Luca Ercolani (born 25 November 1999) 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

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for club Pianese.

Club career

Manchester United

Having previously been a

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

in his early years, Ercolani soon turned his attentions to

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. He started his youth career with USD Classe, before moving to

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

until 2012. After a stint with

Rimini Rimini ( , ; or ; ) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. Sprawling along the Adriatic Sea, Rimini is situated at a strategically-important north-south passage along the coast at the southern tip of the Po Valley. It is ...

, Ercolani moved to

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

. He was later signed on loan by

Cesena Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...

, though ''I Bianconeri'' would choose not to sign the player. In July 2016, having been scouted by David Williams a year prior, Ercolani completed a transfer to

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. He remained with the English club until the start of 2021, appearing at U18, U19, U21 and U23 level; notably featuring in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

and

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the under-19 teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions Le ...

. Ercolani did train with the first-team squad on numerous occasions under both

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...

and

Ole Gunnar Solskjær Ole Gunnar Solskjær (; born 26 February 1973) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who currently manages Süper Lig club Beşiktaş. He spent the majority of his playing career with Manchester United and made 67 appea ...

. During the 2019–20 season, having spent time out with an injury, Ercolani - on the advice of some of the club's coaches - completed his UEFA B coaching qualification.

Carpi

On 8 January 2021, having previously extended his Manchester United contract until June 2021 in May 2020, Ercolani returned to Italy with

Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...

side

Carpi Carpi may refer to: Places * Carpi, Emilia-Romagna, a large town in the province of Modena, central Italy ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Carpi * Carpi (Africa), a city and former diocese of Roman Africa, now a Roman Catholic titular see People ...

; penning terms until June 2022. He made his senior debut on 20 January during an away match against

Matelica Matelica is a (municipality) of the Province of Macerata in the Italian region of Marche. Located about southwest of Ancona and west of Macerata, it extends over an area of . Geography Matelica lies in an ample valley where the Braccano ...

, as he featured for the full duration of a 1–0 loss at Stadio Helvia Recina. Further appearances arrived that month versus

Sambenedettese A.S. Sambenedettese S.r.l. is an Italian association football club, based in San Benedetto del Tronto, Marche. Sambenedettese currently plays in Serie D. History Foundation The original club was founded in 1923 as ''U.S. Sambenedettese''. ...

and Feralpisalò. Ercolani was sent off for the first time in senior football on 7 February against Imolese. Following the 2020–21 season, Carpi was excluded from the Italian leagues due to debts, making him a free agent.

Catania

On 13 August 2021, he signed a contract with

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

for the term of one season with an optional second year. On 9 April 2022, he was released together with all of his Catania teammates following the club's exclusion from Italian football due to its inability to overcome a number of financial issues.

Fidelis Andria

On 28 July 2022, Ercolani joined

Fidelis Andria Fidelis Andria 2018 or simply Fidelis Andria is an Italian football club based in Andria, Apulia. The club was founded in 1971 and re-founded in 2005, 2013 and 2018. The team competes in . Fidelis Andria play their home matches at Stadio Degl ...

Alessandria

On 18 August 2023, he reached an agreement with

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

on the basis of a one-year contract with an option for a second year.

Foggia

On 30 January 2024, Ercolani moved to

Foggia Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...

Pianese

On 11 January 2025, he joined Pianese.

International career

Ercolani won five caps for Italy at under-20 level, having made his debut in October 2018.

Style of play

Ercolani started out as a striker, though later switched to play as a

after joining

. He is also capable of playing at full-back.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ercolani, Luca 1999 births Living people Footballers from Ravenna Italian men's footballers Italy men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders Serie C players AC Carpi players Catania FC players Fidelis Andria 2018 players US Alessandria Calcio 1912 players Calcio Foggia 1920 players US Pianese players Italian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Italian expatriate sportspeople in England 21st-century Italian sportsmen