Luca Vignali (born 11 January 1996) 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

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 ...

for club

Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguri ...

. A versatile midfielder, Vignali is capable of playing both centrally and in wide positions.

Early career

Vignali was born in the

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

town of

La Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguria ...

, and began his career in the local

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

Spezia Calcio Spezia Calcio is an Italian professional Association football, football club based in La Spezia, Liguria, currently competing in the Serie B. Spezia Calcio was founded in 1906 by the Swiss banker Hermann Hurni (or Hurny in some documents), who ...

at the age of six. He progressed through the youth teams of the ''Aquilotti'', eventually becoming a mainstay in the main Primavera side and going on to make over 50 appearances in a variety of midfield roles, scoring 10 goals. He was part of the side that managed to finished third in the 2014–15 Campionato Primavera, and reached the quarter-finals of the subsequent ''Fase Finale'' ('Final Eight' knockout tournament) before being eliminated by

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 ...

First-team

Vignali was named on the Spezia first-team bench for 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 ...

game against

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

on 8 August 2015. His first appearance for the first-team was as a last minute substitution in the 2–1

loss to

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, ...

. In

, Vignali's first appearance came in a 3–1 win over

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 ...

. He played 86 minutes, registering both his first professional goal and first professional assist, as the team recorded a 3–1 victory. He became increasingly involved as the 2015–16 season progressed, and was rewarded with his first professional contract in June 2016, lasting three years. He began the 2016–17 season playing fairly regularly under manager Domenico di Carlo. On 19 August 2022, Vignali signed a three-year contract with

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

. On 9 January 2024, Vignali returned to

on loan until the end of the season, with Spezia holding an obligation to make the transfer permanent if they avoided relegation to

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 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vignali, Luca Living people 1996 births Footballers from La Spezia Men's association football midfielders Italian men's footballers Spezia Calcio players AC Reggiana 1919 players Como 1907 players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players 21st-century Italian sportsmen