| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1992-02-11)11 February 1992 (age 34) | ||
| Place of birth | Pulsano, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2008 | Bari | ||
| 2009–2011 | Lecce | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2016 | Lecce | 27 | (2) |
| 2011–2012 | →Pavia (loan) | 29 | (8) |
| 2013–2014 | →Reggina (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2014 | →Juve Stabia (loan) | 11 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | →Trapani (loan) | 34 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | →Bologna (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2016–2018 | Bologna | 0 | (0) |
| 2016 | →Cesena (loan) | 12 | (4) |
| 2016–2017 | →Benevento (loan) | 31 | (6) |
| 2017–2018 | →Perugia (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| 2018 | →Pescara (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2018–2021 | Lecce | 71 | (13) |
| 2021–2024 | Red Star Belgrade | 26 | (4) |
| 2022–2023 | →Cagliari (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2024 | CFR Cluj | 0 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Carrarese | 1 | (0) |
| 2025 | Campobasso | 10 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2012 | Italy U20 | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 April 2025 | |||
Filippo Falco (born 11 February 1992) is an Italian professionalfootballer who plays as aforward ormidfielder.
He is nicknamed the "Messi fromSalento".[1][2][3]
Born in Pulsano, Apulia, Falco started his career atA.S. Bari. In 2008 Falco was released.[4] Falco then left for another Apulia teamLecce. He was the member of the reserve in 2009–10[5] and 2010–11 season. On 24 November 2010, Falco made his professional debut as a substitute replacing Ignacio Piatti in the 85th minute of a 2–1 away defeat against Udinese in the fourth round of Coppa Italia.[6]
On 11 August 2011, Falco was signed bySerie C sidePavia along withFabio Romeo on a season-long loan deal.[7] On 4 September, Falco made his debut for Pavia in a 1–1 home draw againstReggiana, he was replaced byFederico Bufalino in the 77th minute.[8] On 11 September he played his first entire match for Pavia and he scored his first professional goal in the 66th minute of a 2–2 away draw againstSorrento.[9] On 20 November he scored his second goal in the 7th minute of a 2–1 home defeat againstBenevento.[10] On 11 December, Falco scored his third goal in the 18th minute of a 1–1 away draw againstTritium.[11] The team finished 16th and forced to play in relegation "play-out" againstSPAL. Falco started both playoffs matches but did not score. Falco was the joint-topscorer of the team along withMattia Marchi. Falco ended his loan to Pavia with 31 appearances, including 30 as a starter and 8 goals.[12]
Falco played his first match of the season on 12 August 2012, as a substitute replacingLedian Memushaj in the 63rd minute of a 3–1 home win overChieti in the second round ofCoppa Italia.[13] On 18 August he played in a 4–2 away defeat against Torino in Coppa Italia, he was replaced byInàcio Pià in the 68th minute.[14] On 2 September, Falco made hisSerie C debut for Lecce in a 3–2 home win overCremonese, he was replaced byCosimo Chiricò in the 55th minute.[15] On 30 September, Falco scored his first goal for Lecce in the 47th minute of a 2–0 home win overTritium.[16] On 14 October he scored his second goal in the 75th minute of a 4–2 home win overVirtus Entella.[17] On 22 December he played his first entire match of the season, a 0–0 home draw againstAlbinoLeffe.[18] Lecce finished 2nd in Serie C and the team played in the play-off, but they were defeat byCarpi in the final (2–1 on aggregate). Falco ended his first season to Lecce with 31 appearances, 2 goals and 1 assist.[12]
On 2 September 2013, Falco was loaned toSerie B clubReggina on a season-long loan deal. On 25 October he made his debut in Serie B for Reggina, as a substitute replacingAlessandro Sbaffo in the 57th minute of a 3–2 home defeat againstPescara.[19] On 1 November, Falco played his first match as a starter for Reggina, a 1–0 away defeat againstLatina, he was replaced byDavid Di Michele in the 53rd minute.[20] On 13 December he played his third match for Reggina as a substitute replacingJacopo Dall'Oglio in the 52nd minute of a 2–0 home defeat against Robur Siena.[21] In January 2014, Falco was re-called to Lecce leaving Reggina with only 3 appearances.[12]
On 20 January 2014, Falco was signed by Serie B sideJuve Stabia on a six-month loan deal. On 25 January he made his Serie B debut for Juve Stabia in a 2–1 home win overPescara, he played the entire match.[22] On 1 February he scored his first goal for Juve Stabia in the 14th minute of a 1–1 away draw againstSpezia.[23] Falco ended his six-month loan with 11 appearances, 1 goal and 2 assists.[12]
On 11 July 2014, Falco was signed bySerie B clubTrapani on a season-long loan deal. On 17 August he made his debut for Trapani as a substitute replacingSimone Basso in the 63rd minute of a 2–1 home defeat againstCremonese in the second round ofCoppa Italia.[24] On 30 August he made his Serie B debut for Trapani as a substitute replacing Simone Basso in the 91st minute of a 0–0 away draw againstPescara.[25] On 7 September, Falco played his first match as a starter for Trapani, a 2–1 home win overVicenza, he was replaced byMattia Aramu in the 85th minute.[26] On 23 September he played his first entire match for Trapani, a 2–2 home draw againstVirtus Entella.[27] On 20 December he scored his first goal for Trapani in the 17th minute of a 2–1 away defeat againstModena.[28] On 2 April he scored his second goal in the 7th minute of a 3–1 home win overFrosinone.[29] Falco ended his loan to Trapani with 34 appearances, 2 goals and 12 assists.[12]
On 18 August 2015, Falco was signed byBologna on a temporary deal with an obligation to buy.[30] On 29 August he made hisSerie A debut in a 1–0 home defeat againstSassuolo, he played the entire match.[31]
After 9 appearances in Serie A (1 as a starter and 8 as a substitute), on 1 February 2016, Falco was loaned toSerie B clubCesena on a six-month loan deal.[32] On 7 February he made his debut in Serie B as a substitute replacingCamillo Ciano in the 74th minute of a 0–0 away draw againstModena.[33] On 13 February, Falco scored his first goal for Cesena, as a substitute, in the 78th minute of a 2–1 home win overPerugia.[34] On 26 February, Falco played his first match as a starter for Cesena, a 2–0 home win overCagliari.[35] On 2 May he scored his second goal in the 70th minute of a 2–1 home win overPro Vercelli.[36] On 7 May he played his first entire match for Cesena, a 1–1 away draw againstTernana.[37] On 20 May he scored twice in a 2–1 away win overAvellino.[38] Falco ended his six-month loan deal to Cesena with 13 appearances, 4 goals and 1 assist.[12]
On 13 July 2016, Falco joinedBenevento on a season-long loan deal.[39] On 7 August he made his debut for Benevento as a substitute replacingAmato Ciciretti in the 87th minute of a match loss 4–2 at penalties after a 0–0 home draw againstSalernitana.[40] On 27 August, Falco made hisSerie B debut for Benevento in a 2–0 home win overSPAL, he was replaced byRicardo Bagadur in the 83rd minute.[41] On 4 September he played his first entire match for Benevento and he scored his first goal in the 70th minute of a 1–1 away draw against Carpi.[42] On 10 September he scored his second goal in the 38th minute of a 2–0 home win overHellas Verona.[43] On 19 November he scored his third goal in the 78th minute of a 4–0 home win overBrescia.[44] He helped Benevento to win promotion to Serie A and ended his loan to Benevento with 36 appearances, 6 goals and 6 assists.[12]
On 29 August 2017, Falco was loaned toSerie B sidePerugia on a six-month loan deal. On 3 September he made his Serie B debut as a substitute replacingHan Kwang-song in the 65th minute of a 4–2 home win over Pescara.[45] On 8 October, Falco played his first match as a starter for Perugia, a 5–1 home defeat againstPro Vercelli, he was replaced byGiavanni Terrani in the 75th minute.[46] On 30 November he played in the fourth round ofCoppa Italia, an 8–3 away defeat againstUdinese, he played the entire match.[47] On 4 December he scored his first goal for Perugia, as a substitute, in the 91st minute of a 1–0 home win overAscoli.[48] Falco ended his loan to Perugia with 9 appearances, 1 goal and 1 assist.[12]
On 19 January, Falco was signed bySerie B clubPescara on a six-month loan. On 24 February, Falco made his Serie B debut for Pescara in a 0–0 home draw against Cremonese, he was replaced byLeonardo Mancuso in the 75th minute.[49] On 3 March he played his first entire match for Pescara, a 2–0 away defeat againstCittadella.[50] Falco ended his loan to Pescara with 8 appearances.[12]
On 4 July 2018, he was signed by his former clubLecce on a permanent basis.[51] HisSerie B debut with thegiallorossi side came on 27 August, when he scored a goal against his former teamBenevento.
On 3 November 2019, he scored his firstSerie A goal againstSassuolo atStadio Via del Mare with afree-kick.
On 29 January 2021, Falco signed with Serbian teamRed Star Belgrade.[52]
On 1 September 2022, he signed a contract on loan withCagliari fromRed Star Belgrade for the season 2022-23, with the obligation to redeem fromCagliari bounded with the occurrence of certain conditions.[53]
Falco played his first game for theItaly national under-20 football team on 18 April 2012.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lecce | 2010–11 | Lega Pro Prima Divisione | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Pavia (loan) | 2011–12 | Lega Pro Prima Divisione | 29 | 8 | 3 | 1 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 34 | 9 | |
| Lecce | 2012–13 | Lega Pro Prima Divisione | 27 | 2 | 3[b] | 1 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 32 | 3 | |
| Reggina (loan) | 2013–14 | Serie B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| Juve Stabia (loan) | 2013–14 | Serie B | 11 | 1 | — | — | — | 11 | 1 | |||
| Trapani (loan) | 2014–15 | Serie B | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 2 | ||
| Bologna (loan) | 2015–16 | Serie A | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Cesena (loan) | 2015–16 | Serie B | 12 | 4 | — | — | 1[d] | 0 | 13 | 4 | ||
| Benevento (loan) | 2016–17 | Serie B | 31 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[e] | 0 | 36 | 6 | |
| Perugia (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie B | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| Pescara (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie B | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| Lecce | 2018–19 | Serie B | 31 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 7 | ||
| 2019–20 | Serie A | 30 | 4 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 31 | 5 | |||
| 2020–21 | Serie A | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 2 | |||
| Total | 71 | 13 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 75 | 14 | ||||
| Red Star Belgrade | 2020–21 | Serbian SuperLiga | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 10 | 4 | |
| 2021–22 | Serbian SuperLiga | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 26 | 2 | ||
| Total | 26 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 1 | — | 36 | 6 | |||
| Cagliari (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie B | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| CFR Cluj | 2023–24 | Liga I | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Carrarese | 2024–25 | Serie B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Campobasso | 2024–25 | Serie C | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 294 | 41 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 327 | 46 | ||
Red Star Belgrade