Who is Pietro Comuzzo: First Italy call for 19-year-old Fiorentina defender | OneFootball

Pietro Comuzzo was one of the surprise inclusions in Luciano Spalletti’s latest Italy national team squad after an impressive start to life in the Fiorentina first-team. Here is everything you need to know about the Viola defender and why he has been selected for the Azzurri.

Who is Pietro Comuzzo?

Comuzzo was born just outside of Udine, and had a brief year in the Udinese youth ranks before moving on to Pordenone for the 2017-18 season.

Fiorentina signed him as a 14-year-old in 2018. He then appeared as the captain of the U18s side a few years later and has enjoyed a rapid rise through the youth ranks to the senior set-up over the last year and a half.

Comuzzo began training with the Fiorentina first team under Vincenzo Italiano at the beginning of the 2023-24 season, and made his Serie A debut as a second-half substitute in a 3-1 win over Napoli in October 2023.

After the appointment of Raffaele Palladino this summer, Comuzzo’s stock has risen even higher in Tuscany. He was selected as a starter for the 1-1 draw with Parma in Fiorentina’s first Serie A match of the season, and has since started in nine out of 11 possible league matches.

Comuzo rise with Italy: Why he earned November call-up

The teenager has enjoyed a rapid rise through the Italy ranks as well, as he has passed through three different age categories over the last month, teaming up with the U20s in September, skipping the U21s in October and now the senior side in November.

He was one of two changes at centre-back in Spalletti’s latest Italy squad, as Riccardo Calafiori and Matteo Gabbia were both left out of the November squad due to injury. Comuzzo and Federico Gatti were called in to replace then.

Praised for his strength, solidity and reading of the game, La Gazzetta dello Sport claim that he ‘looks like a 30-year-old’ on the pitch.

Comuzzo cites Leonardo Bonucci and Virgil van Dijk as his role models at centre-back.