Francesco Caputo
Caputo with Virtus Entella in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth (1987-08-06) 6 August 1987 (age 36)
Place of birth Altamura, Italy
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Empoli
Number 9
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– Empoli 11 (3)
International career‡
2020 Italy 2 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:34, 27 November 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 October 2020

Francesco Caputo (born 6 August 1987), commonly known as Ciccio, is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Empoli. He has also represented the Italy national team.

Club career

Caputo started his career in the Pugliesi amateur divisions, first with Toritto and then with Real Altamura, before joining Bari in the summer of 2008. With the club, Caputo won the Serie B title during the 2008–09 season, but he was excluded from Bari's Serie A plans the following season. In mid-2009, he was loaned to Salernitana, along with his teammates Giuseppe Statella and Gianluca Galasso. The following season he was loaned out to Siena. He returned to Bari in 2011, and remained at the club for four seasons.[2]

In 2015, he joined Entella 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 the 2017–18 season, forming a prolific attacking partnership with Alfredo 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 to Sassuolo.[6]

On 31 August 2021, Caputo joined Sampdoria on loan with an obligation to buy.[7]

On 2 January 2023, Caputo returned to former club Empoli on loan with an obligation to buy should his new club avoid relegation.[8]

International career

Caputo was called up to the senior Italy squad for the UEFA Nations League matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Netherlands in September 2020.[9] Caputo made his debut for the national team on 7 October 2020 in a 6–0 home friendly win against Moldova, scoring the match's second goal.[10] 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 by Giacomo Bonaventura, who tallied his inaugural goal at 34 years, one month and 22 days on 14 October 2023 in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Malta.[11]

Style of play

A technically gifted forward, with an eye for goal, Caputo mainly plays as a striker, 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.[12][13][14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 November 2023[15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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
Total 51 12 4 1 55 13
Empoli (loan) 2022–23 Serie A 21 5 – 21 5
Empoli 2023–24 Serie A 11 3 1 1 12 4
Career total 497 186 19 5 516 191

International

As of match played 11 October 2020[15]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Italy 2020 2 1
Total 2 1
Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Caputo goal.
List of international goals scored by Francesco Caputo[16]
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 7 October 2020 Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy 1  Moldova 2–0 6–0 Friendly

Honours

Bari[15]

Empoli[15]

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Francesco Caputo". U.C. Sampdoria. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Francesco Caputo è dell´Empoli" (in Italian). www.empolicalcio.net. 18 August 2017. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  3. ^ "Colpo in attacco: Caputo in biancoceleste" (in Italian). Entella. 31 August 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Virtus Entella, acquistati a titolo definitivo bomber Caputo e Pellizzer". Picenotime (in Italian). 23 June 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  5. ^ Alessandro Marmugi (3 June 2018). "Una coppia da 49 gol che scala la vetta europea" (in Italian). Il Tirreno. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  6. ^ "UFFICIALE: Sassuolo, colpo Caputo per rinforzare l'attacco" (in Italian). tuttomercatoweb.com. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Caputo è un calciatore della Sampdoria: arriva dal Sassuolo" (in Italian). Sampdoria. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Francesco Caputo è un nuovo calciatore azzurro". empolifc.com (in Italian). 2 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Italy 6-0 Moldova: Caputo and El Sha shine for Azzurri". Football Italia. 7 October 2020.
  11. ^ Campanale, Susy (14 October 2023). "Video: Bonaventura makes history for Italy". Football Italia. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  12. ^ Gianluigi Longari (22 September 2017). "Caputo: non un bomber, ma un fuoriclasse di categoria" (in Italian). www.tuttomercatoweb.com. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  13. ^ "Milan-Empoli, occhio a Caputo: è il bomber che non ti aspetti" (in Italian). Il Milanista. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  14. ^ D'Ottavi, Marco (4 June 2019). "Cosa ci mancherà delle retrocesse" (in Italian). Ultimo Uomo. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  15. ^ a b c d "F. Caputo". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  16. ^ "Francesco Caputo". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  17. ^ "Top Scorers Table - Lega Serie B". Lega Serie B. Retrieved 3 March 2018.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Francesco Caputo.
Empoli FC – current squad
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