Gaetano Castrovilli (born 17 February 1997) 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Club career

Bari

Castrovilli initially started playing football with the Minervino football school. At the age of 11, he joined the

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

youth system. He went on to make his debut for the first team in

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 ...

in 2015, and later broke into the starting line-up under manager Roberto Stellone during the 2016–17 season, making 11 appearances for the club in total.

Fiorentina

His performances caught the attention of

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

, and he was later sent on loan to join the Florentine youth side in order to take part in the

Torneo di Viareggio The Torneo di Viareggio (), officially named the Viareggio Cup World Football Tournament Coppa Carnevale, is a youth association football tournament held annually in the commune of Viareggio, Italy and its surrounding areas. Established in 1949, t ...

in 2016, during which he scored a goal in a 1–1 draw against Argentine side

Belgrano Belgrano may refer to: People * Joaquín Belgrano (1773–1848), an Argentine patriot * José Denis Belgrano (1844–1917), Spanish painter * Joseph Belgrano (1762–1823), Argentine military officer and politician, brother of Manuel * Manuel Be ...

; the senior side eventually acquired him from Bari on a permanent basis that year for €400,000. After six months with the ''primavera'' side, in 2017 he was then sent on loan to

Cremonese Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

in Serie B for two seasons in 2017, where he made 53 appearances in total, scoring 5 goals. In 2019, he returned to Fiorentina, and was included in

Vincenzo Montella Vincenzo Montella (; born 18 June 1974) is an Italian association football, football manager and former striker (association football), striker. He is the current head coach of the Turkey national football team. Montella's nickname during his p ...

's first team plans; he went on to make 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 against

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 ...

later that year.

Lazio and loan to Monza

In July 2024, Castrovilli joined

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

on a free transfer. On 31 January 2025, he was loaned to

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 ...

for the remainder of the 2024–25 season.

International career

Castrovilli made his senior debut 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 ...

under 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 ...

, on 15 November 2019, coming on as a late substitute for

Lorenzo Insigne Lorenzo Insigne (; born 4 June 1991) is an Italian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward or Midfielder#Winger, winger for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC. Insigne began his pro ...

in a 3–0 away win over

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, in a Euro 2020 qualifier. Following an injury to

Lorenzo Pellegrini Lorenzo Pellegrini (; born 19 June 1996) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Roma, which he captains, and the Italy national team. Pellegrini is an academy graduate of Roma, having joined the clu ...

, Castrovilli was called-up in June 2021 by Mancini for Italy's

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

squad. He made his first and only appearance of the tournament in Italy's final group match, a 1–0 victory against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in Rome on 20 June, coming on as a late second-half substitute for

Matteo Pessina Matteo Pessina (born 21 April 1997) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Monza, whom he captains, and the Italy national team. Coming through the youth system, Pessina started his career at Monza. He joined ...

; the result allowed them to top their group. On 11 July, Castrovilli won the European Championship with Italy following a 3–2

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

victory over

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, after a 1–1 draw in

extra-time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

Style of play

Castrovilli is a talented and versatile offensive–minded midfielder, with an eye for goal, who is capable of playing as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

or as an offensive–minded

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, known as the ''

mezzala In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

'' role in Italian football jargon; he has also been deployed as a left winger, a position which allows him to cut onto his stronger right foot and shoot on goal. A fast, elegant, and dynamic player, despite not having a particularly low centre of gravity, he is capable of changing direction quickly, and is also known for his technique,

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...

skills, and use of feints, as well as his ability to exploit spaces and create a numerical advantage for his team when attacking with his late runs from deep. Due to his vision and intelligence, he is often involved in the build-up of attacking plays, although he is also known for his defensive work-rate, tackling, and ability to cover ground.

Personal life

In 2022, Castrovilli married Italian model Rachele Risaliti, with whom he had his first child in February 2024.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Fiorentina *

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 ...

runner-up:

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

runner-up:

, 2023–24 Italy *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Orders :*

5th Class / Knight: ''

Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republic, it is awarded for ...

'': 2021

References

External links

Profile
at

Lega Serie A The Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A (Italian for ''National Professionals League Serie A''), commonly known as LNPA or Lega Serie A (Serie A League), is the governing body that runs the major professional Association football, football com ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Castrovilli, Gaetano 1997 births Living people Footballers from the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani Italian men's footballers Italy men's youth international footballers Italy men's under-21 international footballers Italy men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders SSC Bari players ACF Fiorentina players US Cremonese players SS Lazio players AC Monza players Serie B players Serie A players UEFA Euro 2020 players UEFA European Championship–winning players European champions for Italy Knights of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic 21st-century Italian sportsmen