Nicola Ventola
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 24 May 1978 | ||
Place of birth | Grumo Appula, Italy | ||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Youth career | |||
Bari | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1994–1998 |
Bari | 44 | (12) |
1998–1999 | Inter Milan | 21 | (6) |
1999–2000 |
Bologna | 14 | (0) |
2000–2005 | Inter Milan | 16 | (4) |
2000–2001 |
→ Atalanta (loan) | 28 | (10) |
2003–2004 |
→ Siena (loan) | 28 | (4) |
2004–2005 | → Crystal Palace (loan) | 3 | (1) |
2005–2007 |
Atalanta | 64 | (23) |
2007–2009 |
Torino | 35 | (6) |
2009–2011 |
Novara | 26 | (4) |
Total | 279 | (70) | |
International career | |||
1994 | Italy U-17 | 2 | (1) |
1995 | Italy U-18 | 4 | (2) |
1995–1996 | Italy U-19 | 18 | (14) |
1996–2000 | Italy U-21 / Olympic | 25 | (12) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Nicola Ventola (born 24 May 1978) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Ventola played for several clubs in Italy throughout his career, and also had a loan spell with English side Crystal Palace. At international level, he was a member of the Italian under-23 squad at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney; he received his only senior call-up for Italy in 1998, although he did not come off the bench. At youth level, he also represented the Italy under-21 side, and was a member of the team that won the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, also winning a gold medal at the 1997 Mediterranean Games with the under-23 side. He retired from football in February 2011.[1]
Club career
Born in
Ventola signed for
Ventola returned to Inter in 2001, but he suffered from several injuries that season, only making 16 appearances and scoring four goals in Serie A, as Inter narrowly missed out on the
In July 2005, Ventola signed a two-year contract with Atalanta. In his first season back at the club, he helped his team to win the 2005–06 Serie B title with his decisive goalscoring performances,[4] scoring 15 goals in 35 appearances. He scored six goals in 29 games during the 2006–07 Serie A season, but he later became excluded from the club and his contract was not renewed.[2][3] In total, he scored 35 goals for the club in 101 appearances between league and Coppa Italia matches over three seasons (two in Serie A and one in Serie B).[4]
In June 2007, he joined
Ventola subsequently moved to
International career
Ventola played his first competitive international match for the Italy national under-17 football team (made up of players born in and after 1977), in a 1994 UEFA European Under-16 Championship qualifying fixture; in total, he scored one goal in two appearances for the under-17 side, featuring as a substitute for Ivano Montanaro, and as a starter respectively. He also scored one goal in the group stage of the 1996 UEFA European Under-18 Championship for the Italy national under-19 football team, serving as the team's captain.[15] After the team was eliminated, Ventola was immediately promoted to the Italy national under-21 football team as one of their youngest players. He made his debut for the Italy under-21 side on 3 October 1996, at the age of 18, in a 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying match, coming on as a substitute for Fabrizio Cammarata.[16]
Ventola made 25 appearances with the Italy Under-21 and Under-23 sides, scoring 12 goals,[17] winning the 1997 Mediterranean Games[18] and the 2000 UEFA Under-21 European Championship[19] with the team; he also represented Italy at the 2000 Summer Olympics, where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the tournament by eventual runners-up Spain.[20]
Although he was never capped at senior level, he was called up by manager Dino Zoff to the Italian senior side for a Euro 2000 qualifying match against Switzerland, at the Stadio Friuli of Udine, on 10 October 1998, but remained on the bench as an unused substitute in the eventual 2–0 win.[2][17][21]
Style of play
An agile and talented right-footed player, with good technique, Ventola was considered one of Bari's and Italy's most promising prospects in his youth, although he suffered many injuries throughout his career. His main attributes as a striker were his speed, power, heading ability, positional sense, eye for goal, and ability to provide depth to his team with his runs. Although he usually played as a central striker, he was also capable of playing in a deeper role as a second striker, due to his ability to link up with and create chances for his teammates.[2][4][5][8][18][19][22][23][24]
Personal life
Ventola has a son, Kelian (b. 22 September 2003),
Honours
Bari[28]
Atalanta[28]
Novara[28]
- Lega Pro Prima Divisione: 2009–10 (Group A)
- Supercoppa di Lega Prima Divisione: 2010
Italy[28]
References
- ^ "Nicola Ventola finisce la carriera, ecco la storia di un talento puro" (in Italian). Panorama. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Gianni Gardon (8 May 2014). "Stelle Comete – Nicola Ventola" (in Italian). Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ a b Di Chiara, Filippo (18 November 2005). "Io, Ventola rinato mille volte". gazzetta.it (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Che fine ha fatto Nicola Ventola". Bergamo Post (in Italian). 6 June 2015. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Pasquale Caputi (23 September 2015). "Dallo stadio di Bari alla tv di Dubai Ecco la favola di Nicola Ventola" (in Italian). Il Corriere del Mezzogiorno. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
- ^ "VENTOLA NICOLA" (in Italian). Tutto Calciatori. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ "ARRIVA IL GIOVANE COLOMBO DALL'ATALANTA" (in Italian). inter.it. 24 June 2000. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
- ^ a b Edo Dalmonte (24 May 2017). "Whatever happened to Nicola Ventola?". Football Italia. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
- ^ "C Palace 2-2 Southampton". BBC. 7 May 2005. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
- ^ "Toro seal triple swoop". football.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2007.
- ^ "Lazio a valanga a Torino, il sogno continua" (in Italian). tuttomercatoweb.com. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ "UFFICIALE: Nicola Ventola firma con il Torino" (in Italian). tuttomercatoweb.com. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ "UFFICIALE: Novara, preso Ventola" (in Italian). tuttomercatoweb.com. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ "Nicola Ventola lascia la maglia Azzurra" (in Italian). Novara Calcio. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ Match Report (in Italian)
- ^ "MOLDAVIA-ITALIA: Match Report" (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
- ^ a b "Convocazioni e presenze in campo: Nicola Ventola" (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ a b c "Ai Giochi del Mediterraneo un successo senza gioia: continua l'ostracismo nei confronti del giovane attaccante azzurro Tutti contro Ventola, ma l'Italia è in finale Invasione dei tifosi del Lecce per punire il barese Colpito anche Tardelli che lo stava difendendo" (in Italian). Il Tirreno. 24 June 1997. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ a b c "Campioncini d'Europa" (in Italian). Rai Sport. 4 June 2000. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ "Italia sconfitta" (in Italian). RaiSport. 23 September 2000. Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ "Italia-Svizzera 2-0" (in Italian). RAISport. 10 October 1998. Archived from the original on 10 February 1999. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ Ilario Imparato (22 June 2007). "Toro: Bjelanovic e Ventola promettono scintille" (in Italian). TuttoMercatoWeb.com. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ "Diretta centro Sisport" (in Italian). Tutto Toro. 6 December 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ "Ottimo esordio dell' under 23" (in Italian). RaiSport. 19 June 1997. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ "Kartika, che (s)Ventola di moglie!" (in Italian). calciomercato.it/news. 7 May 2009. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009.
- ^ "Inter, Thohir: "Il mio preferito? Ventola. E mio figlio tifa Juve"" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
- ^ "L'ultimo colpo del Rimini arriva dal Genoa: Danilo Giacinto Ventola". News Rimini (in Italian). 21 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Nicola Ventola" (in French). eurosport.fr. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
External links
- (in Italian) La Gazzetta dello Sport career profile
- FIFA Profile
- (in Italian) Profile on archivio.inter.it
- (in Italian) AIC Profile