Allan (footballer, born 1991)

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Marques and the second or paternal family name is Loureiro.
Allan
Personal information
Full name Allan Marques Loureiro
Date of birth (1991-01-08) 8 January 1991
Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Central midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Napoli
Number 5
Youth career
2007–2008 Madureira
2008–2010 Deportivo Maldonado
2008–2010 → Vasco da Gama (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Deportivo Maldonado 0 (0)
2011–2012 → Vasco da Gama (loan) 41 (0)
2012–2015 Udinese 104 (1)
2015– Napoli 37 (3)
National team‡
2011 Brazil U20 5 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:45, 28 August 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22 August 2011

Allan Marques Loureiro (born 8 January 1991), better known as Allan is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Italian club Napoli.

Allan has dual citizenship and also holds a Portuguese passport, making him eligible to be counted as an EU player.

Club career

Deportivo Maldonado

2011–12 season

Allan was signed from Madureira by Uruguayan side Deportivo Maldonado at 17 years of age old for an undisclosed fee. However, he was later loaned out to Vasco da Gama back in Brazil; he would not make an appearance for Maldonado.

Vasco da Gama (loan)

2011–12 season

Allan moved to Vasco da Gama once again still as a youth player, loaned from Deportivo Maldonado. A year after he played for their youth team, he was brought back and promoted to the first-team by coach Dorival Júnior, playing in many crucial games in the club's 2009 season to help the side win the Série B and secure promotion to the top-flight Série A, though he ultimately suffered an injury.

Allan, injured, could not compete in the Campeonato Carioca with Vasco da Gama nor the 2010 Copa do Brasil. After initial recovery, he returned to the club's junior team to regain fitness ahead of a return to the first-team. He then returned to the professional fold in the last round of the Série A before the break for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, playing in the Copa da Hora friendly tournament. The club took the tournament with Allan participating, also scoring a goal in a 3–2 victory over Coritiba.

Udinese

2012–13 season

On 4 June 2012, Allan signed for Italian Serie A side Udinese for a reported fee of €3 million from Deportivo Maldonado.[1] He made his debut for Udinese at home at the Stadio Friuli against Juventus, where he created an assist for teammate Andrea Lazzari's goal.

In his first season in Udine, Allan played mostly as a defensive midfielder, recovering and distributing a large number of balls. Manager Francesco Guidolin played him in 36 games in the league out of 38 games, he proved one of the best bargains of the season, defying expectation and playing almost all games as a starter to help Udinese to finish in a surprise fifth-place position, securing qualification to next year's UEFA Europa League.[2]

2013–14 season

A more challenging second season followed Allan and Udinese, as the club finished 13th in the league in what was Francesco Guidolin's final season with the side. Despite this, Allan excelled in midfield, even scoring his first goals for the club as his improvement in Italy continued. His calm and controlled performance in midfield also prompted future Udinese manager Andrea Stramaccioni to suggest that he was now one of the best young midfielders in Europe, comparable to Juventus' Paul Pogba.[3]

2014–15 season

In the 2014–15 season, Allan was to be the top ball-winner of all of Europe's top-five leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1) with the most balls won. His superb performances were tracked by major European sides Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, VfL Wolfsburg, Arsenal and Napoli, which all were reportedly interested in his signature.[4][5] Allan ultimately joined the latter, remaining in Italy.

Napoli

2015–16 season

Allan made his Napoli debut in a pre-season friendly against Lega Pro side FeralpiSalò, which Napoli won 5–2.[6] He made his first Serie A debut for Napoli at home against Sampdoria in the second matchday of the Serie A season, creating an assist for Gonzalo Higuaín with a through-ball that the latter converted with a right-footed shot from the right side of the box, making the scoreline 2–0. Allan was later substituted in the second half for David López.[7] Allan would then receive a start in Napoli's third game of the season, a 2–2 away draw with Empoli, scoring an equalizer in the 78th minute after converting a pass from captain Marek Hamšík.[8]

On 17 September, Allan came off the bench in the 62nd minute against Belgian club Club Brugge in his first ever Europa League game, assisting José Callejón's second goal of the game with a through-ball just minutes after coming on. The match finished 5–0 for Napoli, the club's largest European win and the joint-largest margin of defeat for Brugge, equalling its 6–1 defeat at Monaco in 1988.[9] Allan would go on to score once again and provide another assist in a 5–0 win against Lazio, only three days after the Brugge victory on 20 September, giving manager Maurizio Sarri trust in him for his precise passing and defensive work.[10]

On 26 September, Allan scored a goal against defending champions Juventus, with excellent passing and an impressive overall game in a 2–1 home win.[11] On 4 October, Allan would score the opening goal in a 0–4 away rout of Milan in a swift counter-attacking move, where the Brazilian went one-on-one with Milan goalkeeper Diego López.[12]

International career

Under-20

He was called up by Brazilian under-20 coach Ney Franco on 20 August 2011, where he impressed enough at Vasco da Gama to earn a call-up for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Brazil's U-20 World Cup-winning side also featured the likes of Oscar, Philippe Coutinho, Casemiro and Danilo, as well as future Napoli teammates Gabriel and Bruno Uvini. Brazil made it to the tournament final, beating Portugal 3–2 in extra time and winning the U20 World Cup for the fifth time.[13]

Although born in Brazil, Allan holds dual Portuguese-Brazilian nationality, making him eligible to play for Brazil or Portugal.

Style of play

He operates primarily as a defensive midfielder and central midfielder and is comfortable at playing both in attack and defence and is equally comfortable being deployed deep or as a playmaker.

Normally a defensive midfielder, Allan is known as a dynamic midfielder with good ball winning skills. He also possesses good dribbling skills, pace and good long passing ability. He has been described as different from traditional defensive midfielder, due to his reputation for dribbling past defenders and passing through the legs of a defender.[14]

Honours

Club

Vasco da Gama

Country

Brazil

References

External links

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