15 facts you need to know about Riccardo Calafiori

Riccardo Calafiori has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past 12 months, which has seen him swap life in the Swiss Super League to become a rising star in his homeland, debut for the Italian national side and now make the switch to north London.

He’s packed a lot into his 22 years, so to get up to speed here are 15 facts you need to know about our latest recruit:

Hometown hero

Born in Rome in 2002, Riccardo was signed by his local team Roma as an eight-year-old and would earn a professional deal in 2018. His talent was identified early - in 2019 he was tipped to be one of the best footballers born after 2002 by The Guardian, while in 2021 UEFA dubbed him one of the 50 most promising youngsters.

Battling back

However, that early promise came close to ending in just his second game for Roma’s under-19s. In October 2018, while playing in the UEFA Youth League against Viktoria Plzen, an innocuous collision saw the 16-year-old suffer a horrific injury where he tore every ligament in his left knee, as well as the meniscus and the articular capsule, putting his future in doubt.

Showing the esteem his talents were held in, the local lad received a message of solidarity when Edin Dzeko held up a shirt with his name on it after scoring a hat-trick in Roma’s next match. Boosted by the gesture, he did everything in his power to get back again, including rehabbing in the USA and earning the nickname “Bulldozer” from his father in the process.

Making an impact

Just under a year later, that determination paid off when he was handed his first-team bow against Juventus in August 2020, where he helped his side win 3-1 by gaining a penalty and also saw a volleyed goal chalked off in an impressive debut display.

His only goal for the capital club, and indeed his first professional strike, was a thunderbolt against Young Boys in the Europa League four months later. He would play with former Gunners Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ainsley Maitland-Niles during his time at the Stadio Olimpico.

Swiss adventure

After 17 appearances and a short loan stint at Genoa, Riccardo looked to make his mark by heading to Switzerland to join Basel in August 2022. He played 34 times in his solitary season there, helping them reach the semi-finals of the Conference League.

That wasn’t his first taste of European action though, as he had featured for Roma five times in the Europa League in 2020/21, and played three games during their successful Conference League campaign the following season.

The switch

The biggest moment of his time at Basel came when caretaker manager Heiko Vogel opted to move him from left-back into a centre-back role, something that would shape the course of his career. Basel only lost two of 13 subsequent matches when the Italian featured at the heart of their defence as he swiftly got to grips with his new position.

During this time he also showed his coolness under pressure by tucking away a penalty in a shootout success against Slovan Bratislava to help his side into the quarter-finals of the Conference League.

Breakout at Bologna

The youngster’s move to Bologna was nothing short of a masterstroke. In his 30 appearances last term, Riccardo kept 15 clean sheets and helped his team record the third-best defensive record behind champions Inter Milan and Juventus.

The solid backline saw Bologna finish fifth in Serie A, and courtesy of Italy receiving an extra Champions League place earned them a spot in the competition for the first time since 1964, ending a 20-year quest for any European action.

Iconic friends

Riccardo has a pretty star-studded contact list, including Roma and Italy icons Daniele de Rossi and Francesco Totti, and some famous former managers. “When I was injured [De Rossi] took me home, waited for me, took me back to the training centre,” he has previously revealed.

“I’m also grateful to Totti. Now to [ex-Bologna boss] Thiago Motta, with him, I learned many other aspects of football that I didn’t know about. I’ll also tell you something: [Jose] Mourinho and I talk. He wrote me several messages, there’s a nice relationship between us.”

International call

Even before his switch to north London, this summer was a memorable one for the 22-year-old, whose form last term following his return to his homeland was rewarded with a spot in Italy’s Euro 2024 squad, despite never appearing for the Azzurri’s full side before.

Having represented them from under-15 to under-21 level, Riccardo won his first cap in a pre-tournament warm-up game against Turkey as a late substitute, and impressed sufficiently in a 1-0 success against Bosnia to get the nod to start the competiton.

Euro star

Euro 2024 didn’t go the way the holders wanted as they exited in the round of 16, but Riccardo was a bright spark. He played in three of the Azzurri’s four matches, missing the knockout game against Switzerland through suspension after picking up two yellow cards.

But he did create their moment of the tournament when he strode forward from central defence and played a defence-splitting pass to Mattia Zaccagni to score a 98th-minute equaliser against Croatia to secure qualification from the group stage.

Mr Assister

That incisive passing is something that Riccardo has in his locker, and he frequently uses it. No centre-back in Europe’s top five leagues produced more assists than him in 2023/24, as he totalled five during an eye-catching campaign.

He also racked up a pass completion of 89.8% to rank third in Serie A last term, with his 1,783 successful passes including 76 accurate long balls and 17 goalscoring chances created. He also bagged a brace against Juventus in his final appearance for the club, and those first-ever Serie A strikes saw him become Bologna’s first-ever recipient of the Serie A Player of the Month award.

THE NEXT?

After playing against Albania aged 22 years and 27 days, Riccardo became the second-youngest Italian to feature at a European Championship, only behind the legendary Paulo Maldini - a player he has been compared to by former teammate Riccardo Orsolini.

As he broke through at Roma he was regularly seen as similar to their left-back Aleksandar Kolarov, while former England boss Fabio Capello has other ideas: “The first thought goes to a young Sergio Ramos. Calafiori, just like Ramos, transformed from a full-back into a centre-back.”

English inspiration

However Riccardo models his game on a very different type of defender, given his tendency to push further forward into midfield to link defence with attack.

When previously asked which player he wants to be compared to, he said: “John Stones is my reference. His style of play is closest to mine. It’s not off the cuff when I go into midfield. It’s following the guidelines of the coach.”

Previous Italians

Riccardo will become just the fourth Italian to feature for us in competitive action. Arturo Lupoli was the first, scoring three goals in nine appearances between 2004 and 2006, while goalkeeper Vito Mannone played 23 times between 2009 and 2012.

Current international teammate Jorginho is the player from the nation who has the most appearances for us, clocking up 52 in his first 18 months at Emirates Stadium.

Bologna brothers

Riccardo is one of two players we have bought from Bologna in our current squad, after Takehiro Tomiyasu who spent two years at the club before switching to north London in 2021.

Another link between the teams is Niccolo Galli, who won the FA Youth Cup with us in 2000 before being loaned to I Veltri where he tragically died in a road accident aged 17.

Family man

When asked what was the biggest achievement in his career so far, Riccardo revealed: “Being able to buy my parents a house. We lived in a rental, but when I played for Roma I managed to buy a beautiful house for them. Seeing them calm, safe and happy is priceless."