Stephan El Shaarawy

Genoa

El Shaarawy started his youth career with Genoa at the age of fourteen. On 21 December 2008, when he was sixteen years old, El Shaarawy made his first team debut, playing ten minutes in a Serie A away match against Chievo; he is currently the eighth youngest player in the history of Serie A to have made his debut in the Italian top division. It was his only appearance of the season despite making the bench several times.

Loan to Padova

In June 2010, El Shaarawy was loaned out to Padova for the 2010–11 Serie B season. He quickly emerged as a key element for the team, leading the Venetian club to the promotion play-off finals, where they then lost to Novara. For his performances with Padova, El Shaarawy would be awarded the 2011 Serie B Footballer of the Year.

AC Milan

2011–12: Progression to the first team

On 25 June 2011, El Shaarawy signed for Serie A giants Milan for a €20 million transfer fee (€10 million plus Alexander Merkel). He made his debut for the club on 18 September 2011 at the Stadio San Paolo, in a 3–1 league loss to Napoli. Three days later, after coming on as a substitute for the injured Alexandre Pato, he scored his first goal for Milan, earning his side a 1–1 draw at home against Udinese. In his first six months at Milan, El Shaarawy made a total of seven appearances, leading to reports in the media that he may be loaned out for more playing time to help his progression. However a decision was then made…

El Shaarawy was qualified to play for the Egypt national team through his father, but was denied by coach Hassan Shehata stating that "not every Egyptian playing for a foreign league qualifies to play for the national side". This comment however is contradicted by El Shaarawy himself, as he has stated that he preferred to play for the Italian team. As his father also possessed the nationality from previously living there, El Shaarawy was also eligible to play for Venezuela.

Youth teams

El Shaarawy was called up to play with the Italy under-17 team, taking part in both the 2009 UEFA U-17 Euro and the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He made his debut with the Italy under-21 team on 15 November 2011, in a qualifying match against Hungary.

Senior team

On 15 August 2012, El Shaarawy made his senior debut for Italy, starting in a 2–1 friendly defeat against England. He scored his first goal for Italy in his third appearance, getting the opener in a 2–1 friendly loss to France on 14 November 2012. El Shaarawy represented Italy at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, and made his tournament debut in his country's final group game against hosts Brazil, replacing Alessandro Diamanti for the final nineteen minutes of a 4–2 defeat. He returned for the third-place play-off, playing the entire match and scoring a penalty in Italy's shoot-out success against Uruguay. El Shaarawy was not included in Italy's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad, after missing most of the 2013–14 club season…

Since his breakthrough season, El Shaarawy was considered to be an up-and-coming, potentially world-class player, and one of the most promising and talented young Italian players. A versatile and hard-working forward, he primarily plays as a left winger, a position which allows him to cut into the centre onto his stronger right foot and either attempt a shot at goal or create chances for teammates; he can also play as an attacking midfielder, as a second striker, on the right flank, as a centre forward, or even as striker, due to his eye for goal. Eric Steitz has noted that El Shaarawy is mainly known for his pace and agility, as well as his "outstanding dribbling ability and technical skill". He has also stated that El Shaarawy has often demonstrated his shooting power and goalscoring ability with strikes from outside the box, and has described the player as an "above-average passer", who "creates space with a solid first-touch". El Shaarawy's playing style has drawn comparisons with FIFA World Player of the Year winner Cristiano Ronaldo. El Shaarawy cites former AC Milan playmaker Kaká as his role model. Milan legend José Altafini compared El Shaarawy to Neymar and Lionel Messi: "El Shaarawy reminds me of Neymar and Messi. They have a low center of gravity. They play with the ball glued to their feet. He has already proven that he's a good player. The important thing is not to bulk him up too much". In spite of his talent, however, he has often struggled with injuries.

Stephan El Shaarawy was born on 27 October 1992 in the Italian comune Savona, to an Egyptian father and a Swiss-Italian mother.