Léo Cittadini

Leonardo "Léo" Cittadini (born 27 February 1994) is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Bahia as a midfielder.

Léo Cittadini
Léo Cittadini in 2018
Personal information
Full name Leonardo Cittadini
Date of birth (1994-02-27) 27 February 1994
Place of birth Rio Claro, Brazil
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Bahia
Number 18
Youth career
2011–2012 Guarani
2012–2013 Santos
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Guarani 4 (0)
2013–2018 Santos 62 (1)
2014 → Ponte Preta (loan) 11 (0)
2019–2023 Athletico Paranaense 122 (15)
2023– Bahia 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:55, 29 July 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Guarani

Born in Rio Claro, São Paulo, Cittadini started his career at Guarani, and was promoted to first team in 2010, under the management of Vágner Mancini.[1] He made his first team debut on 30 March 2011, against Horizonte, for the season's Copa do Brasil.[2] He was handed a starting spot on 1 May, against São José, providing an assist for Léo Paraíba's goal.[3]

However, in December, Cittadini had altercations with his club, claiming late payment of wages.[4] In March 2012, half of the player's rights was sold to an agent, due to problems in the negotiation of a contract renewal.[5]

Santos
Léo Cittadini with Santos in 2017

On 7 July 2012, he signed a two-year contract with Santos, being assigned to youth team.[6] There, he won the 2012 Campeonato Paulista U-20, beating São Paulo in the finals,[7] and also won the 2013 Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior.[8]

On 3 June 2013, he was promoted to Santos' first team alongside Walace.[9] He made his debut on the 12th, replacing Pedro Castro in the 70th minute of a 1-0 home win against Atlético Mineiro.[10]

On 24 July 2013, Cittadini scored his first professional goal, the last of a 2–0 away win against CRAC for the season's Copa do Brasil.[11]

Ponte Preta (loan)

In April 2014 Cittadini joined Guarani's fierce rivals Ponte Preta on loan until the end of the season.[12] He made his debut for the club on the 19th, playing the entire second half in a 1–1 home draw against Icasa.

On 7 October Cittadini's loan was cancelled, and he subsequently returned to Santos.[13]

Return from loan

After his return from loan, Cittadini was not utilized by managers Enderson Moreira and Marcelo Fernandes. After the arrival of Dorival Júnior he returned to action, being converted to a defensive midfielder in the 2016 season; he also rejected a loan move to Chievo in the process.[14]

On 10 April 2016 Cittadini scored his first goal after his return, netting his team's first in a 2–1 Campeonato Paulista home win against Audax.[15] He was mainly used as a replacement to Lucas Lima afterwards, becoming a starter during the latter's participation in Copa América Centenario. On 6 November, after nearly two months without playing a single minute, he came off the bench to provide two assists in Santos' 2–1 away win against former club Ponte Preta; he ended up crying after the match was over.[16]

Cittadini made his Copa Libertadores debut on 18 May 2017, coming on as a late substitute for Vitor Bueno in a 1–1 away draw against The Strongest. During the 2018 campaign, under new manager Jair Ventura, he overtook veterans Emiliano Vecchio and Renato and became a regular starter for the side. Despite Vecchio left the club, he lost the starting spot to Diego Pituca and new signing Carlos Sánchez, being completely ostracized by new manager Cuca after refusing a contract renewal.

Athletico Paranaense

On 7 December 2018, Cittadini signed a three-year contract with Athletico Paranaense, effective as of the following 1 January.[17] Under manager Tiago Nunes, he became an important unit in the club's midfield, scoring a career-best six goals in the season.[18]

Career statistics
As of 28 February 2023[19]
Club Season League State League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Guarani 2011 Série B 004010——50
Santos 2013 Série A 30—21——51
2014 002000——20
2015 600000——60
2016 1604140——241
2017 7050102[lower-alpha 1]0—150
2018 12070004[lower-alpha 1]0—230
Subtotal 4401817160—752
Ponte Preta (loan) 2014 Série B 110—30——140
Athletico Paranaense 2019 Série A 21431413[lower-alpha 1]02[lower-alpha 2]0336
2020 31572106[lower-alpha 1]01[lower-alpha 3]0467
2021 290319012[lower-alpha 4]0—531
2022 20121302[lower-alpha 1]02[lower-alpha 2]0292
2023 00600000—60
Subtotal 101102151712305016716
Career total 156104362822905026118
  1. Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
  2. Appearance(s) in Recopa Sudamericana
  3. Appearance(s) in Supercopa do Brasil
  4. Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana

Honours
Santos
Athletico Paranaense

References
  1. "Exceção, nova promessa recebe atenção especial no Guarani" [Exception, new pearl receives special focus in Guarani]. Terra Esportes. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  2. "Guarani 2 x 2 Horizonte - Zebra dá as caras e Bugre cai em casa" [Guarani 2–2 Horizonte — Zebra shows up and Bugre fell in home] (in Portuguese). Futebol Interior. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  3. "São José 2 x 3 Guarani - Bugre vira no Vale do Paraíba e está na final!" [São José 2–3 Guarani — Bugre comebacks in Vale do Paraíba and is in final!] (in Portuguese). Futebol Interior. 1 May 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  4. "Léo Citadini entra na Justiça contra o Guarani, mas presidente garante permanência" [Léo Citadini goes to court against Guarani, but president assures his permanence] (in Portuguese). Milton Neves. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  5. "Guarani não consegue acordo com Léo Cittadini e oficializa sua venda" (in Portuguese). Lance!. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  6. "Santos acerta com Leonardo Cittadini, revelação do Bugre" [Santos signs Leonardo Cittadini, Bugre's pearl] (in Portuguese). Lance!. 7 July 2012. Archived from the original on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  7. "Santos vence o São Paulo e é campeão paulista sub-20" [Santos defeats São Paulo and is the Paulista under-20's champion]. Lance!. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  8. "Santos domina Goiás e é campeão da Copa SP após 28 anos de jejum" [Santos dominates Goiás and is Copa SP's champion after 28 years]. Terra Esportes.
  9. "Claudinei Oliveira promove Léo Cittadini e Walace e conta com retorno de Geuvânio" [Claudinei Oliveira promotes Léo Cittadini and Walace and counts with Geuvânio's return]. Santos FC. 3 June 2013. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013.
  10. "Com gol solitário de Cícero, Santos vence Atlético Mineiro e deixa o Z-4" [With Cícero's lone goal, Santos defeats Atlético Mineiro and leaves Z-4]. Globo Esporte. 12 June 2013.
  11. "Garotos brilham, Santos derrota Crac e se classifica para as oitavas de final" [Boys shine, Santos defeats Crac and qualifies for round of 32] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  12. "Cria do Guarani, meia Léo Cittadini deixa o Santos e acerta com a Ponte" [Guarani's youth graduate, midfielder Léo Cittadini leaves Santos and signs with Ponte] (in Portuguese). UOL Esporte. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  13. "Santos e Ponte Preta devolvem promessas" [Santos and Ponte send back youth prospects] (in Portuguese). Band Esporte. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  14. "Não à Europa e nova posição: como Cittadini 'ressurge' no Santos" [No to Europe and new position: how Cittadini 'rebirths' at Santos] (in Portuguese). Lance!. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  15. "Ronaldo Mendes entra, marca logo depois e garante virada do Santos sobre o Audax" [Ronaldo Mendes comes in, scores afterwards and assures Santos' comeback over Audax] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 10 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  16. "Herói da virada do Santos, Cittadini sai do banco e chora ao final" [Hero of Santos' comeback, Cittadini leaves the bench and cries at the end] (in Portuguese). UOL Esporte. 6 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  17. "De saída do Santos, Léo Cittadini acerta pré-contrato com Atlético-PR" [Leaving Santos, Léo Cittadini signs pre-contract with Atlético-PR] (in Portuguese). Gazeta Esportiva. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  18. "Léo Cittadini cresce no Athletico e supera número de jogos disputados no Santos" [Léo Cittadini grows at Athletico and overcomes number of played matches at Santos] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  19. Léo Cittadini at Soccerway. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
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