.jpg) Caputo withVirtus Entella in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1987-08-06)6 August 1987 (age 38) | ||
| Place of birth | Altamura, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position | forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2006 | Toritto | 20 | (14) |
| 2006–2007 | Altamura | 30 | (12) |
| 2007–2008 | Noicattaro | 29 | (11) |
| 2008–2015 | Bari | 142 | (48) |
| 2009–2010 | →Salernitana (loan) | 36 | (6) |
| 2010–2011 | →Siena (loan) | 14 | (3) |
| 2015–2017 | Virtus Entella | 80 | (35) |
| 2017–2019 | Empoli | 79 | (42) |
| 2019–2022 | Sassuolo | 63 | (32) |
| 2021–2022 | →Sampdoria (loan) | 36 | (11) |
| 2022–2023 | Sampdoria | 15 | (1) |
| 2023 | →Empoli (loan) | 21 | (5) |
| 2023–2024 | Empoli | 21 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2020 | Italy | 2 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 August 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 11 October 2020 | |||
FrancescoCaputo (born 6 August 1987), commonly known asCiccio, is an Italian professionalfootballer who plays as aforward. He has also represented theItaly national team.
Caputo started his career in the Pugliesi amateur divisions, first withToritto and then with RealAltamura, before joiningBari in the summer of 2008. With the club, Caputo won the Serie B title during the2008–09 season, but he was excluded from Bari'sSerie A plans the following season. In mid-2009, he was loaned toSalernitana, along with his teammatesGiuseppe Statella andGianluca Galasso. The following season, he was loaned out toSiena. He returned to Bari in 2011 and remained at the club for four seasons.[2]
In 2015, he joinedEntella on loan with an option to buy;[3] at the end of the season, he was signed outright by the club.[4] He remained with Entella for two seasons, scoring 35 goals.[2]
On 18 August 2017,Empoli signed Caputo on a four-year contract for €2.8 million plus bonuses.[2] He helped Empoli win the Serie B title and achieve promotion to Serie A during the2017–18 season, forming a prolific attacking partnership withAlfredo Donnarumma; together, the pair scored 49 goals, and Caputo finished as the top scorer in the league, with 26 goals, while Donnarumma finished as the second-highest scorer with 23.[5]
On 13 July 2019, Caputo signed toSassuolo.[6]
On 31 August 2021, Caputo joinedSampdoria on loan with an obligation to buy.[7]
On 2 January 2023, Caputo returned to his former club Empoli on loan with an obligation to buy should his new club avoid relegation.[8] On 26 August 2024, his contract with Empoli was terminated by mutual consent.[9]
Caputo was called up to the senior Italy squad for the UEFA Nations League matches againstBosnia and Herzegovina andNetherlands in September 2020.[10] Caputo made his debut for the national team on 7 October 2020 in a 6–0 home friendly win againstMoldova, scoring the match's second goal.[11] In so doing, he became the oldest player in history to score his debut goal for Italy at 33 years and 62 days. This was surpassed byGiacomo Bonaventura, who tallied his inaugural goal at 34 years, one month and 22 days on 14 October 2023 in aEuro 2024 qualifier againstMalta.[12]
A technically giftedforward, with an eye for goal, Caputo mainly plays as astriker, although he is capable of playing anywhere along the front line. He is mainly known in the media for his pace, work rate, movement off the ball, and his powerful and accurate striking ability.[13][14][15]
| Club | Season | League | Coppa Italia | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bari | 2008–09 | Serie B | 27 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 10 |
| 2010–11 | Serie A | 12 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 2 | |
| 2011–12 | Serie B | 28 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 10 | |
| 2012–13 | Serie B | 36 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 17 | |
| 2013–14 | Serie B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014–15 | Serie B | 38 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 11 | |
| Total | 141 | 48 | 8 | 2 | 150 | 50 | ||
| Salernitana (loan) | 2009–10 | Serie B | 36 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 7 |
| Siena (loan) | 2010–11 | Serie B | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| Virtus Entella | 2015–16 | Serie B | 40 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 17 |
| 2016–17 | Serie B | 40 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 18 | |
| 2017–18 | Serie B | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 80 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 82 | 35 | ||
| Empoli | 2017–18 | Serie B | 41 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 26 |
| 2018–19 | Serie A | 38 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 16 | |
| Total | 79 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 80 | 42 | ||
| Sassuolo | 2019–20 | Serie A | 36 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 21 |
| 2020–21 | Serie A | 25 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 11 | |
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 63 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 64 | 32 | ||
| Sampdoria (loan) | 2021–22 | Serie A | 36 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 11 |
| Sampdoria | 2022–23 | Serie A | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 2 |
| Empoli (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie A | 21 | 5 | – | 21 | 5 | |
| Empoli | 2023–24 | Serie A | 20 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 4 |
| 2024–25 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 20 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 506 | 186 | 20 | 5 | 526 | 191 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2020 | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 October 2020 | Stadio Artemio Franchi,Florence, Italy | 1 |  Moldova | 2–0 | 6–0 | Friendly |
Bari[16]
Empoli[16]
Individual
