Stefano Sturaro

Stefano Sturaro (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsteːfano stuˈraːro]; born 9 March 1993) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Sturaro began his career with local club Sanremese, and was signed by Genoa in 2008. After four years in the Genoese youth system, he was loaned to Modena in 2012. He returned to Genoa in 2013, with whom he made his Serie A debut on 25 August 2013. In July 2014, he moved to Juventus; after initially spending the first half of the 2014–15 season on loan with Genoa, he was recalled by Juventus in February 2015, where he won consecutive domestic doubles in his first four seasons with the club. He was subsequently loaned out to Portuguese club Sporting in 2018, and Genoa in January 2019, before being signed out-right by Genoa once again in the summer of 2019.

At international level, he also represented Italy at under-18 and under-19 levels, and represented the Italy under-21 at the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He made his senior Italy debut on 6 June 2016, against Finland and was included in the squad for UEFA Euro 2016.

Born in Sanremo, Italy, Sturaro began his career with local team, Sanremese before being scouted and signed by Serie A side Genoa in 2008. After joining the Ligurian club, he was assigned to the club's youth categories.

After two seasons with the Primavera squad, Sturaro was called up to the first team, and was loaned out to Modena in the Serie B on 23 July 2012. On 1 December, he made his professional debut, playing the last 33 minutes in a 1–0 home win over Novara. He returned to Genoa having made 8 league appearances during the season.

On 25 August 2013, Sturaro made his Serie A debut, coming on as a late substitute in a 0–2 away loss against Inter. He finished the season with 16 appearances and scored his maiden professional goal on 2 March 2014 in a home win against Catania.

On 1 July 2014, Sturaro signed a five-year contract with Juventus, for a €5.5 million fee plus bonuses up to €5.5 million (€2 million for 2014–15 season which achieved; €3.5 million for 2015 onwards). The agreement also confirmed that Sturaro would spend the 2014–15 campaign on loan at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris outfit. He was recalled from Genoa on 2 February of the following year.

On 5 May 2015, Sturaro made his debut in the UEFA Champions League in the first leg of the semi-finals, against defending champions Real Madrid. He was a contributor in Juventus' 2–1 success at the Juventus Stadium, and drew praise in the media for his decisive performance. In this same game he made an important interception against a point blank range header from James Rodríguez, this was vital as it proved to be a match winning moment in the game. He scored his first goal for Juventus on 23 May 2015, in a 3–1 home win over Napoli, after a notable dribbling run, as Juventus celebrated winning the Serie A title for the fourth consecutive time.