1. He loves a goal in the Coppa Italia!
Gianluca Scamacca has finished as the leading scorer in the Coppa Italia on two separate occasions. In 2018/19, he scored four times for Ascoli to help the Serie B side reach the fourth round, scoring twice each in wins over Pro Vercelli and Trapani. He then scored four times as Genoa reached the round of 16 in 2020/21, netting two goals each in victories over Catanzaro and Sampdoria. In total, he has scored eight goals in just seven career appearances in the competition.
2. He's been capped regularly by Italy since the age of 15
Gianluca Scamacca has been capped an amazing 85 times by Italy at no fewer than eight different levels, from U15 up to senior, scoring 36 goals. The forward scored on his first-ever appearance for his country, netting twice in a 3-3 friendly draw with Belgium in February 2014 at U15 level.
3. He went Dutch early in his career
Gianluca Scamacca’s senior debut came not in his homeland of Italy but in the Netherlands, where he made his professional bow three weeks after his 17th birthday as a substitute for Jong PSV in a 2-1 Dutch second-tier win at VVV-Venlo in January 2016. He has now made 132 senior appearances for Jong PSV, Cremonese, PEC Zwolle, Ascoli, Genoa and Sassuolo, scoring 42 goals in total.
4. He's gone close to international glory
Gianluca Scamacca appeared on five occasions as Italy reached the semi-finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2019, defeating Mexico, Ecuador, host nation Poland (pictured, above right) and Mali before losing to Ukraine in the last four. Earlier, he scored in the final as Italy were beaten 4-3 by Portugal in the UEFA European U19 Championship in Finland in 2019.
5. His idol is Zlatan Ibrahimović
Gianluca Scamacca’s football hero is Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimović. The pair have faced one another twice on the pitch, both in Serie A last season. Scamacca scored in a 3-1 win for his Sassuolo over Ibrahimović’s AC Milan at San Siro in November 2021, before the 40-year-old appeared off the substitutes’ bench in a 3-0 Milan win at the Mapei Stadium on the final day of the season in May.
6. He's Italy's current No9
Gianluca Scamacca made his senior debut for Italy as a substitute in a 5-0 FIFA World Cup qualifying win over Lithuania in Reggio Emilia in September 2021. He has since earned seven full caps, including an appearance in the 2022 Super Final between the reigning European and South American champions, which saw Italy defeated by Lionel Messi's Argentina (pictured, above) at Wembley in June.
7. He enjoyed a prolific 2020/21 season
Gianluca Scamacca plundered 16 goals for Sassuolo in Serie A last season, making him the second-highest scoring Italian behind Lazio’s Ciro Immobile. His partnership with fellow Italy international Domenico Berardi combined for 31 of Sassuolo’s 64 Serie A goals, making it the second most prolific in the division behind Inter’s Lautaro Martínez and Edin Džeko, who combined for 34.
