Introduction
Marco Benassi (born 8 September 1994) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Torino and the Italy national under-21 team, the latter of which he is captain.
Club career
Early career
Born in Modena, Emilia region, he began his career at Modena. In January 2011 Benassi was signed by Internazionale in temporary deal. After a half-season with Inter U17 youth team, Benassi was signed for Inter in co-ownership deal for €180,000. Benassi was a member of both Inter U18 and U19 team in 2011–12 season, winning the Primavera league and European title – NextGen Series. He also played for U18 team in the league playoffs round, winning the Berretti league.
Benassi was included in summer training camp by his former U19 team coach Andrea Stramaccioni, winning pre-season TIM Trophy. Benassi was also included in the 25-men List A squad for 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, as one of the 4 essential association trained player (local player) as required by UEFA. In October 2012 he signed a new 5-year contract.
Benassi made his debut on 22 November 2012 against Russian side FC Rubin Kazan as starting XI. Fielding a younger squad, Inter lost 3–0. On 12 January 2013 he made his Serie A debut for Inter, starting in a 2–0 victory over Pescara. On 21 February 2013, he scored his first senior goal against CFR Cluj.
Loan to Livorno
On 9 July 2013 he was transferred on loan to Livorno in Serie A, making his competitive debut on 17 August in a Coppa Italia defeat against Siena (0–1). He scored his first goal in the Italian top flight on 26 January 2014 at home to Sassuolo, before scoring his second of the season on 16 March against Bologna.
Torino
On 1 July 2014 it was officially announced that he was sold to Torino under a co-ownership agreement, as part of the transfer that brought Danilo D'Ambrosio to Inter in January. Benassi made his debut for the Granata during the third round of the 2014–15 Europa League won 3–0 against Swedes Brommapojkarna as a substitute. On 18 January 2015 he scored his first goal for Torino against Cesena. He scored again on 8 March after entering as a substitute for Alessandro Gazzi, marking the final goal in a 3–2 defeat at the Stadio Friuli against Udinese. He returned to the scoresheet in the final game of the season against Cesena (the match ended 5–0 in favour of Torino).
On 25 June 2015, the deadline for the expiration of the co-ownership, Torino acquired the other half of his contract for an additional €3.319 million, after winning a blind auction against the reported €2.9 million offered by the Nerazzurri. At the start of his second season with the club he changed shirt number, from 94 to 15. During a 2–1 win over Palermo on 27 September 2015, Benassi scored with a volley reminiscent of Marco van Basten's strike in the final of Euro 88. On 7 February 2016 he opened the score for Torino in a home match lost 1–2 against Chievo Verona. He closed the season with 32 appearances in which he scored three goals.
He scored his first goal of the 2016–17 season in a 2–1 win against Fiorentina on 2 October 2016; a match in which he also wore the captain's armband for the first time for Torino.
International career
He played all 3 games in the 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship qualification. He made his debut with the Italy under-21 squad on 14 August 2013, under Luigi Di Biagio, in the friendly match Slovakia-Italy (1–4). From 10–12 March 2014, he was called up by the head coach of the senior national team, Cesare Prandelli, in order to evaluate young players ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
He took part in the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the Czech Republic where he scored a brace in the last game of the group stage against England. At the beginning of the next biennial cycle he became captain of the under-21 squad.
In May 2016 he was called up to the senior national team by coach Antonio Conte in preparation for the UEFA Euro 2016. He was subsequently included in the list of 30 provisional players for the tournament. On 31 May, he was named one of three reserves for the senior side for Euro 2016. On 7 October, he was called up again, this time by Gian Piero Ventura, as a replacement for the injured Riccardo Montolivo for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Macedonia.
Style of play
A talented, hard-working, well-rounded and versatile two-way midfielder, Benassi is capable of playing both as a defensive midfielder or as a more offensive minded central midfielder; skilled in the tackle, he is a physically strong and dynamic player, with good vision and technique, as well as an ability to make attacking runs. He also possesses a good shot from distance.
Career statistics
Club
- As of 21 January 2017
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Internazionale | 2012–13 | Serie A | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 13 | 1 | |
| Livorno (loan) | 2013-14 | Serie A | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 2 | ||
| Torino | 2014–15 | Serie A | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | — | 36 | 3 | |
| 2015–16 | 32 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 33 | 4 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 75 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 0 | — | 88 | 11 | |||
| Career Total | 101 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 1 | — | 122 | 15 | |||
Honours
Club
- Internazionale
- Campionato Nazionale Primavera: 2011–12
- NextGen series: 2011–12