Alessio Cragno (born 28 June 1994) is an Italian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for club

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria. Sampdoria was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the ...

Club career

Brescia

Cragno made his debut at

Brescia Calcio Brescia Calcio, commonly referred to as Brescia (), is an Italian football club based in Brescia, Lombardy. The team currently plays in Serie B, the second tier of Italian football, but will play in Serie C in 2025–26 due to financial contro ...

on 25 September 2012 against

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

in a

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

game, as the starting keeper, ahead of Stefano Russo; first choice keeper Michele Arcari was rested. Brescia won the game 2–1 after two goals from

Andrea Caracciolo Andrea Caracciolo (; born 18 September 1981) is an Italian football director and former player, currently chairman of Lumezzane. A striker, Caracciolo was also a full Italy international, having made two senior appearances between 2004 and 20 ...

. Before the start of season Brescia had sold their first choice keeper Nicola Leali to Juventus. Cragno has been the first-choice regular since the 2013–14 season and performed well. Cragno also signed a contract with Brescia which would last until 30 June 2016, in 2012–13 season.

Cagliari

In July 2014, Cragno moved to

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

side

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

, penning a four-year deal for a fee of €1 million. His debut for Cagliari was in a Serie A match against

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

on 21 September 2014, losing 2–0.

Loan to Lanciano

In January 2016 he was loaned to

Lanciano Lanciano (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Chieti, part of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It has 33,944 inhabitants as of 2023. The town is known for the first recorded Catholic Church, Catholic Miracle of Lanciano, Eucharis ...

in Serie B, who by the end of the season were relegated to

Lega Pro The Lega Italiano Calcio Professionistico (Italian for Professional Football Italian League), commonly known as Lega Pro (Pro League), is the governing body that runs the third tier of professional football competitions in Italy, the Serie C. I ...

after losing the play-out matches against

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919 is an Italian professional football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recently in 2011. The current ...

. On 9 June 2016, Cragno signed a new four-year deal with Cagliari.

Loan to Benevento

In summer 2016, he was sent again on loan with option to buy, to Serie B newcomer

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

. After a successful season, in which Benevento achieved the promotion to Serie A through play-offs with Cragno as the starting goalkeeper, he returned to Cagliari in the summer of 2017.

Return to Cagliari

During the 2017–18 season he returned to Cagliari, establishing himself as the goalkeeper of the ''rossoblù'' team. He played 29

games, as well as a game in the

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

– keeping a clean sheet on 7 occasions. The team remained in the top flight after finishing in 16th place. In the 2018–19 season Cragno stood out as one of the best goalkeepers in the league: he won the ''Premio Apport'' for best goalkeeper in Serie A, being voted by the ''Associazione Italiana Preparatori Portieri Calcio'' (Italian Association of Goalkeepers Trainers). He finished the season as the player with the most minutes played in the league (3,686) and the goalkeeper with the most saves made (152). He renewed his contract with Cagliari until 2024. On 7 August 2019, during a pre-season

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

played in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

against Fenerbahçe, he sustained an injury and remained on the sidelines for five months. He returned to the field on 26 January 2020, in a 1–1 draw against

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

Monza

On 27 June 2022, Cragno joined newly-promoted Serie A side

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

on a one-year loan, with an option and conditional obligation for purchase. He made his debut on 8 August, in a 3–2

win against

Frosinone Frosinone (; local dialect: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lazio, administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is about southeast of Rome, close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of th ...

Loan to Sassuolo

After Monza had avoided relegation in the

2022–23 Serie A The 2022–23 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 121st season of top-tier Italian football, the 91st in a round-robin tournament, and the 13th since its organization under an own league committee, the Lega Serie A ...

season, on 15 July 2023, Cragno was sent on loan to

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...

with an option to buy.

Sampdoria

On 3 February 2025, Cragno joined

on a half-season deal.

International career

Cragno made his debut with the Italy under-21 squad on 4 June 2014, replacing Francesco Bardi in a friendly match won 4–0 against

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. In June 2017, he was included in the Italy under-21 squad for the

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2017) was the 21st edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, a biennial international youth association football, football championship organised by UEFA for ...

by manager

Luigi Di Biagio Luigi Di Biagio (; born 3 June 1971) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is currently managing Saudi Arabia U23. A former midfielder, Di Biagio last played for Ascoli in 2007, and previously also played for seve ...

. Cragno was given his first senior international call-up for

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in September 2018, by manager

Roberto Mancini Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of the Saudi Arabia national team. As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for h ...

, for Italy's opening

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matches against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

later that month. On 7 October 2020, Cragno made his senior International debut for Italy in a friendly match against

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, replacing

Salvatore Sirigu Salvatore Sirigu (, ; born 12 January 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Palermo. Sirigu began his career with Venezia and then Palermo. In 2011, he moved to French side Paris Saint-Germain. Twice v ...

in the second half of a 6–0 home win.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Individual * Serie B Footballer of the Year: 2017

References

External links

Profile
at

AC Monza Associazione Calcio Monza (), or simply Monza, is a professional football club based in Monza, Lombardy, Italy. The team plays in the Serie B, the second tier of Italian football, following relegation in the 2024–25 Serie A season. The clu ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cragno, Alessio Living people 1994 births People from Fiesole Footballers from the Metropolitan City of Florence Men's association football goalkeepers Italian men's footballers Brescia Calcio players Cagliari Calcio players SS Virtus Lanciano 1924 players Benevento Calcio players AC Monza players US Sassuolo Calcio players UC Sampdoria players Serie B players Serie A players Italy men's youth international footballers Italy men's under-21 international footballers Italy men's international footballers 21st-century Italian sportsmen