Stefano Sensi
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 5 August 1995[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Urbino, Italy[1] | ||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[2] | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Sassuolo | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2007 | Urbania | ||
| 2007–2010 | Rimini | ||
| 2010–2013 | Cesena | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2016 | Cesena | 32 | (3) |
| 2013–2015 | → San Marino (loan) | 59 | (10) |
| 2016– | Sassuolo | 3 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2012 | Italy U17[3] | 1 | (0) |
| 2015 | Italy U20[3] | 3 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 October 2016. | |||
Stefano Sensi (born 5 August 1995) is an Italian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Sassuolo.
He began his career with Italian side Cesena in 2013 and was subsequently loaned out to San Marino for two seasons before returning to the club. He joined Sassuolo in January 2016 but spent the rest of the season on loan with his former club Cesena before officially joining the Sassuolo in the summer.
Club career
Youth career
Born in Urbino in the Marche, Sensi started to play football with the local team Urbania at the age of six. During this time at the club, he played with his older brother.[4] While at Urbania, he was spotted by a Rimini scout, joining the youth team in 2007. He spent three years in Rimini, until the end of the 2009–10 season when the club's ownership left. The club was subsequently refounded, but Sensi left the team, taken in by the youth academy of the local rivals Cesena.[5]
Cesena
Sensi began his senior career with Cesena. He was first included in a matchday squad for their Coppa Italia fourth round game on 28 November 2012, remaining unused in a 3–1 loss to Atalanta at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia.[6]
On 23 July 2013, he was one of a quintet of Cesena players who moved to San Marino Calcio, in his case a loan with the option of co-ownership.[7] He made his professional debut on 8 September, playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–0 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione loss away to Reggiana.[8] A week later he scored his first goal, finishing from the edge of the penalty area to conclude a 2–0 win over Como at the Stadio Olimpico.[9] On 16 March 2014, he was one of three Titani players sent off in a 2–0 defeat at Cremonese.[10] He played 26 games in his first professional season, scoring another goal in the last game, a 2–2 home draw with Vicenza on 4 May.[11]
San Marino did not take up the option to obtain Sensi, but on 7 July 2014 he went to the club for a second loan.[12] In his second match of the season, on 8 September, he was sent off in added time at the end of a 2–1 loss at Pontedera.[13] He played 33 games in a season which ended with relegation to Serie D, scoring eight goals, including two in a 3–2 home win over L'Aquila on 14 February 2015, in which he was again sent off at the end.[14]
Sensi made his Cesena debut on 20 August 2015, playing the entirety of their 4–1 win at Catania in the third round of the Coppa Italia.[15] On 5 September, he made his league debut, as the team won 2–0 against Brescia at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi in the first game of the season.[16] On 3 October he scored from a penalty as Cesena defeated Livorno 1–0.[17]
Sassuolo
On 13 January 2016 Sensi was signed by Serie A club U.S. Sassuolo Calcio. He would spent the first 6 months of the contract on loan with Cesena.[18][19]
International career
Sensi has represented Italy at youth level, making one appearance for the under-17 side, and making his debut for the under-20 side in a 2–2 draw against Poland on 7 October 2015.[3]
Style of play
A former offensive central midfielder, with good vision, tactical intelligence, and technique, Sensi now usually functions in a creative midfield role for his team, as a deep-lying playmaker, due to his long passing ability with both feet; he is also capable of playing in several other midfield and offensive positions, and has been deployed as a winger or as a supporting forward. Already regarded as one of the most promising young Italian footballers of his generation, Sensi has drawn the attention of larger clubs, and his playing style, small stature, and low centre of gravity have drawn comparisons with Marco Verratti, as well as Andrea Pirlo, although he has personally stated that his main influence is Spanish playmaker Xavi. Sensi has also been praised by Inter manager Roberto Mancini, who described him as: "...good, technically gifted, and fast", also noting that "...he has character."[2][20][21]
References
- 1 2 "Stefano Sensi" (in Italian). Eurosport. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
- 1 2 Francesco Oddi (18 November 2015). "Parla Sensi, mr 10 milioni: "Xavi l'idolo. Io erede di Verratti? La statura è quella"" [Sensi, Mr 10 million, says: "Xavi si my idol. Me, Verratti's heir? I'm his height"] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Nazionale in cifre: Sensi, Stefano" (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ↑ "Stefano Sensi, dall'Urbania alla serie A: "Un campetto vicino casa e gli amici la mia fortuna"". uniurb.it (in Italian). 17 February 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ↑ "Sensi, il nuovo Verratti: "Voglio giocare con lui: conta la testa, non l'altezza"". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 16 December 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ↑ "L'Atalanta supera il Cesena 3-1" [Atalanta defeat Cesena 3-1]. L'Eco di Bergamo (in Italian). 28 November 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ↑ "Il San Marino prende Del Piero (e Cicarevic)" [San Marino loan in Del Piero (and Cicarevic)]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 23 July 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ↑ "Reggiana, vittoria sudata coi baby del San Marino" [Reggiana, tough victory with San Marino's babies]. Il Resto del Carlino (in Italian). 8 September 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ↑ "San Marino-Como 2-0". La Provincia (in Italian). 16 September 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ↑ "Cremonese - San Marino 2 - 0" (in Italian). SMTV. 16 March 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ↑ "San Marino–Vicenza 2-2" (in Italian). SMTV. 4 May 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ↑ "Calcio: San Marino, torna Sensi e dal Cesena arriva anche Bangoura" [Calcio: San Marino, Sensi returns and Bangoura also arrives from Cesena]. Alta Rimini (in Italian). 7 July 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ↑ Lazzerini, Lorenzo (9 September 2014). "Pontedera-San Marino 2-1". Pisa Today (in Italian). Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ↑ "Calcio, grandi emozioni tra San Marino e L'Aquila: finisce 3-2, Sensi show" [Football, great emotions between San Marino and L'Aquila: finishes 3-2, the Sensi show]. Alta Rimini (in Italian). 14 February 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ↑ "Coppa Italia, Catania fuori: il Cesena vince (4 – 1) e passa il turno" [Coppa Italia: Cesena win (4-1) and pass into the next round] (in Italian). Si 24. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ↑ "Il Brescia parte male con un ko 2-0 a Cesena" [Brescia start badly with a 2-0 ko at Cesena]. Giornale di Brescia (in Italian). 6 September 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ↑ "CALCIO, CESENA: Sensi di rigore, sorpasso sul Livorno e primo posto" (in Italian). Tele Romagna. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ↑ "Stefano Sensi ceduto al Sassuolo" (in Italian). A.C. Cesena. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ↑ "Calciomercato: ingaggiato Stefano Sensi e girato in prestito al Cesena" (in Italian). U.S. Sassuolo Calcio. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ↑ Matteo Dalla Vite (16 November 2015). "Inter, Mancini promuove Sensi: "Bravo, tecnico, veloce e di personalità"" [Inter, Mancini promotes Sensi: "Good, technical, fast and has character"] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ↑ Giovanni Capuano (17 November 2015). "Chi è Stefano Sensi, il nuovo Verratti che fa impazzire le big" [Who is Stefano Sensi, the new Verratti who is driving larger clubs crazy] (in Italian). Panorama. Retrieved 19 November 2015.