 Zaza withSassuolo in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Simone Zaza[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1991-06-25)25 June 1991 (age 34) | ||
| Place of birth | Policoro, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2][3] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997–2002 | Stella Azzurra Bernalda | ||
| 2002–2006 | Valdera | ||
| 2006–2008 | Atalanta | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2010 | Atalanta | 3 | (0) |
| 2010–2013 | Sampdoria | 2 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | →Juve Stabia (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2012 | →Viareggio (loan) | 18 | (11) |
| 2012–2013 | →Ascoli (loan) | 35 | (18) |
| 2013 | Juventus | 0 | (0) |
| 2013–2015 | Sassuolo | 64 | (20) |
| 2015–2017 | Juventus | 19 | (5) |
| 2016–2017 | →West Ham United (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2017 | →Valencia (loan) | 20 | (6) |
| 2017–2019 | Valencia | 33 | (13) |
| 2018–2019 | →Torino (loan) | 29 | (4) |
| 2019–2022 | Torino | 62 | (12) |
| Total | 297 | (89) | |
| International career | |||
| 2007 | Italy U16 | 3 | (0) |
| 2007 | Italy U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Italy U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2014–2018 | Italy | 18 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Simone Zaza (born 25 June 1991) is an Italian former professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
Zaza began his professional club career withAtalanta in 2008, where he remained for two seasons. In 2010, he moved toSampdoria, where he was sent on loan spells toJuve Stabia,Viareggio andAscoli. In 2013, he joinedSassuolo, and in 2015,Juventus. In his first season with Juventus, he immediately won adomestic double. After spells abroad atWest Ham United andValencia, Zaza returned to Italy in 2018 and played forTorino until 2022.
At the international level, Zaza made his senior debut forItaly in 2014, and went on to represent his nation atUEFA Euro 2016.
Born inPolicoro in theProvince of Matera, Zaza grew up inMetaponto and began his youth career with Stella Azzurra fromBernalda in 1997. He remained with the organization until 2002, when he moved to the youth academy of Valdera at the age of 11. He remained until 2006, when he was scouted bySerie A sideAtalanta, whom he joined shortly after. He remained within the club's youth team for four years and even began to earn senior call-ups towards the end of the2008–09 Serie A campaign.[4] He made his Serie A debut on 1 March 2009 in a 0–2 home defeat toChievo Verona as an 86th-minutesubstitute forFerreira Pinto.[5] He made two further substitute appearances for Atalanta that season, though he remained within the club's youth setup for the entire2009–10 Serie A campaign.
In July 2010, Zaza transferred from Atalanta to fellow Serie A sideSampdoria on a four-year contract. With the Genoa-based club, he was enlisted in the club'sPrimavera (under-20) youth team for the 2010–11 season, though he also earned several first team callups, including two substitute appearances againstGenoa andFiorentina during the2010–11 Serie A campaign. He was promoted to the first team at the conclusion of that season.
On 14 July 2011, Zaza was officially sent out on loan toJuve Stabia in Serie B on what was set to be a season-long deal. After just four appearances and no goals for the club, Sampdoria opted to recall the player during the 2012 January transfer window. On 7 January 2012, the club loaned the player toLega Pro Prima Divisione side,Viareggio on a six-month deal to provide the youngster with regular first team experience. His stint with the third-division club turned out to be very successful; he managed 11 goals in 18 league appearances, 17 as a starter.
After returning to Sampdoria on 30 June 2012, Zaza joinedAscoli on another season-long loan deal ahead of the2012–13 Serie B campaign. He officially joined the club on 16 July and made his debut in a 1–3 home loss toBari on 1 September. Zaza went on to score 18 league goals in 35 Serie B appearances (30 as a starter) en route to becoming the sixth top goalscorer for the season. His goals were unable to prevent Ascoli's relegation as they finished the season 20th in the league table. He returned to Sampdoria on 30 June 2013.
On 9 July 2013, Juventus purchased him outright from Sampdoria for €3.5 million. Simultaneously, he transferred to Sassuolo from Juventus in aco-ownership deal for €2.5 million.[6] He returned to play in Serie A in the first round of theleague, with Sassuolo losing to Torino 2–0. On 1 September 2013, during the second round of the league, he scored his first goal in Serie A as the team lost 4–1 toLivorno.[7] Thanks to his effort, Sassuolo secured their first point in the Italian top flight, with the goal scored in the fifth day againstNapoli, 1–1.[8]
On 20 June 2014, Sassuolo bought Zaza outright from Juventus for another €7.5 million.[9] Juventus, however, retained the right to re-purchase Zaza for a reported €15 million by 30 June 2015 and €18 million by 30 June 2016.[10]
On 7 July 2015, Juventus announced that they had exercised their option to sign Zaza for €18 million from Sassuolo.[11] It was reported that the return ofDomenico Berardi to Sassuolo for a €10 million fee was part of the deal.[12] On 23 September 2015, Zaza opened the scoring in the 50th minute on his debut, a 1–1 draw againstFrosinone.[13] On 30 September 2015, he scored the final goal againstSevilla in theUEFA Champions League group stage to secure a 2–0 win;[14] this was his first Champions League goal.[15] He scored the opening two goals of a 4–0 win overcross-city rivalsTorino in theCoppa Italia on 16 December.[16]
On 28 August 2016,West Ham United announced that they had loaned Zaza for a €5 million loan fee, with a €20 million permanent obligation to buy after a certain number of Premier League appearances, plus €3 million in bonuses.[17] He made his debut with the club on 10 September, in a 4–2 home defeat toWatford in thePremier League.[18] Zaza made 11 appearances for West Ham, eight in the Premier League and three in theEFL Cup, all without scoring. His last game came on 30 November, in a 1–4 away defeat toManchester United in the EFL Cup. He developed a knee injury in December and was not selected again before leaving the club in January 2017.[19]
On 15 January 2017, Zaza was signed byLa Liga clubValencia on loan,[20] for a €2 million fee, with a €16 million permanent obligation to buy fee after a certain number of first team appearances by 30 June 2017, plus €2 million in bonuses.[21] On 21 January, he made his debut with the club in a 2–0 away win againstVillarreal.[22] On 19 February, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 home win overAthletic Bilbao.[23] In his next league appearance on 22 February, he scored the opening goal with a notable left footed strike on the turn to help Valencia to a 2–1 home victory overReal Madrid.[24] On 10 April, Zaza was bought outright by Valencia from Juventus until 2021 for the previous agreed fee, effective after 30 June.[25][26] On 19 September, he scored ahat-trick in under 10 minutes of a 5–0 home win overMálaga.[27]
On 17 August 2018, he was loaned toTorino for €2 million, with a €12 million obligation to buy at the end of the season.[28] In the first game of new managerDavide Nicola, he scored two second-half goals to help Torino draw 2–2, having been two goals down at half-time.[29]
On 31 August 2022, Zaza's contract with Torino was terminated by mutual consent.[30]
Zaza has represented Italy inunder-16,under-17, andunder-19 levels.
On 31 August 2014, he was called up by head coachAntonio Conte as part of thesenior team squad for a friendly match against theNetherlands and the firstUEFA Euro 2016 qualifying game againstNorway. On 4 September, Zaza made his debut with the Italy national team, playing as a starter in a 2–0 win against the Netherlands. He was fouled byBruno Martins Indi in the ninth minute to win the penalty kick from whichDaniele De Rossi scored Italy's second goal in the 2–0 victory.[31] On 9 September, Zaza scored his first goal for the Italy national team in the 16th minute of their opening Euro 2016 qualifier against Norway, of a 2–0 victory.[32] On 31 May 2016, he was named to Conte's 23-man Italy squad for Euro 2016.[33] On 17 June, he came off the bench to set-upÉder's match-winning goal againstSweden in the 88th minute of his nation's second group match, which qualified Italy to the Round of 16.[34] On 2 July, he was brought on in the last few seconds of extra-time to take a penalty in the resulting penalty shoot-out againstGermany in thequarter-final match up, which he subsequently missed after a bizarre trot up to the ball, as Italy were defeated in the shoot-out 6–5 and eliminated from the tournament.[35][36] In the events after the match, Zaza issued an apology to the fans of the national team stating, "I am sorry to have let the Italian people down. I missed the most important penalty of my life and I will carry this burden with me forever ... I have always taken penalties like that and I was convinced I would score, I had sent him [Manuel Neuer] the wrong way but the ball set off and it went like that."[37][38]
Zaza was called up to the Italy squad for its May and June 2018 friendlies by the newly appointedRoberto Mancini for the first time since Euro 2016.[39] He made an appearance in the last string of friendlies on 4 June against theNetherlands, where he scored the opening goal of a 1–1 draw inTurin.[40]
Zaza is a left-footedforward. He is a striker capable of playing both as acentre-forward and as asecond striker. Fans have praised him for his physical attributes, offensive movement, heading accuracy, his positional sense, and his excellence in the air.[41][42][43] His exploits and goals against more illustrious teams while playing for clubs like Sassuolo gained Zaza the reputation as an ammazza grandi or "giant killer" although much has been credited to him learning how to deal with the pressure of bounce back from his goal drought that followed his international debut the shaving off of his beard.[44]
Since 2022, Zaza has been in a relationship with Angelica Erthal, a Brazilian model; their first child was born in January 2024.[45][46]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Atalanta | 2008–09 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Sampdoria | 2010–11 | Serie A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Juve Stabia (loan) | 2011–12 | Serie B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Viareggio (loan) | 2011–12 | Lega Pro | 18 | 11 | — | — | — | 18 | 11 | |||
| Ascoli (loan) | 2012–13 | Serie B | 35 | 18 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 18 | ||
| Sassuolo | 2013–14 | Serie A | 33 | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 9 | ||
| 2014–15 | Serie A | 31 | 11 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 34 | 12 | |||
| Total | 64 | 20 | 5 | 1 | – | – | 69 | 21 | ||||
| Juventus | 2015–16 | Serie A | 19 | 5 | 3 | 2 | — | 2 | 1 | 24 | 8 | |
| West Ham United (loan) | 2016–17 | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
| Valencia (loan) | 2016–17 | La Liga | 20 | 6 | — | — | — | 20 | 6 | |||
| Valencia | 2017–18 | La Liga | 33 | 13 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 13 | ||
| Torino (loan) | 2018–19 | Serie A | 29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 4 | ||
| Torino | 2019–20 | Serie A | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 | 3 | 31 | 9 | |
| 2020–21 | Serie A | 29 | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 31 | 7 | |||
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Total | 91 | 16 | 5 | 1 | – | 6 | 3 | 102 | 20 | |||
| Career total | 297 | 89 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 328 | 97 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2014 | 4 | 1 |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total | 18 | 2 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 9 September 2014 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway |  Norway | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification |
| 2. | 4 June 2018 | Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy |  Netherlands | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
Juventus[19]
Individual
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