*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:57, 5 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:18, 19 November 2024 (UTC)
Gianluca Lapadula Vargas (born 7 February 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Cagliari. Born in Italy, he represents Peru at international level.
Having previously been called up by Italy, he made his debut for Peru in 2020 and represented the country at the Copa América in 2021 and 2024, helping them to fourth place in the former.
Early life
Lapadula was born in Turin in Piedmont, Italy on 7 February 1990, to Gianfranco Lapadula, from the southern Italian region of Apulia, and Blanca Aida Vargas Higinio, a Peruvian woman.[3][4] He has a brother named Davide, who was also a forward in the lower amateur leagues.[5][6][7]
Lapadula began his career with Juventus before being released in 2004 because he was not doing well in his studies.[14] After that he moved to Collegno Paradiso,[15][16] then left on loan to Treviso in 2006.[17] He returned to Piedmont for Serie C2 side Pro Vercelli on 31 August 2007.[18] He played for the reserve team.[19] In the 2008–09 season, he left for Lega Pro Seconda Divisione (ex–Serie C2) side Ivrea, and was selected to the Lega Pro 2nd Div. A representative team for Lega Pro Quadrangular Tournament and scored a goal against 2nd Div. C representative team in the third place match. Eventually, Group A finished third.[20] In August 2009 he was signed by Parma and spent one season with their Primavera team.[21] In July 2010, he left for Atletico Roma.[22]
Loans to Atletico Roma and Cesena
Lapadula made his debut for Atletico Roma on 8 August 2010, in the Coppa Italia preliminary round, lost in extra time (2–1). In January 2011, he left for Ravenna. He concluded the 2011–12 season as the topscorer in Group A with 24 goals.
On 15 June 2012, Lapadula joined Serie B club Cesena in co-ownership, signing a five-year contract.[23] Lapadula failed to play regularly for Cesena, and on 8 January 2013 he was signed by Frosinone.[24] In July 2013 the co-ownership between Cesena and Parma was resolved, and Lapadula returned to Parma.
In July 2014 he was loaned to Teramo,[29] where he scored 21 goals and helped the club achieve promotion to Serie B,[30] then cancelled in August 2015 by the final judgement of the Italian Football Federation, due to match-fixing on the part of the President of Teramo, Luciano Campitellii, in the penultimate round of the league in the match against Savona.[31]
Pescara
After the bankruptcy of Parma, Lapadula was released on a free transfer, and in July 2015 he was signed by Pescara in Serie B on a four-year contract.[32] In the 2015–16 season he scored 30 goals in 43 appearances (including three goals in as many appearances in the playoffs), without scoring any penalties, earning the honour of top scorer in the Italian second division.[33][34]
AC Milan
On 24 June 2016, Lapadula passed his medical test with AC Milan, who reportedly paid Pescara €9 million plus bonus for the transfer, while the player signed a five-year deal.[35][36] His transfer drew comparisons with that of Gianni Comandini, who had also been signed by Milan as a "number 9" in 2000, primarily due to his goalscoring success in Serie B and without any prior Serie A experience.[37] He made his debut for Milan on 27 August, coming on as an 86th-minute substitute for Suso during a 4–2 loss away against Napoli.[38] He scored his first goal for Milan and in Serie A on 6 November in the 2–1 away victory against Palermo, three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Carlos Bacca.[39] On 26 November, Lapadula scored his first brace in Serie A in a 4–1 away victory against Empoli.[40] He finished the 2016–17 season with 8 goals in 27 games, two of which were scored from a penalty spot.[41]
Genoa
On 18 July 2017, Lapadula moved to Genoa, on a one-season loan with an obligation to make the deal permanent.[42][43] The total transfer fee was €13 million[44][45] (€2 million loan + €11 million for outright[43]) which was Genoa's most expensive signing of all-time.[44]
Lapadula scored 6 goals in 28 games in the 2017–18 Serie A.[46] The following season, he played only eight league games, scoring once in a 1–1 draw with SPAL on 28 April 2019.[47]
On 12 July 2019, Lapadula was loaned to Serie A newcomers Lecce.[48] He scored 11 goals in the 2019–20 Serie A season, including two on 9 February in a 3–2 win at fellow southerners Napoli.[49]
Benevento
On 2 September 2020, Lapadula joined Benevento on a three-year contract,[50] for a reported fee of €4 million.[51] He missed only one game of the 2020–21 Serie A season and scored eight goals, but his team were relegated.[52]
Lapadula scored a hat-trick on 21 September 2021 as Benevento defeated Cittadella 4–1.[53] The team finished 7th and qualified for the play-offs, where he scored the only goal in the preliminary round away to Ascoli,[54] repeating the feat at home to Pisa in the semi-final first leg.[55]
Cagliari
On 26 July 2022, Lapadula joined Cagliari on a three-year contract.[56] Arriving after the departure of João Pedro, he came for a reported transfer fee of €1.5 million on a salary of €1 million plus bonuses.[57] With 21 goals in 36 games, he was the top scorer and Player of the Season in the 2022–23 Serie B.[58] In the playoffs, he scored twice in the space of four first-half minutes in a 2–1 win in the preliminary round against Venezia,[59] a late penalty in a 3–2 comeback win in the semi-finals against former club Parma,[60] and an early goal in the eventual final win over Bari.[61]
After a right-ankle injury in June 2023, Lapadula did not return until November.[62]
Lapadula scored his first senior international goal for Peru on 23 June 2021 in a 2–2 draw against Ecuador in the first round of the 2021 Copa América, later also assisting André Carrillo's goal.[69] On 2 July, Lapadula scored once and contributed to Gustavo Gómez's own goal in a 3–3 draw against Paraguay in the quarter-finals of the competition, later also netting his nation's first penalty in the resulting 4–3 penalty shoot-out victory.[70] On 9 July, he scored Peru's second goal in a 3–2 loss to Colombia in the third-place match of the tournament.[71]
"I'm a player who never gives up on a loose ball, always fighting even if the game seems lost. This is my character, it's never say die. – As I said before I am a full-on player."
—Lapadula being asked to describe his style of play in an interview with SoccerBible.[75]
A dynamic forward, Lapadula is a tenacious and physically strong striker, who stands out for his work-rate and temperament; due to his versatility, he can play as a centre-forward, and can also adapt to more creative roles, as a second striker, or winger on either flank, courtesy of his solid technical qualities, as well as his ability to both score and assist goals.[12][13][76][77][78][79][80] An uncommonly accurate and powerful finisher, he also has a strong left foot, and an eye for goal.[78][81][82]
^"3.2.7. RAPPRESENTATIVA REGIONALE ALLIEVI E GIOVANISSIMI"(PDF). Settore Giovanile e Scolastico (SGS) Comitato Regionale Piemonte Valle d'Aosta. Comunicato Ufficiale (in Italian). 2005–06 (40). Italian Football Federation (FIGC). 11 May 2016. Archived from the original(PDF) on 19 May 2014.
^"DEPOSITO CONTRATTI 06-07" [Deposit of contracts 06–07] (PDF) (in Italian). Lega Calcio. 5 September 2006. Archived from the original(PDF) on 5 October 2006. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
^"Lapadula è del Cagliari" [Lapadula is Cagliari's]. www.cagliaricalcio.com (in Italian). 25 July 2022. Archived from the original on 26 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
