Andrea Padula

Andrea Padula (born 4 April 1996) is a Swiss-born Italian professional footballer who plays as a left back for Liga I club FC U Craiova. Born in Switzerland, he holds Romanian and Italian passports.[1]

Andrea Padula
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-04-04) 4 April 1996
Place of birth Mendrisio, Switzerland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Left back
Team information
Current team
 FC U Craiova
Number 72
Youth career
AP Campionese
0000–2014 Team Ticino
2014–2016 Lugano U21
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Lugano 0 (0)
2016–2018 → Chiasso (loan) 42 (2)
2018 → Monza (loan) 2 (0)
2018–2020 Chiasso 44 (5)
2020 Wil 18 (4)
2020–2022 Basel 16 (0)
2022–2023 Bellinzona 5 (0)
2023– FC U Craiova 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 October 2023

Club career

Andrea Padula started with his youth football playing for AP Campionese in the Italian enclave of Campione d'Italia. He joined FC Lugano and advanced through youth selection Team Ticino to the U-21 team before the 2014/15 season. By the end of the season, the then offensive player had made 20 appearances in the 1st division, the fourth-highest Swiss division, scoring six goals. However, the team were relegated to the fifth-rate 2nd league interregional. In 2015/16 Padula played 17 times in the fifth highest Swiss league, scoring six goals. In the 2016/17 season he was loaned out to second division club FC Chiasso. On 31 July 2016, the 2nd matchday, he made his debut in the second tier Challenge League in a 2–3 defeat against FC Schaffhausen, he was in the starting XI. He became a regular player for the team and played 31 games during that season scoring twice. In the following season he was again loaned to Chiasso for six months. During this period he played as left winger or more often as left back. During the winter break Padula was loaned out to A.C. Monza for six months.[2] Padula made his professional debut with Monza in a 1-0 Serie C loss to Carrarese on 4 February 2018.[3] Returning to Switzerland Padula transferred from Lugano to Chiassso permanently and played for them for 18 months. During the winter break of the 2019/20 season he transferred to FC Wil under head coach Ciriaco Sforza.

Sforza was hired as head coach by FC Basel for their 2020–21 season and on 11 September 2020 Padula followed Sforza and signed a contract with Basel.[4] Padula played his debut for the club in the away game in the Europa League on 17 September 2020 at the Stadion Gradski vrt in Osijek, Croatia as Basel won 2–1 against NK Osijek to advance to the next round.[5] He made his Swiss Super League debut for the club in the home game in the St. Jakob-Park three days later, on 20 September, as Basel played a 2–2 draw with Vaduz.[6]

Sforza was sacked by Basel in April 2021 and Patrick Rahmen took over the job as head coach ad-interim for the rest of the season and he was then engaged by the club as head coach for the following 2021–22 season. Rahmen and Padula decided that they would part company and the contract was mutually dissolved. During his time with the club, Padula played a total of 28 games for Basel without scoring a goal. 16 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, four in the UEFA Europa League and eight were friendly games.[7]

On 1 September 2022, Padula moved to Bellinzona.[8]

On 3 July 2023, Padula moved to Romanian side FC U Craiova 1948. He signed a contract valid until the summer of next year, but it has an option to extend it for another edition.[9]

Personal life

Born in Switzerland, Padula is of Italian and Romanian descent.[2] His mother is from Bucharest, Romania, and Padula said that he feels Romanian and his dream is to represent the Romanian national team.[1][10]

References
  1. "EEXCLUSIV Gazeta a descoperit la FC Basel jucătorul care poate rezolva problema naționalei! Mesaj pentru Rădoi și Federație: "Vreau să joc pentru România!"" (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 7 January 2021.
  2. "Padula setzt Karriere in Italien fort". SwissFootballLeague.
  3. "Carrarese vs. Monza - 4 February 2018 - Soccerway". ca.soccerway.com.
  4. FC Basel 1893 (11 September 2020). "Andrea Padula wechselt zum FCB". Andrea Padula transfers to FCB (in German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
  5. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (17 September 2020). "NK Osijek - FC Basel 1:2 (0:2)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  6. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (20 September 2020). "FC Basel - FC Vaduz 2:2 (2:1)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  7. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (2022). "Andrea Padula - FCB statistic". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  8. "BENVENUTO ANDREA PADULA" (in Italian). Bellinzona. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  9. "De ce a ales-o Andrea Padula pe FC U Craiova: „Sunt pe jumătate român"" [Why did Andrea Padula choose FC U Craiova: "I'm half Romanian".] (in Romanian). fanatik.ro. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  10. Cazul ciudat al italianului care joacă la Basel și visează să reprezinte echipa națională: ”Mă simt român, pe cuvânt!”
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