Simone Pafundi (born 14 March 2006) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Udinese.
Personal information | |||
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Date of birth | (2006-03-14) 14 March 2006 (age 16) | ||
Place of birth | Monfalcone, Italy | ||
Height | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Udinese | ||
Number | 80 | ||
Youth career | |||
2011–2014 | Monfalcone | ||
2014– | Udinese | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2022– | Udinese | 1 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2021– | Italy U16 | 1 | (0) |
2021– | Italy U17[1] | 5 | (4) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 May 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 October 2022 |
Born in Monfalcone, the city his parents had moved to from Naples,[2] Pafundi started his footballing career with his hometown club, until he got noticed by Udinese scouts during a youth tournament in 2014, and was signed by the Serie A side soon thereafter.[3]
Throughout the 2021-2022 season, he emerged as a star player and a regular for the club's Under-19 team, having scored six goals and provided seven assists in 16 games in the Campionato Primavera 2 at just sixteen years of age: around this period of time, he signed his first professional contract with Udinese and got his first call-ups to the club's first team.[4][5][6]
On 22 May 2022, Pafundi made his professional and league debut for Udinese, coming in as a substitute for Roberto Pereyra at the 68th minute of the team's final game of the season, a 4–0 away win against Salernitana. In the occasion, he became the first player born in 2006 to ever take part in a Serie A match.[3][7]
Pafundi has represented Italy at several youth international levels.
In May 2022, he was called-up by head coach Roberto Mancini to join a training camp with the Italian senior national team, as part of a stage reserved to the most promising players in the country.[5]
A diminutive, left-footed trequartista, Pafundi has his most notable qualities in his ball control, his vision and his pace, which allow him to be a frequent threat in the final third, both as an assist-man and as a finisher.[2][8]
He's been compared to former Udinese captain and striker Antonio Di Natale.[8]
He has an older brother, named Andrea (b. 2004), who is also a footballer: they played alongside each other in the youth ranks of Udinese.[2]
Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Udinese | 2021–22 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Career total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Udinese Calcio – current squad | |
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