Gianluigi Donnarumma

Gianluigi "Gigio" Donnarumma[2] (born 25 February 1999) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for English Premier League club Liverpool and the Italy national team.

Youth career
Donnarumma grew up in the football academy of Club Napoli in his native Castellammare di Stabia. At age 14, he was signed for €250,000 by Milan, the team for which his elder brother, Antonio, had already played. Between 2013 and 2015, he was part of the Rossoneri youth academy, where he always played in the age group above him, beginning with the Giovanissimi, then the Allievi, and finally the Primavera.[3] Three days before his 16th birthday, in February 2015, he received his first call-up to the senior team from manager Filippo Inzaghi; though he did not feature in the league match against Cesena, his presence on the substitutes' bench had required a special dispensation due to his age.[4][5]

2015–16 season: First team breakthrough
At the beginning of the 2015–16 season, Donnarumma was promoted to the senior team by manager Siniša Mihajlović, initially as the third-choice goalkeeper behind Diego Lópezand Christian Abbiati.[6] During Milan's pre-season tour of China, he made his debut in an International Champions Cup match against Real Madrid on 30 July. Replacing López in the 72nd minute, he kept a clean sheet for the remainder of the match, but was one of two Milan players to miss his penalty shootout attempt in an eventual 10–9 loss.[7] His subsequent starting appearance against Sassuolo in the final of the TIM Trophy saw him save two penalties in the shootout to secure Milan's victory.[8]

Donnarumma made his competitive debut in Serie A on 25 October against Sassuolo at the San Siro stadium; chosen to start ahead of López, he helped the team achieve a 2–1 victory after three matches without a win.[9] At the age of 16 years and 242 days,[10] he was the second youngest goalkeeper to start a match in the history of Italian football; 13 days older than Giuseppe Sacchi, who coincidentally made his Serie A debut with Milan on the very same date, 73 years earlier.[11][12] López subsequently hailed him as "the future of Milan and of Italian football".[13] Donnarumma kept his first clean sheet three days later in a 1–0 win against Chievo.[14] After three successive victories featuring Donnarumma in the starting line-up, Milan avoided a defeat against Atalanta as a result of an impressive display from their goalkeeper; "Donnarumma worked miracles," commented the Gazzetta dello Sport.[15] His performances that year earned him a place among the top 25 of Don Balón 's ranking of the world's best footballers under age 21.[16]

By the start of 2016, Donnarumma had firmly supplanted López as the first-choice goalkeeper for Milan,[17] who subsequently offered him a revised, three-year contract.[18] His first appearance in the Derby della Madonnina, Milan's crosstown rivalry with Internazionale, came on 31 January; the clash ended in a 3–0 victory after he stopped Éder from scoring.[19]In March, he was briefly hospitalised after suffering a head injury in an on-pitch collision with Chievo's Fabrizio Cacciatore.[20] Donnarumma featured ahead of Abbiati in Milan's 1–0 defeat to Juventus in the Coppa Italia Final, as the club failed to qualify for European competition at the end of the season.[21]

2016–17 season
In the club's opening league match of the 2016–17 season against Torino, on 21 August, Donnarumma saved the first penalty of his professional career; he stopped Andrea Belotti's shot in injury time, which enabled Milan to seal a 3–2 victory at home.[22][23] On 23 December, Donnarumma helped lead Milan to victory in the Supercoppa Italiana, saving Paulo Dybala's penalty in a 4–3 shoot-out win following a 1–1 draw after extra time.[24]

On 15 June 2017 it was announced that Donnarumma would not be renewing his contract with Milan.[25]

Liverpool
On July 1, it was announced how Donnarumma had signed for English Premier League champions Liverpool for an estimated £21,000,000.

International career
Donnarumma was the starting goalkeeper for Italy's under-17 team at the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[26] The following year on 24 March, he made his debut for the under-21 side in a 4–1 win over the Republic of Ireland, becoming the youngest player ever to play for the team aged 17 years and 28 days, breaking the record previously held by Federico Bonazzoli.[27][28]

Though predicted to attend the 2016 UEFA European Championship, Donnarumma did not make Antonio Conte's final squad for the tournament.[21] On 27 August, he was called up to the senior squad by Gian Piero Ventura for a friendly against France on 1 September and a 2018 World Cup qualificationmatch on 5 September against Israel, making him the youngest player, aged 17 years and six months, to be called up to the senior squad since 1911.[29]On 1 September, in the match against France, Donnarumma made his senior debut, subbing out Buffon at the half-time mark of an eventual 3–1 home loss; the youngest goalkeeper to ever play for Italy aged 17 years and 189 days.[30][31] On 28 March 2017, he made his first starting appearance in a 2–1 away win over the Netherlands; the youngest goalkeeper for Italy to do so aged 18 years and 31 days.[32]

In June 2017, he was included in the Italy under-21 squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship by manager Luigi Di Biagio.[33]

Style of play
Long considered one of Italy's most exciting prospects, and one of the most promising young footballers of his generation, Donnarumma is widely regarded as the successor to Gianluigi Buffon.[15][35][36][37] Buffon has in turn praised the teenager's physical strength and technical abilities, mental composure and decision making.[38] Predicting an "extraordinary career" in his future,[39] he commended Donnarumma's maturity and ability to cope with the pressures of being a goalkeeper at such a young age.[40] Another of Italy's World Cup-winning goalkeepers, Dino Zoff, similarly said Donnarumma seems "predestined to become a great goalkeeper," adding that "it all depends completely on him."[41] Former Milan and Italy goalkeeper Giovanni Galli also described Donnarumma as a potentially world-class goalkeeper, applauding him for his discipline, intelligence, concentration, and professionalism, despite his young age.[42]

A 2015 ESPN profile praised Donnarumma's fundamental goalkeeping skills, identifying his large slender frame and reach, agility, and composed nature as his biggest strengths; writer Nick Dorrington additionally described the teenager as "a natural leader [with] the necessary confidence to organise a defence featuring players twice his age."[5][15] Despite his tall and imposing stature,[5] Donnarumma possesses good reactions,[43] and is effective at stopping penalties.[44] Although he is regarded as being competent with the ball at his feet, several pundits, such as Mina Rzouki and Paolo Menicucci, have cited his ball control and distribution, as well as his positioning, ability to defend crosses, and his overall consistency, as areas in which he needs to improve as he gains more experience.[5][15][45][46]

Personal life
Donnarumma was born in Castellammare di Stabia in the Province of Naples, the son of Alfonso and Marinella. His older brother, Antonio, also came through Milan's youth system as a goalkeeper.[47] Since childhood, he has supported Milan,[35] although he grew up idolising Gianluigi Buffon.[48]

Club

 * A.C. Milan
 * Supercoppa Italiana: 2016[24]