Matteo Gabbia

Matteo Gabbia
Personal information
Full name Matteo Gabbia[1]
Date of birth (1999-10-21) 21 October 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Fagnano Olona, Italy[2]
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[3]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 AC Milan
Number 46
Youth career
2012–2017 AC Milan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017– AC Milan 59 (3)
2018–2019 → Lucchese (loan) 29 (1)
2023 → Villarreal (loan) 7 (0)
International career‡
2014 Italy U15 3 (0)
2014–2015 Italy U16 13 (3)
2015–2016 Italy U17 17 (2)
2016–2017 Italy U18 4 (4)
2016–2018 Italy U19 21 (3)
2018–2019 Italy U20 14 (0)
2019–2021 Italy U21 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 05:57, 7 October 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:22, 31 March 2021 (UTC)

Matteo Gabbia (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɡabbja]; born 21 October 1999) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club AC Milan.

Club career

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AC Milan

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Gabbia joined AC Milan's youth academy in 2012 aged 12. He received his first ever call-up to the senior team by head coach Vincenzo Montella ahead of the home Serie A game against Roma, which was played on 7 May 2017. However, he remained an unused substitute. He made his first competitive appearance for the club on 24 August 2017, in a Europa League qualifier against Shkëndija, coming on for Manuel Locatelli in the second half.[4]

Loan to Lucchese

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On 31 August 2018, Gabbia was loaned to Serie C club Lucchese on a season-long loan deal.[5] On 16 September he made his Serie C debut in a 1–0 home defeat against Arezzo, where he played the entire match.[6] Eleven days later, on 27 September, he scored his first professional goal for Lucchese in the 47th minute of a 2–2 home draw against Carrarese.[7] Gabbia ended his season-long loan to Lucchese with 30 appearances, all as a starter, he was replaced only 2 times, and he scored 1 goal.[8]

Return to AC Milan

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Gabbia stayed with Milan for the 2019–20 season as a squad player behind the likes of Alessio Romagnoli, Mateo Musacchio, and Simon Kjær. On 15 January 2020, he played in the 3–0 victory against SPAL in the Coppa Italia, coming on as a substitute for Simon Kjær in the 82nd minute.[9] He made his league debut on 17 February 2020 in a 1–0 home victory against Torino, again as a substitute for Kjær in the 44th minute.[10] On 25 October 2022, Gabbia scored his first Champions League goal in a 4–0 away victory over Dinamo Zagreb.[11]

Gabbia scored his first Serie A goal for Milan on 3 February 2024 in an away game against Frosinone.[12][13]

Loan to Villarreal and second return

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On 26 July 2023, Gabbia joined Spanish La Liga club Villarreal on loan until 30 June 2024.[14][15]

On 3 January 2024, amid the injury crisis that severely affected AC Milan's central defense, the club recalled Gabbia from his loan.[16][17] He finished the season with 25 more appearances, 3 goals, and positive reception from the press and fans alike, prompting the club's management to remove him from the outgoing transfer list and start negotiations to upgrade his contract.[18]

On 22 september 2024 he scored a last minute goal in a 2-1 win against Inter milan on the Derby della madonnina

International career

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Gabbia represented Italy at the 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, where the team did not advance from the group stage.

He played in two group-stage games for Italy U19 at the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, where Italy was the runner-up. Then with the Italy U20, Gabbia took part in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

He made his debut with the Italy U21 on 6 September 2019, in a friendly match won 4–0 against Moldova.

Gabbia received his first call-up with the Italy national team for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against Belgium and Israel on 10 and 14 October 2024, respectively.[19]

Style of play

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Gabbia has been described as a versatile player. Having started his youth career as a defensive and a central midfielder, he later switched to deeper roles, such as a centre-back, in either a three or a four-man defensive line. Besides his ball-winning abilities, Gabbia also retains playmaking attributes and tends to join the attacking play when opportunities present themselves.[20]

Career statistics

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Club

[edit]
As of match played 22 October 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Milan 2017–18 Serie A 0 0 0 0 1[b] 0 — 1 0
2019–20 Serie A 9 0 1 0 — — 10 0
2020–21 Serie A 8 0 0 0 5[b] 0 — 13 0
2021–22 Serie A 8 0 2 0 0 0 — 10 0
2022–23 Serie A 12 0 1 0 4[c] 1 0 0 17 1
2023–24 Serie A 18 2 1 0 6[b] 1 — 25 3
2024–25 Serie A 4 1 0 0 3[c] 0 0 0 7 1
Total 59 3 5 0 19 2 0 0 83 5
Lucchese (loan) 2018–19 Serie C 29 1 0 0 — 1[d] 0 30 1
Villarreal (loan) 2023–24 La Liga 7 0 0 0 6[b] 0 — 13 0
Career total 95 4 5 0 25 2 1 0 126 6
  1. ^ Includes Coppa Italia
  2. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. ^ Appearance in Serie C play-offs

Honours

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AC Milan

Italy U19

References

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  1. ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: Italy" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
  2. ^ Gabbia: "Siamo forti e vogliamo vincere. Kjaer è un leader, Ibra ha alzato il livello. Pioli? Si fida di me", milannews.it, 15 January 2022
  3. ^ https://www.eurosport.com/football/matteo-gabbia_prs447338/person.shtml [bare URL]
  4. ^ "Shkëndija - Milan game report". UEFA. 24 August 2017.
  5. ^ "UFFICIALE: Lucchese, dal Milan arriva il jolly Gabbia - TUTTOmercatoWEB.com". Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Game Report by Soccerway". Soccerway. 16 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Lucchese vs. Carrarese - 27 September 2018 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Italy - M. Gabbia - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  9. ^ ""Milan vs. SPAL - 15 January 2020 - Soccerway"". Soccerway. 15 January 2020.
  10. ^ ""Fixtures and Results - Season 2019-20 - 24ª Match Day"". Lega Serie A. 17 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Dinamo Zagreb 0–4 Milan". UEFA. 25 October 2022.
  12. ^ "COMEBACK VICTORY IN FROSINONE". AC Milan. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Gabbia drags Milan level away at Frosinone with header". OneFootball. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Gabbia ya es groguet". r CF (in Spanish). 26 July 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  15. ^ "OFFICIAL STATEMENT: MATTEO GABBIA". AC Milan. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Official Statement: Matteo Gabbia". AC Milan. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  17. ^ "AC Milan strengthens defense: Matteo Gabbia recalled from Villarreal loan". Nogomania. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Jacobone: Milan set to reward centre-back with multi-year extension". 2 June 2024.
  19. ^ "L'Italia riprende il cammino in Nations League: 23 convocati per le gare con Belgio e Israele, prima chiamata per Di Gregorio, Gabbia, Pisilli e Maldini" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  20. ^ "Matteo Gabbia, tutto quello che non sai sul jolly del futuro in casa Milan". 16 October 2018.
  21. ^ "Milan secure 1st Serie A title in 11 years". News18 India. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Portugal win epic U19 EURO final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 July 2018.
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