Andrea Petagna (; born 30 June 1995) 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 striker for club

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 ...

. He has also previously represented the Italy national team.

Club career

AC Milan and loans

Petagna started his football career in

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

, where he was a member of the under-15 squad who won the ''Campionato Nazionale Giovanissimi'' in 2010 and a member of the under-17 squad who won the ''Campionato Nazionale Allievi'' the following year. He made his professional debut on 4 December 2012, coming on as a substitute in the late stages of a

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

group stage home game against Zenit St. Petersburg, which Milan lost 0–1. At the start of the 2013–14 season, Petagna was promoted full-time to the first team. He made his

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 ...

debut on 24 August 2013, coming on as a late substitute in the opening game, a 2–1 away loss against newly promoted

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Hellas Verona (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Verona, Veneto, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won ...

. However, following the acquisition of Alessandro Matri in the late days of the summer transfer window, Milan decided they would let Petagna go out on loan to Sampdoria in order to gain more first team experience. Sampdoria also had the option to make the deal a co-ownership agreement at the end of the season-long loan spell. In spite of that, the loan was terminated early and Petagna returned to Milan in January, having made five scoreless appearances during his stay at Sampdoria. He finished the season with three more senior appearances, while being mainly employed by the under-19 squad managed by

Filippo Inzaghi Filippo "Pippo" Inzaghi (; born 9 August 1973) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. He was most recently the head coach of club Pisa. He was nicknamed "Superpippo" (" Super Goof") or "Alta ten ...

. The side won the Viareggio Cup in February, defeating

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

in the final, with Petagna scoring the equaliser for the ''rossoneri'' in a 3–1 win. On 16 July 2014, Petagna was loaned out to

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 ...

side Latina ahead of the 2014–15 season. On 13 January 2015, he was signed by

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

on loan. On 30 August 2015, he was signed by Serie B newcomers Ascoli on loan.

Atalanta and Ascoli loan

On 25 January 2016, Petagna signed for

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

and was loaned to former club Ascoli until 30 June 2016.

SPAL

On 19 July 2018, Petagna signed for

SPAL Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, commonly referred to by the acronym SPAL (), is a professional football club based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. During the 2024–25 season the team played in Serie C, the third tier of the Italian foot ...

on loan until 30 June 2019 with an obligation to buy. He scored his first goal with

S.P.A.L. Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, commonly referred to by the acronym SPAL (), is a professional football club based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. During the 2024–25 season the team played in Serie C, the third tier of the Italian foot ...

in his debut match on 12 August, scoring the final 1–0 goal 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 ...

third round match against Spezia He scored his first

goals with the Emilian side on 17 September, scoring a double that allowed the Biancazzurri to beat his former side Atalanta 2–0. He made 37 appearances scoring 17 goals in all competitions, On 1 July 2019, Petagna was signed on a permanent deal by SPAL.

Napoli

On 30 January 2020, Petagna signed with

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

. He stayed at SPAL on loan until the end of 2019–20 season.

Monza

On 12 August 2022, Petagna joined newly promoted Serie A side

, with an obligation for purchase if certain conditions are met. He made his debut for Monza on 14 August, as a starter in a 2–1 Serie A defeat to

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. On 19 October Petagna scored his first goal for the ''biancorossi'', sealing the 3–2 comeback win in the round of 32 match against

Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...

. On 31 October, he scored the first goal Serie A goal for Monza, from a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

, momentarily giving his side the advantage in the home match against

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, which eventually ended in a 2–1 defeat. When Monza guaranteed

survival Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...

in the Serie A, Petagna's obligation-to-buy clause was triggered, forcing the

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

club to permanently acquire the striker for a reported total cost of €14 million.

Cagliari (loan)

On 30 August 2023, recently promoted to Serie A 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 ...

announced the signing of Petagna on a season-long loan from Monza, with an option to make the move permanent.

International career

Petagna won five caps for Italy under-16 between 2010 and 2011. In 2011, he won one further cap for Italy under-17. He went on to be capped for Italy under-18, making eight appearances and scoring two goals in 2013. In 2013, he was also capped for Italy under-19, making his first appearance on 24 April. He made his debut with the Italy U21 team on 11 October 2016, in the 2017 European U21 Championship qualification match against

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

. On 28 March 2017, Petagna made his senior international debut for the

Italy national football team The Italy national football team () has represented Italy in men's international Association football, football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for fo ...

, along with four other players, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 friendly away win against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. 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 ...

. On 18 June, he scored in Italy's opening match of the tournament, a 2–0 win over

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

; this was also his only goal for the Italy U21 side. Italy were eliminated in the semi-finals following a 3–1 defeat to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

on 27 June. Petagna gained notoriety at the tournament after winning the semifinal game, when he celebrated by taking his shorts off and showing off his

briefs Briefs (or a brief) are a type of short, form-fitting Undergarment, underwear and swimsuit, swimwear, as opposed to styles where material extends down the thighs. Briefs have various different styles, usually with a waistband attached to fabric ...

Personal life

Petagna is the grandson of a former football player and coach (1923–2000). He is partially of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

ancestry; his great-grandfather was a victim of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

in Italy.

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

Profile
at AC Monza * {{DEFAULTSORT:Petagna, Andrea 1995 births Living people Men's association football forwards Italian people of Jewish descent Italian men's footballers Footballers from Trieste Italy men's youth international footballers Italy men's under-21 international footballers Italy men's international footballers AC Milan players UC Sampdoria players Latina Calcio 1932 players LR Vicenza players Ascoli Calcio 1898 FC players Atalanta BC players SPAL players SSC Napoli players AC Monza players Cagliari Calcio players Serie A players Serie B players 21st-century Italian sportsmen