Gianluca Lapadula
Lapadula with Cagliari in 2023
Personal information
Full name Gianluca Lapadula Vargas[1]
Birth name Gianluca Lapadula
Date of birth (1990-02-07) 7 February 1990 (age 33)
Place of birth Turin, Piedmont, Italy
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Cagliari
Number 9
Youth career
1996–2004 Juventus
2004–2007 Collegno Paradiso
2006–2007 → Treviso (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Pro Vercelli 4 (0)
2008–2009 Ivrea 18 (0)
2009–2012 Parma 0 (0)
2010–2011 → Atletico Roma (loan) 0 (0)
2011 → Ravenna (loan) 7 (1)
2011–2012 → San Marino Calcio (loan) 35 (24)
2012–2013 Cesena 9 (0)
2013 → Frosinone (loan) 6 (0)
2013–2015 Parma 0 (0)
2013–2014 → Gorica (loan) 28 (11)
2014–2015 → Teramo (loan) 38 (21)
2015–2016 Pescara 40 (27)
2016–2018 AC Milan 27 (8)
2017–2018 → Genoa (loan) 28 (6)
2018–2020 Genoa 8 (1)
2019–2020 → Lecce (loan) 25 (11)
2020–2022 Benevento 58 (19)
2022– Cagliari 40 (22)
International career‡
2017 Italy B 1 (3)
2020– Peru 29 (8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:26, 12 December 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 June 2023

Gianluca Lapadula Vargas (born 7 February 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Cagliari. Born in Italy, he plays for the Peru national team.

Early life

Lapadula was born in Turin on 7 February 1990, to Gianfranco Lapadula, from the region of Apulia, and Blanca Aida Vargas Higinio, a Peruvian woman.[3][4] He has a brother named David, who was also a forward in the lower amateur leagues.[5][6][7]

Lapadula is nicknamed Lapagol in Italy, and El Bambino in Peru.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

Club career

Early career

Lapadula began his career with Juventus before being released in 2004 because he was not doing well in his studies.[15] After that he moved to Collegno Paradiso,[16][17] then left on loan to Treviso in 2006.[18] He returned to Piedmont for Serie C2 side Pro Vercelli on 31 August 2007.[19] He played for the reserve team.[20] In the 2008–09 season, he left for Lega Pro Seconda Divisione (ex–Serie C2) side Ivrea, and was selected to the Lega Pro 2nd Div. A representative team for Lega Pro Quadrangular Tournament and scored a goal against 2nd Div. C representative team in the third place match. Eventually, Group A finished third.[21] In August 2009 he was signed by Parma and spent one season with their Primavera team.[22] In July 2010, he left for Atletico Roma.[23]

Loans to Atletico Roma and Cesena

Lapadula made his debut for Atletico Roma on 8 August 2010, in the Coppa Italia preliminary round, lost in extra time (2–1). In January 2011, he left for Ravenna. He concluded the 2011–12 season as the topscorer in Group A with 24 goals.

On 15 June 2012, Lapadula joined Serie B club Cesena in co-ownership, signing a five-year contract.[24] Lapadula failed to play regularly for Cesena, and on 8 January 2013 he was signed by Frosinone.[25] In July 2013 the co-ownership between Cesena and Parma was resolved, and Lapadula returned to Parma.

Loans to Gorica and Teramo

Lapadula was loaned to Slovenian club ND Gorica on 1 July,[26] along with Bright Addae, Daniele Bazzoffia, Uroš Celcer, Massimo Coda, Alex Cordaz, Sebestyén Ihrig-Farkas, Alen Jogan, Floriano Vanzo and Fabio Lebran. The deals were finalised on 12 July.[27]

In July 2014 he was loaned to Teramo,[28] where he scored 21 goals and helped the club achieve promotion to Serie B,[29] then cancelled in August 2015 by the final judgement of the Italian Football Federation, due to match-fixing on the part of the President of Teramo, Luciano Campitellii, in the penultimate round of the league in the match against Savona.[30]

Pescara

After the bankruptcy of Parma, Lapadula was released on a free transfer, and in July 2015 he was signed by Pescara in Serie B on a four-year contract.[31] In the 2015–16 season he scored 30 goals in 43 appearances (including three goals in as many appearances in the playoffs), without scoring any penalties, earning the honour of top scorer in the Italian second division.[32][33]

AC Milan

On 24 June 2016, Lapadula passed his medical test with AC Milan, who reportedly paid Pescara €9 million plus bonus for the transfer, while the player signed a five-year deal.[34][35] His transfer drew comparisons with that of Gianni Comandini, who had also been signed by Milan as a "number 9" in 2000, primarily due to his goalscoring success in Serie B and without any prior Serie A experience.[36] He made his debut for Milan on 27 August 2016, coming on as an 86th-minute substitute during a 4–2 loss away against Napoli in Serie A.[37] He scored his first goal for Milan and in Serie A on 6 November 2016 in the 2–1 away victory against Palermo, three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Carlos Bacca.[38] On 26 November, Lapadula scored his first brace in Serie A in a 4–1 away victory against Empoli.[39] He finished the 2016–17 season with 8 goals in 27 games, two of which were scored from a penalty spot.[40]

Genoa

On 18 July 2017, Lapadula moved to Genoa, on a one-season loan with an obligation to make the deal permanent.[41][42] The total transfer fee was €13 million[43][44] (€2 million loan + €11 million for outright[42]) which was Genoa's most expensive signing of all-time.[43]

Loan to Lecce

On 12 July 2019, he was loaned to Serie A newcomers Lecce.[45]

Benevento

On 2 September 2020, Lapadula joined Benevento from Genoa on a three-year contract,[46] for a reported fee of €4 million.[47]

Cagliari

On 26 July 2022, Lapadula joined Cagliari on a three-year contract.[48]

International career

Lapadula is eligible to play for Italy and Peru as a result of his family background. He had received a call-up by Peru for the Copa América Centenario but had not officially decided which international side to represent at the time.[49] On 7 November 2016, he was called up to the Italy senior squad for the first time for a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Liechtenstein and a friendly match against Germany, replacing the injured Napoli forward Manolo Gabbiadini.[50]

On 31 May 2017, Lapadula scored a hat-trick for the Italy B team in a friendly against San Marino.[51]

On 30 October 2020, Lapadula was called-up by Ricardo Gareca to the Peru senior team for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Chile and Argentina.[52][53] He made his debut on 13 November 2020, as a substitute in the match against Chile.[54]

On 23 June 2021, he scored his first senior international goal for Peru in a 2–2 draw against Ecuador in the first round of the 2021 Copa América, later also assisting André Carrillo's goal.[55] On 2 July, Lapadula scored once and contributed to Gustavo Gómez's own goal in a 3–3 draw against Paraguay in the quarter-finals of the competition, later also netting his nation's first penalty in the resulting 4–3 penalty shoot-out victory.[56] On 9 July, he scored Peru's second goal in a 3–2 loss to Colombia in the third-place match of the tournament.[57]

Style of play

"I'm a player who never gives up on a loose ball, always fighting even if the game seems lost. This is my character, it's never say die. – As I said before I am a full-on player."

—Lapadula being asked to describe his style of play in an interview with SoccerBible.[58]

A dynamic forward, Lapadula is a tenacious and physically strong striker, who stands out for his work-rate and temperament; due to his versatility, he can play as a centre-forward, and can also adapt to more creative roles, as a second striker, or winger on either flank, courtesy of his solid technical qualities, as well as his ability to both score and assist goals.[12][13][14][59][60][61][62] An uncommonly accurate and powerful finisher, he also has a strong left foot, and an eye for goal.[60][63][64]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 30 December 2023[65]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Atletico Roma (loan) 2010–11 Serie C1 0 0 1 0 – 1 0
Ravenna (loan) 2010–11 Serie C1 7 1 0 0 – 7 1
San Marino (loan) 2011–12 Serie C2 35 24 0 0 – 35 24
Cesena 2012–13 Serie B 9 0 2 1 – 11 1
Frosinone (loan) 2012–13 Serie C1 6 0 0 0 – 6 0
Gorica (loan) 2013–14 1. SNL 28 11 4 3 – 32 14
Teramo (loan) 2014–15 Lega Pro 38 21 1 2 2 1 41 24
Pescara 2015–16 Serie B 40 27 2 0 4[b] 3 46 30
Milan 2016–17 Serie A 27 8 1 0 1[c] 0 29 8
Genoa (loan) 2017–18 Serie A 28 6 1 0 – 29 6
Genoa 2018–19 Serie A 8 1 1 1 – 9 2
Lecce (loan) 2019–20 Serie A 25 11 2 2 – 27 13
Benevento 2020–21 Serie A 37 8 0 0 – 37 8
2021–22 Serie B 21 11 1 0 3[b] 2 25 13
Total 58 19 1 0 3 2 62 21
Cagliari 2022–23 Serie B 36 21 2 1 5[b] 4 43 26
2023–24 Serie A 7 1 1 1 – 8 2
Total 43 22 3 2 5 4 51 28
Career total 352 151 19 11 15 10 386 172
  1. ^ Includes Coppa Italia, Slovenian Football Cup
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in Serie B promotion play-offs
  3. ^ Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana

International

As of match played 20 June 2023[65]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Peru 2020 2 0
2021 15 5
2022 7 3
2023 3 0
Total 27 8
Scores and results list Peru's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lapadula goal.
List of international goals scored by Gianluca Lapadula[66]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 23 June 2021 Estádio Olímpico Pedro Ludovico, Goiânia, Brazil  Ecuador 1–2 2–2 2021 Copa América
2 2 July 2021 Estádio Olímpico Pedro Ludovico, Goiânia, Brazil  Paraguay 2–1 3–3 2021 Copa América
3 9 July 2021 Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília, Brazil  Colombia 2–2 2–3 2021 Copa América
4 11 November 2021 Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru  Bolivia 1–0 3–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 16 November 2021 Estadio Olímpico de la UCV, Caracas, Venezuela  Venezuela 1–0 2–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 29 March 2022 Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru  Paraguay 1–0 2–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 5 June 2022 RCDE Stadium, Barcelona, Spain  New Zealand 1–0 1–0 Friendly
8 27 September 2022 Audi Field, Washington, D.C., United States  El Salvador 2–1 4–1 Friendly

Honours

Gorica[65]

Milan[65]

Individual

References

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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gianluca Lapadula.
Cagliari Calcio – current squad
Peru squad – 2021 Copa América fourth place
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