Simone Icardi

Our most recent signing, and the last midfielder in this Player Insider series, Simone Icardi is ready for this new season with Cittadella. After Casertana’s collapse, Icardi is now part of the Granata family.

Icardi was born on September 13, 1996 in Rome. Just before his 18th birthday, he made his Serie D debut for Racing Club Roma. During that 14/15 season, Icardi made 27 league appearance and scoring three times. After a successful season, with the club gaining 78 points, Racing Club Roma were promoted to Serie C.

After a dominate season in the fourth division, Icardi and Racing Club entered the ranks of professional football. He made his professional debut on September 6th, 2015 against Ischia. The next game against Benevento was on his birthday. A great present arrived, as Icardi scored his first pro goal on his 19th birthday.

Racing Club could not continue and repeat their success they had last season. They were relegated and went straight back down to Serie D, winning twice all season.

The upcoming summer saw Icardi transfer to Catanzaro. It was a big step up for the midfielder, as he was staying in Serie C and that season saw him break onto the stage. Icardi played 33 matches through 2016 and 2017 for Catanzaro, as well as claiming three goals and five assists. Catanzaro fell down the table, finishing in a relegation playoff. Their fate would be decided in a two-legged fixture against Vibonese. Icardi came on with 23 minutes to go in the second leg. Catanzaro held onto a one goal lead, and were saved from relegation.

After missing a good portion of the season, Catanzaro were inconsistent throughout the campaign, sitting at mid table halfway through the season.

It was then were Icardi was scouted by Virtus Entella in Serie B, and made the move in January. His first Serie B match came nearly a month later, on March 11, 2018 against Empoli. It came to the final day against Novara were Virtus Entella somehow made their comeback. Needing a win, the club went to Novara and got a 1-0 win, with Icardi playing 67 minutes. The win saw Entella jump ahead of Novara and into the playoff position. Their run fell short, as they lost to Ascoli in the decisive tie.

Back in Serie C after a harsh relegation, Icardi and Entella were determined to back it back to Serie B. This was Icardi’s best season at that moment, as he played 34 games in all competitions. His best performance, and most likely the highlight of his career, came in the Coppa Italia. On December 6, 2018, Entella faced Genoa in the fourth round of the Coppa Italia. Icardi scored two goals to put Entella up 2-1 at the Ferraris. Genoa equalized shortly after, and the game went to extra time.

A Genoa goal saw Entella in danger. However, Icardi was played in behind the Genoa defense late into stoppage time. He missed the shot, but the rebound saw Adorjan score to send the game to penalties.

Icardi scored his shot in sudden death, and incredibly, Entella advanced to the Round of 16. Against Roma next month, he came in at halftime, however Entella’s story ended. They lost to Roma 4-0 at the Olimpico. Despite all this, Icardi and Entella were promoted at the end of the season, securing top spot.

A mid-season loan saw him at Siena, in Serie C again. Simone only played a handful of games, until the league stopped in March. His loan expired and he got transferred to Casertana. Playing in 30 matches in the 20/21, Icardi caught the eye of Cittadella. After Casertana folded, Icardi was signed by Cittadella, two days ago from the time of this writing.

While we haven’t seen Icardi play live with the Granata, he adds another player to the midfield as Citta looks to strengthen the body of the team. We can’t wait to see Icardi’s presence.