Domenico Berardi

Domenico Berardi
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-08-01) 1 August 1994
Place of birth Cariati, Italy
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
 Sassuolo
Number 25
Youth career
2008–2010 Cosenza
2010–2012 Sassuolo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012– Sassuolo 129 (51)
National team‡
2012–2013 Italy U19 3 (1)
2014– Italy U21 18 (3)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 August 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 August 2016

Domenico Berardi (Italian pronunciation: [doˈmeniko beˈrardi];[2] born 1 August 1994) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Sassuolo and the Italy national under-21 team. He began his club career with Sassuolo in 2012, helping the team win the Serie B title and earn promotion to Serie A in his debut season, later also being named the best player of the competition. His prolific performances in Serie A saw him emerge as one of Italy's most promising young footballers, and earned him the Bravo Award in 2015. He is currently Sassuolo's all-time top-scorer.[3]

Club career

Sassuolo

Youth career

Born in Cariati, Calabria, Berardi joined the youth academy of Cosenza at the age of 13, before moving to Sassuolo at the age of 16.[4][5]

2012–13 season

He made his senior debut for Sassuolo in Serie B on 27 August 2012, at the age of 18, in a 3–0 away win over Cesena,[6] and scored his first professional goal five days later, in a 2–1 home win over Crotone.[7][8] In November 2012, he was linked with a transfer to a number of English clubs.[9] In 2013, he was named Best Player of the Serie B in the past season in the annual Gran Galà del calcio awards, after helping Sassuolo win the Serie B title, and an historic promotion to Serie A, scoring 11 goals.[10] In June 2013, he was described as the "undoubted star of the [Sassuolo] side."[11]

2013–14 season

On 2 September 2013, Juventus confirmed via their official website that Berardi had joined the club on a co-ownership basis that saw Luca Marrone transfer in the opposite direction, both for a fee of €4.5 million.[12] Berardi remained with Sassuolo on a season-long loan deal for the 2013–14 season.[13][14] He made his Serie A debut at the age of 19, in a 1–1 away draw against Napoli, on 25 September 2013.[15] He scored his first Serie A goal from a penalty on 6 October 2013, in a 3–1 defeat to Parma.[16] On 20 October, he scored a penalty as Sassuolo defeated Bologna 2–1 for their first Serie A win, moving them off bottom spot.[17]

He scored a hat-trick, including two penalties, in Sassuolo's first ever Serie A away win, 4–3 against Sampdoria on 3 November 2013.[18]

On 12 January 2014, Berardi scored all four goals in a 4–3 home win against Milan. In doing so, he became the second youngest player to score four goals in a single Serie A match – the youngest was the 18-year-old Silvio Piola in 1931 – and the first player to score four in a league match against Milan.[19][20]

On 6 May 2014, Berardi scored a first-half hat-trick in 4–3 away win at Fiorentina.[21][22] He finished the season with 16 goals in 29 games in the league as Sassuolo avoided relegation.[7]

2014–15 season

In July 2014, it was confirmed that Berardi was to stay at Sassuolo for another season;[23] the co-ownership deal was also renewed on 20 June 2014.[24]

On 17 May 2015, he scored a hat-trick at the Mapei Stadium in a 3–2 win over A.C. Milan.[25] He finished the 2014–15 Serie A season with 15 goals and 10 assists, and was one of the top assist providers in the league.[26] He reached 30 league goals in 59 games, noted by UEFA to be quicker than the 70 matches taken for Lionel Messi to reach that milestone.[27] On 25 June 2015 it was announced through an official statement that co-ownership was resolved in favour of Sassuolo for €10 million.[28][29][30] It was reported that it was part of Simone Zaza's deal to Juventus. However, Juventus also retained the option to bring Berardi back to Turin in 2016.[31]

2015–16 season

Berardi opened the 2015–16 Serie A season with a Man of the Match performance in a 2–1 home win over Napoli, setting up Floro Flores's goal;[32] however, he also picked up an injury during the match, which will reportedly rule him out for a month and a half.[33] He returned to the pitch after an early recovery on 20 September 2015, coming on as a substitute in a 2–2 away draw against Roma.[34] He scored his first goal of the season from the penalty spot in a 2–1 home win over Lazio on 18 October 2015.[35] Sassuolo finished the league season in sixth place, sealing a spot in the third qualifying round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League.[36]

2016–17 season

On 28 July 2016, Berardi made his debut in European competitions in the first leg of a third-round UEFA Europa League qualifying match against FC Luzern, scoring his and Sassuolo's first ever goal in the competition from the penalty spot in a 1–1 away draw.[37] In the return leg on 4 August, he scored twice in a 3–0 home win which allowed Sassuolo to advance to the play-off round.[38] In the first leg of the Europa League play-offs, on 18 August, Berardi scored a goal and set up another in a 3–0 home win over Red Star Belgrade.[39] On the opening match of the 2016–17 Serie A season three days later, he scored once again, from the penalty spot, to give Sassuolo a 1–0 away victory over Palermo.[40] On 25 August, he scored yet another goal (his sixth in five matches) in a 1–1 draw against Red Star Belgrade in the return leg of the Europa League play-offs to seal a spot for Sassuolo in the season's Europa League group stage.[41] On 28 August, he continued his goalscoring run, netting a goal in a 2–1 home win over Pescara, becoming the youngest Italian player since the 1994–95 season to score 40 goals in Serie A, and the second youngest player overall, behind Alexandre Pato, at the age of 22 years and 27 days; he later suffered an injury.[42][43]

International career

He was a component of the Italian under-19 national team, but did not answer his call-up for qualifications to the European Championship of the age group and was disqualified for nine months for violation of the code of ethics.[44][45]

Berardi has played for the Italian under-21 national team.[7] He received his first call-up on 28 February 2014, for the team's European qualifying match against Northern Ireland on 5 March.[46] On 2 March, however, he elbowed Cristian Molinaro during Sassuolo's league fixture against Parma, and was subsequently excluded from the squad for violating the team's code of ethics.[47] He made his debut under Italy under-21 manager Luigi Di Biagio on 4 June 2014, in a 4–0 home win over Montenegro.[48] He scored his first goal on his third appearance for the azzurrini, the match-winning goal in a 3–2 win over Serbia in a 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying match, which allowed Italy to progress to the playoffs, and eventually qualify for the final tournament, which would be held in the Czech Republic.[49]

On 1 June 2015, Berardi was selected in Di Biagio's 27-man provisional squad for the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship;[50] on 7 June, he was included in the final 23-man squad which would take part at the tournament.[51] Berardi scored a goal from a penalty in Italy's opening match of the tournament, against Sweden, on 18 June, which ended in a 2–1 loss.[27] On 24 June, he set up Andrea Belotti's goal in Italy's 3–1 win over England in Italy's final group match, although the result was not enough to see the Italian under-21 side progress to the semi-finals, as the azzurrini finished third in their group, behind the two eventual finalists Portugal and Sweden.[52]

He received his first senior international call-up for Italy from manager Antonio Conte in October 2015, ahead of Italy's UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Norway on 10 and 13 October; he suffered a muscular injury in Sassuolo's pre-match warmup against Empoli on 4 October, however, which forced him to pull out of the national side for the two upcoming fixtures.[53][54]

Style of play

A quick, tenacious, and hardworking left-footed player with an eye for goal, Berardi is capable of being deployed in several offensive positions on either side of the pitch, or through the centre; he has been utilised as a striker and as a supporting forward, although his preferred position is that of a winger, usually on the right side of the pitch, which allows him to cut into the centre and shoot with his stronger left foot.[55][56] He is also an accurate penalty taker.[57] Berardi is regarded as one of the most talented and promising young footballers of his generation;[58] in 2014, Don Balón listed him as one of the top-100 young players in the world.[59] In 2014, former Milan and Italy manager, Arrigo Sacchi, described Berardi as "a player of great talent, a modern footballer who plays for the team all over the field. The liveliness, intuition, temperament, strength combine with a good technique."[60] In 2015, 1982 FIFA World Cup winner Giancarlo Antognoni described Berardi as "...the young [Roberto] Baggio of this generation" and as "...the Sassuolo star that mixes creativity with strength. Just like when Platini called Baggio ‘a nine and a half.’ He must only learn to control his character. At times his temper betrays him but he will learn."[61] In a 2015 interview, Berardi stated that his main influences as a footballer were Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimović, and Arjen Robben.[62]

Career statistics

As of 28 August 2016[7]
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sassuolo 2012–13 Serie B371120——3911
2013–14 Serie A291610——3016
2014–15 Serie A321520——3415
2015–16 Serie A29720——317
2016–17 Serie A220045—67
Career total 129517045—14056

    Honours

    Club

    Sassuolo[55]

    Individual

    References

    1. ↑ "Statistiche Giocatori". Sassuolocalcio.it. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
    2. ↑ See Domenico and Berardi in Dizionario d'ortografia e di pronunzia
    3. ↑ "Ten claims to fame: Sassuolo". UEFA.com. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
    4. ↑ Marco Giordano (14 May 2013). "La Meglio Gioventu' – Domenico Berardi" (in Italian). CalcioWeb. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
    5. ↑ Paolo Camedda (3 August 2013). "Generazione di Fenomeni – Domenico Berardi, il 'Van Persie della Sila' che piace a Juventus, Napoli, Inter... e Manchester Utd" (in Italian). Goal.com (IT). Retrieved 8 September 2013.
    6. ↑ "Cesena vs. Sassuolo 0 - 3". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
    7. 1 2 3 4 Domenico Berardi profile at Soccerway
    8. ↑ "Sassuolo vs. Crotone 2 - 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
    9. ↑ Simon Jones (13 November 2012). "Man United, City and Liverpool lead chase for Italian youngster Berardi". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
    10. ↑ "Gran Gala del Calcio 2013 – Winners". Forza Italian Football. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
    11. ↑ Scott Johnson (16 June 2013). "Sassuolo become smallest town to reach Serie A". When Saturday Comes. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
    12. ↑ "Juventus complete double transfer deal with Sassuolo". Juventus.com. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
    13. ↑ "Agreements with Sassuolo Calcio" (PDF). Juventus FC. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
    14. ↑ "Juventus complete double transfer deal with Sassuolo". Juventus F.C. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
    15. ↑ "Napoli vs. Sassuolo 1 - 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
    16. ↑ "Parma - Sassuolo (3 - 1)". Eurosport. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
    17. ↑ "Sassuolo 2–1 Bologna: Neroverdi Leapfrog Rossublu After Home Win". Forza Italian Football. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
    18. ↑ "Berardi treble boosts Sassuolo". Sky Sports News. 3 November 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
    19. ↑ "Sassuolo 4–3 AC Milan: History-maker Berardi leaves Rossoneri red-faced". Goal.com. 12 January 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
    20. ↑ Bandini, Paolo (13 January 2014). "Domenico Berardi's awesome foursome sinks Milan ... and Massimiliano Allegri". theguardian.com. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
    21. ↑ "Berardi hits treble in Sassuolo win". ESPN. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
    22. ↑ Shaun Best (6 May 2014). "Fiorentina vs Sassuolo, final score 3–4: Berardi treble boosts Sassuolo's survival hopes". sbnation.com. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
    23. ↑ Berardi to stay at Sassuolo
    24. ↑ "Agreements with Sassuolo Calcio" (PDF). Juventus FC. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
    25. ↑ "Sassuolo beat Milan amid Domenico Berardi ghost goal controversy". ESPN FC. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
    26. ↑ "Serie A 2014-15 Statistics: Assists". ESPN FC. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
    27. 1 2 Kevin Ashby (18 June 2015). "Sweden surge leaves Italy defeated". UEFA. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
    28. ↑ "Calciomercato: Domenico Berardi resta in neroverde" (in Italian). Sassuolocalcio.it. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
    29. ↑ "Sassuolo sign Juventus forward outright". Forza Italian Football. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
    30. ↑ "Sharing agreement termination of the player Domenico Berardi" (PDF). Juventus F.C. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
    31. ↑ "Il Sassuolo "lascia" Zaza e "fa suo" Berardi. La Juve può ricomprarlo nel 2016". Tuttosport (in Italian). 23 June 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
    32. ↑ Mimmo Malfitano (23 August 2015). "Sassuolo-Napoli 2-1. Hamsik illude, poi segnano Floro Flores e Sansone" [Sassuolo-Napoli 2-1. Hamsik deceives, then Floro Flores and Sansone score] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
    33. ↑ "Sassuolo, Berardi fuori per 45 giorni. Inter in ansia per Icardi" [Sassuolo, Berardi out for 45 days. Inter anxious for Icardi] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
    34. ↑ Stefano Silvestri (20 September 2015). "Le pagelle di Roma-Sassuolo 2-2" (in Italian). Eurosport. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
    35. ↑ Stefano Cieri (18 October 2015). "Sassuolo-Lazio 2-1. Decidono Berardi e Missiroli, non basta Felipe Anderson" [Sassuolo-Lazio 2-1. Berardi and Missiroli decide the match, Felipe Anderson's goal not enough] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
    36. ↑ "Sassuolo: 'Italian success story'". Football Italia. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
    37. ↑ "Sassuolo, esordio positivo in Europa" (in Italian). UEFA.com. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
    38. ↑ Ivan Palumbo (4 August 2016). "Sassuolo-Lucerna 3-0, Berardi fa 2 gol, conquistato il playoff di Europa League" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
    39. ↑ "Berardi: 'Great first leg'". Football Italia. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
    40. ↑ "Palermo 0-1 Sassuolo". ESPN FC. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
    41. ↑ Pietro Razzini (25 August 2016). "Europa League, Stella Rossa-Sassuolo 1-1, Berardi segna ancora" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
    42. ↑ "Sassuolo: Berardi injury not serious". Football Italia. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
    43. ↑ "Serie A: Sassuolo-Pescara 2-1, Berardi segna sempre" (in Italian). Mediaset. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
    44. ↑ "SASSUOLO: Berardi squalificato, disertò la convocazione con Under 19". Calcionewstime.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
    45. ↑ Redazione CalcioNews24 (2014-06-20). "Sassuolo, caso Berardi: si allontana la maglia azzurra" (in Italian). Calcio News 24. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
    46. ↑ "Under 21: i convocati di Di Biagio" (in Italian). Ansa.it. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
    47. ↑ "La gomitata a Molinaro costa a Berardi la convocazione in Under21" (in Italian). La Gazzetta di Parma. 2 March 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
    48. ↑ "Under 21, amichevoli: l'Italia cala il poker al Montenegro". Retrieved 26 January 2015.
    49. ↑ "Under 21 – Italia, rimonta-show con Belotti e Berardi". Retrieved 26 January 2015.
    50. ↑ "Verso l'Europeo: 27 Azzurrini convocati da Di Biagio per il raduno di Appiano Gentile" (in Italian). FIGC. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
    51. ↑ "Ufficializzata la lista dei 23 convocati per la Fase Finale del Campionato Europeo" (in Italian). FIGC. 7 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
    52. ↑ Luca Bianchin (24 June 2015). "Europeo Under 21, Inghilterra-Italia 1-3, ma il biscotto condanna gli Azzurrini" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
    53. ↑ Ogo Sylla (5 October 2015). "Berardi suffers another injury setback". La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
    54. ↑ "Uncapped Domenico Berardi pulls out of Italy squad with muscular injury". ESPN FC. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
    55. 1 2 "Domenico Berardi". vivoazzurro.it. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
    56. ↑ Livio Caferoglu (5 April 2014). "World Cup Squad Selector: Berardi". Football Italia. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
    57. ↑ "Fantacalcio: tutti i rigoristi (e i vice) delle 20 squadre di Serie A" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
    58. ↑ "IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Domenico Berardi, the free-scoring teenager who fired four past Milan and is one of Europe's hottest talents". www.dailymail.co.uk. The Daily Mail. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
    59. ↑ "La Top 101 dei giovani più promettenti di 'Don Balon': quanti italiani!" [The Top 101 most promising young players of 'Don Balon': look how many Italians!] (in Italian). Calcio Mercato News. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
    60. ↑ Adam Digby (23 May 2014). "Why Domenico Berardi is the man to take Juventus to the next level". Four Four Two. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
    61. ↑ Luca Calamai (4 August 2015). "Antognoni: Sassuolo's Berardi is the Baggio of this generation". La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
    62. ↑ "Berardi: 'Self-control not easy'". Football Italia. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
    63. ↑ "Calcio, Gran Galà. Pirlo giocatore dell'anno: "Consiglio Totti a Prandelli"". www.gazzetta.it (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
    64. ↑ "Sassuolo, Berardi miglior giovane del 2013–14 per l'Associazione Allenatori". www.gazzetta.it (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
    65. ↑ "2014–15 Serie A top assists". ESPN FC. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
    66. ↑ "Berardi eletto miglior under 21 d'Europa" [Berardi elected best under-21 footballer in Europe] (in Italian). La Gazzetta di Modena. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
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