Nicolo Barella (born February 7, 1997) is an Italian professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Inter Milan and the Italy national football team. XO88

Biography of player Nicolo Barella

Nicolò Barella (born February 7, 1997) is an Italian professional footballer who currently plays as a central midfielder for Serie A club Inter Milan and the Italy national football team.

Renowned for his technical skill, creativity, and work rate, he is considered one of the best midfielders in the world of his generation.

Barella married Federica Schievenin in 2018, and they have three daughters and one son.

Nicolo Barella's playing career

Club career

Cagliari goes Como

Born in Cagliari, Barella is a promising young player for Cagliari Calcio. He made his debut for the team on January 15, 2015, against Parma at the Tardini in the Coppa Italia, a match that ended in a 2–1 defeat. He made his Serie A debut on May 4, 2015, again against Parma, coming on as a substitute for Diego Farias after 68 minutes in a 4–0 home victory.

In January 2016, he was loaned to Como in Serie B, where he played as a first-choice goalkeeper for the second half of the season.

On September 17, 2017, after returning to Cagliari, he scored his first professional and Serie A goal against SPAL in a 2–0 home win. Three months later, he became the youngest captain in Cagliari's history, at the age of 20 years, 10 months, and 9 days.

On February 24, 2019, in a match against Sampdoria, which he lost 1–0, he reached 100 appearances for Cagliari at the age of 22. At the end of the season, Barella was the player with the highest number of ball recoveries (253) in Serie A 2018–19, also won the Premio Bulgarelli No. 8 award for best midfielder of the season and was included in the Serie A Team of the Year for the first time.

See more: Nạp Tiền XO88

Inter Milan

On July 12, 2019, Barella joined Inter Milan on a one-year loan deal with an obligation to buy for four years, effective after the loan period. He made his club debut on August 26 in a match against Lecce; he came on as a substitute in the second half for Matías Vecino and subsequently assisted Antonio Candreva's goal in Inter's 4–0 home win in their opening match of the 2019–20 Serie A season.

He made his Champions League debut on September 17th in the match against Slavia Prague; after coming on as a substitute for Marcelo Brozović in the second half, he scored the equalizer in injury time to help Inter secure a 1–1 draw at home, his first goal in the tournament and for Inter.

On November 9th, he scored his first league goal for the club as Inter came from behind to win 2–1 at home against Verona. He scored his first Coppa Italia goal on January 29th, 2020, in a 2–1 home win against Fiorentina in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

He reached the 2020 UEFA Europa League final with his team, where they lost to Sevilla. At the end of the season, he was included in the Serie A Team of the Year and the UEFA Europa League Team of the Season.

On January 17, 2021, Barella assisted Arturo Vidal's first goal and scored the crucial second in a 2–0 home victory against rivals and reigning champions Juventus in Serie A. At the end of the 2020–21 Serie A season, he won the Scudetto and was voted Lega Serie A's Midfielder of the Year, as well as being included in the 2020–21 Serie A Team of the Year (for the third consecutive time).

On November 5, 2021, Barella signed a contract extension with Inter, keeping him at the club until 2026. By the end of the 2021–22 season, after winning the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana, Barella had a total of 12 assists, the highest number for an Inter player since Opta Sports began collecting data in 2004–05. At the end of the season, he was included in the Serie A Team of the Year 2021–22 for the fourth consecutive year.

In the 2022–23 season, Barella again won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana with Inter. In the Coppa Italia final, he assisted Lautaro Martinez's second goal for the Nerazzurri. He was again awarded the Best Midfielder title by Lega Serie A and was included in the Serie A Team of the Year for the fifth consecutive year.

In the Champions League, Barella reached the final with Inter, the club's first appearance in 13 years. He received the Man of the Match award throughout the tournament for his outstanding performance in the 3-3 draw against Barcelona in the group stage, in which he scored the opening goal.

In the Inter-Roma match on October 29, 2023, he made his 200th appearance for Inter. On April 22, 2024, he won his second Serie A title. Later that year, on June 11, he extended his contract with the club until 2029.

On August 30, 2024, he scored his first goal of the 2024–25 season with a spectacular volley in a 4–0 home win against Atalanta. In the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League, he was awarded Man of the Match twice, against Manchester City in Round 1 and Young Boys in Round 3.

International Career

With the Italy U19 team, Barella participated in the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship and finished second. He then went on to play with the Italy U20 team at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup and finished third.

On September 1, 2017, he made his debut for the Italian U21 team in a friendly match they lost 3–0 to Spain.

In October 2017, Barella was called up by coach Gian Piero Ventura to the Italian national team for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, alongside Macedonia and Albania. On October 10, 2018, he made his debut for the Italian national team under coach Roberto Mancini in a 1–1 friendly draw against Ukraine in Genoa.

On March 23, 2019, Barella scored his first goal for Italy in a 2–0 home victory against Finland in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match. He was part of the U21 team in the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

In June 2021, he was included in the Italian squad for UEFA Euro 2020. In Italy's second group stage match on June 16th, he assisted Manuel Locatelli's second goal in their eventual 3–0 victory over Switzerland, helping Italy advance to the round of 16.

On July 2nd, he scored the opening goal for Italy and then assisted Lorenzo Insigne's goal in their 2–1 victory over Belgium in the quarter-finals of the tournament. On July 11th, Barella won the European Championship with Italy after a 3–2 penalty shootout victory over England at Wembley Stadium in the final, following a 1–1 draw in extra time; Barella started the match but was substituted by Bryan Cristante in the second half of regular time.

On October 10, 2021, Barella scored the opening goal in a 2–1 home victory against Belgium in the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League bronze medal match. On March 24, 2024, Barella was given the captain's armband for the first time in a 2–0 friendly win against Ecuador, a match in which he also scored the second goal.

In June 2024, he was included in the Italian squad for UEFA Euro 2024. In the Azzurri's first match of the tournament, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory against Albania with a volley from the edge of the penalty area; however, Italy were eliminated by Switzerland in the round of 16 after a 2–0 defeat.

Nicolo Barella's playing style

In European sports media, Barella is considered a talented midfielder. He was honored as the best young Italian player born in 1997 for two consecutive years from 2012 to 2013.

Italian football journalist Mina Rzouki described him as an intelligent, promising, and calm midfielder, despite his young age, with a wide range of skills. She also commented that Barella "...can dribble past defenders, score with volleys, and initiate counter-attacks. He knows how to find the right pass and is a box-to-box midfielder. Most importantly, he can quickly regain possession and win the ball back."

Barella's performance was also praised by former Italian footballers Andrea Pirlo and Alessandro Del Piero. The Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport compared him to Steven Gerrard, describing him as a dynamic player with good technique, vision, stamina, and physical strength, despite his relatively short stature, as well as the ability to win the ball, allowing him to break down defenders and then initiate quick attacks.

A versatile player, he can play in any position in midfield, and has even been used as an attacking or defensive midfielder, but his preferred role is as a right-sided, attack-minded central midfielder, known as a "mezzala" in Italy.

Known for his long-range vision, he possesses a good shot from outside the box and is known for his ability to execute late-game attacks from behind into the penalty area. He is also an accurate free-kick taker and penalty taker.

Barella is known for his strong personality, leadership qualities, competitive spirit, and winning mentality, but he has also sometimes been criticized by the press for excessive protesting or arguing with referees during matches. He is also praised for his work ethic and creativity.

His Italian national team teammate Jorginho has compared him to N'Golo Kanté. In 2021, former coach Fabio Capello described him as one of the three best midfielders in European football, while in 2023, ESPN included him in their list of the 100 best attacking midfielders in men's football.