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 June 2023

Club career edit

Early career and Genoa edit

Rovella started playing football at Accademia Inter (an affiliate of Inter Milan), where he won a Gothia Cup, before moving to Alcione in 2014. Then, in the summer of 2017, Rovella joined Genoa, where he immediately won the Carlin's Boys youth tournament.[2][3]

Coming through the youth ranks of the club, Rovella made his professional debut with Genoa on 3 December 2019, replacing Francesco Cassata in the final minutes of a 3–2 Coppa Italia win over Ascoli.[4] He then made his Serie A debut on 21 December 2019, aged 18, as a substitute for Filip Jagiełło in a 4–0 away defeat to Inter Milan.[5] On 25 July 2020, Rovella made his first start for Genoa in a 3–0 home loss against Inter.[6]

Rovella gained more playing time and started during the 2020–21 season, establishing himself in Genoa's central midfield as he helped the rossoblù stay in the Serie A.[7]

Juventus edit

Loan to Genoa edit

On 29 January 2021, Juventus announced the signing of Rovella on a three-and-a-half-year contract for €18 million, plus a maximum of €20 million in performance-related bonuses.[8] The player remained on loan at Genoa until the end of the 2021–22 season, with Manolo Portanova and Elia Petrelli also being traded to the club in permanent moves.[8] Rovella was part of Genoa's relegation to the Serie B after 15 years in the top-flight.[citation needed]

Return to Juventus edit

After returning to Juventus from his loan to Genoa, Rovella made his Bianconeri debut on 15 August 2022, replacing Manuel Locatelli in a home win against Sassuolo in the first matchday of the 2022–23 Serie A.[9]

Loan to Monza edit

On 31 August 2022, Rovella joined newly-promoted Serie A side Monza on a one-year dry loan.[10] He made his debut on 5 September, as a starter in a 2–0 league defeat to Atalanta.[11]

Loan to Lazio edit

On 16 August 2023, Lazio announced the signing of Rovella from Juventus on a two-year loan with a conditional obligation to buy.[12]

International career edit

Rovella has represented Italy at several youth international levels.

He was part of the under-17 national team that finished runners-up at the 2018 European Championship, and then was capped at under-18 and under-19 levels.[citation needed]

On 12 November 2020, Rovella made his debut with the under-21 team, playing as a starter in a European Championship qualifying match against Iceland in Reykjavík, which was won 2–1 by the Azzurrini.[13] He was subsequently included in the squad that took part in the 2021 European Championship in Slovenia and Hungary:[14] However, he got sent off after receiving a double yellow card in the second group stage game against Spain,[15] as Italy was eventually eliminated from the tournament in the quarter-finals, after a 5–3 loss to Portugal.

Rovella was confirmed in the following cycle of the under-21 national team, as he scored his first goal for the Azzurrini on 29 March 2022, netting the lone goal of a 1–0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European Championship qualifiers.[16]

Style of play edit

Rovella is a well-rounded, right-footed and versatile midfielder, who can play as a mezzala, playmaker or attacking midfielder.[2][17] His biggest strengths are his first touch, his vision, his passing range and his tactical intelligence. Rovella is also regarded for his elegant style of play and his charisma.[2][17]

Career statistics edit

As of match played 23 April 2024[18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Coppa Italia Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Genoa 2019–20 Serie A 2 0 1 0 3 0
2020–21 Serie A 9 0 2 0 11 0
Total 11 0 3 0 14 0
Juventus 2020–21 Serie A 0 0
2021–22 Serie A 0 0
2022–23 Serie A 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Total 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Genoa (loan) 2020–21 Serie A 11 0 0 0 11 0
2021–22 Serie A 21 0 1 0 21 0
Total 32 0 1 0 33 0
Monza (loan) 2022–23 Serie A 25 1 2 0 27 1
Lazio (loan) 2023–24 Serie A 20 0 3 0 3[a] 0 1[b] 0 27 0
Career total 91 1 9 0 3 0 1 0 104 1
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  2. ^ Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana

References edit

  1. ^ "Nicolò Rovella". TuttoCalciatori.net (in Italian). Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Rovella, dall'Accademia Inter al derby della Lanterna". La Giovane Italia (in Italian). 3 November 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  3. ^ Eremita, Alessio (29 October 2020). "Rovella oro del Genoa: chi è il classe 2001 che ha stregato Inter e Juventus". Calcio News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Genoa vs. Ascoli - 3 December 2019 - Soccerway". Soccerway.
  5. ^ "Genoa, Rovella promosso sotto gli occhi dell'Inter. L'esordio, le punizioni, Modric e il mercato che già chiama". Calciomercato.com (in Italian). Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Le pagelle di Genoa-Inter 0-3: Lukaku cecchino, Moses spina nel fianco". Eurosport (in Italian). 25 July 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Gioventù "bruciante", Rovella si è preso il centrocampo rossoblù". Il Secolo XIX (in Italian). 25 October 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  8. ^ a b "UFFICIALE | Portanova, Petrelli, Rovella: gli accordi con il Genoa". Juventus.com (in Italian). 28 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  9. ^ Juventus.com (15 August 2022). "MATCH REPORT | JUVE HIT SASSUOLO FOR THREE". Juventus F.C. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Nicolò Rovella è Biancorosso". AC Monza. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  11. ^ Sorrentino, Antonio (5 September 2022). "Le pagelle di Monza - Atalanta 0-2: buon esordio di Rovella, Caprari sprecone, Pessina messo sotto scacco". Monza-News (in Italian). Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  12. ^ "NICOLÒ ROVELLA È UN NUOVO CALCIATORE BIANCOCELESTE" (in Italian). SS Lazio. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Pobega segna una doppietta che vale oro, gli Azzurrini battono l'Islanda e ipotecano il pass per l'Europeo". Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (in Italian). 12 November 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  14. ^ "UNDER-21 CHAMPIONSHIP - 2019/21 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS, CZECH REPUBLIC VS ITALY" (PDF). UEFA. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  15. ^ "L'Italia finisce in 9, ma la Spagna non passa: 0-0. Se batte la Slovenia è qualificata". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 27 March 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Qualificazioni europee. L'Italia batte la Bosnia ed Erzegovina, scavalca la Svezia e vola in testa al girone". Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (in Italian). 29 March 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  17. ^ a b Kulig, Jacek; Gualano, Davide (28 August 2021). "Niccolò Rovella – Juve's future regista by Davide Gualano". Football Talent Scout. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  18. ^ Nicolò Rovella at Soccerway. Retrieved 13 November 2022.

External links edit