Andrea Belotti

AlbinoLeffe

He took his first steps as a footballer in the oratory school of Gorlago, and with Grumellese. After an unsuccessful trial with Atalanta, he was signed by AlbinoLeffe and went through their youth system. He made his debut for the first team in the 2011–12 season, when he played eight matches in Serie B and scored two goals. He also scored 13 goals as team top-scorer for the youth team throughout the 2011–12 season, winning a youth title, the Trofeo Dossena, in June 2012. The following season, he was fully promoted to the first team, and made 31 appearances in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, scoring 12 goals. He also made an appearance during the 2012–13 Coppa Italia. Given the presence in the squad of the defender Mauro Belotti, Andrea was nicknamed Belottino.

Palermo

On 2 September 2013, he was loaned for a fee of €500,000 (with a buyout clause set at €2.5 million) to Palermo in Serie B. He made his debut with the Sicilians on 24 September 2013, as a substitute for Davide Di Gennaro in a game against Bari, and provided an assist to Kyle Lafferty in a 2–1 loss. He scored his first goal for the Rosaneri on 5 October against Brescia. On 3 May 2014, he was promoted to Serie A after a 1–0 win away to Novara. He closed the season with 10 goals scored in the league. On 18 June 2014, Palermo exercised the right to redeem half of his contract in co-ownership, with an option to redeem the other half for €3.5 million. He made his debut in Serie A on 31 August…

Youth

Belotti received his first call-up to the Italy under-19 side in December 2011 against the Lega Pro representative squad; he scored a goal in the match, which the under-19 side won 4–2. In the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship elite qualification round he featured as Italy's centre-forward in the team's 4–2–3–1 formation, scoring once in three appearances. Belotti made nine appearances for the under-20 (scoring four goals), before making his debut for the under-21 team on 14 August 2013 in a 4–1 friendly victory against Slovakia. On 5 September he featured in the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification 3–1 loss at home to Belgium, later scoring his first goal in the group on 14 November, in a 3–0 win against Northern Ireland. On 5 September 2014 he scored his first brace for the team in a European Championship qualifier against Serbia, which ended in a 3–2 victory for Italy. Under manager Luigi Di Biagio, Belotti took part in the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the Czech Republic, scoring the opening goal in a 3–1 defeat of England in Italy's final group match, although the result was not enough to see the Italian under-21 side progress to the semi-finals, as the azzurrini finished third in their group, behind the two eventual finalists Portugal and Sweden.

Senior

On 27 August 2016, Belotti was called up to the senior squad for the first time by Gian Piero Ventura for a friendly against France on 1 September…

Belotti began his career as a midfielder and winger, but under the guidance of AlbinoLeffe's youth coach Alessio Pala, was converted to a forward. Compared to Gianluca Vialli for his athleticism and style of play, Belotti is a quick, physical, and prolific striker, who has a strong and powerful shot with either foot. He is strong in aerial duels, and stands out for his acceleration, tactical intelligence, positioning, work-rate, and eye for goal, which, along with his speed, allows him to lose his markers by making attacking runs into the penalty area. Although he is primarily deployed as an out-and-out striker or centre-forward, he is also capable of playing as a second striker, due to his ability to hold up the ball with his back to goal and link-up with teammates, in addition to scoring goals himself. An acrobatic player, he has also scored several overhead kick goals in his career. Belotti's playing style has also been likened to that of Ukrainian former striker Andriy Shevchenko, who was a major influence on him in his youth; he has also been compared to former Italy striker Giorgio Chinaglia, as well as fellow former Torino strikers Francesco Graziani and Christian Vieri.

Andrea Belotti was born in Calcinate, a small town in close vicinity of Bergamo in northern Italy. He is nicknamed Il Gallo (The Rooster). The nickname comes from the surname of his close childhood friend, who jokingly suggested he celebrates his goals by mimicking a rooster's comb with an open hand to his forehead. Belotti was a childhood fan of AC Milan.