Fabio Miretti
Fabio Miretti (born 3 August 2003) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Juventus U23. Miretti joined Saluzzo's youth setup in 2007 and moved on to Cuneo's the following year. In 2011, Miretti was bought by Juventus with which he played across its youth levels. In February 2021, Miretti made his professional debut with the U23 team, aged 17. The following season, he became a Juventus U23 starter, and he made his Serie A and UEFA Champions Legaue debuts with the first team and helped the U19 team reach the UEFA  Youth League semi-finals. Miretti has also represented Italy at youth levels since 2018. He has since scored eight goals in 30 appearances across Italy's youth levels. Club career. Early career. Miretti started playing football at Saluzzo's youth sector at the age of four. One year later, his talent was recognised by scout Ermanno Demaria, and he was acquired by the Cuneo Youth Team, with which he played thier friendlies with children one year older, singing his first contract in 2010. The following year, he joined the Juventus Youth Sector after being reported by sporting observer Santo Borza  and after training with Juventus and Torino. Playing as a "trequartista", Miretti scored 16 goals in 17 appearances with the under-17s in the 2019–20 season, which was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. Juventus. In October 2020, Miretti was included in "The Guardian"'s list of the 60 best talents in the world born in 2003. On 13 February 2021, Miretti made his professional debut with Serie C side Juventus U23 – the reserve team of Juventus – in a 3–0 away win against AlbinoLeffe. During the 2020–21 season, as a "mezz'ala" in a 4–3–3 formation, he played for the  Primavera (under-19s) side with the addition of four substitute appearances with the under-23s. Miretti began the 2021–22 season by taking part in Juventus' pre-season friendlies. In August, he was given the number 21 jersey for Juventus U23. For the under-23s, he scored his first career goal on 22 August, in a 3–2 win against Pro Sesto in the Coppa Italia Serie C, converting a penalty in the 108th minute. Six days after, Miretti scored his first Serie C goal, the opener of Juventus U23's away match against Pergolettese, eventually won 2–1. On 10 September, Miretti received his first  call up by the first team, by coach Massimiliano Allegri, alongside his U23 teammates Koni De Winter and Matías Soulé for the Serie A match against Napoli, played the following day. Four days later, Miretti captained the U23s in a 3–2 Coppa Italia Serie C win against Feralpisalò. His Juventus first-team debut came on 8 December, in a 1–0 UEFA Champions League home win against Malmö FF, coming on as substitute in the 89th minute. In the post-match interview, Miretti said "[It] was an incredible emotion. The dream of every kid who comes to Juve[ntus]' youth sector is  to make his debut in front of his own fans and in his own stadium. [It] was an emotion never felt before". Miretti was awarded Best Youth Player of the first half of the Serie C season. On 20 January 2022, Miretti extended his contract with Juventus until 2026. Miretti played his first Serie A match on 20 March, replacing Juan Cuadrado in stoppage time in a home 2–0 win against Salernitana. His debut as a starter in Serie A and with the first team came on 1 May, in a match against Venezia at home won 2–1. Miretti was  decisive in the actions of the two goals scored by Leonardo Bonucci, having taken the free kick and the corner kick which led Bonucci to score his goals. At the 78th minute, he was replaced by Arthur Melo, receiving a standing ovation from the stadium. Throughout the season, he also played some UEFA Youth League matches with Juventus U19. Miretti scored two goals in five matches for the U19s who reached the semi-finals, their best-ever placing in the competition. International career. Miretti represented Italy internationally at under-15, under-16, under-17, and under-19 levels. Miretti debuted with the under-19s on  13 August 2021, in a match against Albania won 1–0. Two months later, on 6 October, Miretti scored a goal against Lithuania, his first with Italy U19. Miretti was called up for the last two games of the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification against Finland and Belgium; he scored one goal in both matches, helping Italy qualify to the tournament. Style of play. Starting his career as a central midfielder, Miretti moved up the pitch with time and became a "trequartista" through his eye for the goal. During his year at the under-19s Miretti changed his position in the  field, becoming a "mezz'ala" due to the absence of a "trequartista" in his coaches' modules. The website "Numero Diez" described him as a flexible, technical and dynamic midfielder who features excellent vision, precision, speed of thought and ball control, who can also use his weak foot. "Goal.com" and "TUTTOmercatoWEB" added that his qualities were also dribbling and passing, shooting, eye for the goal and insertion which allow him to set up his teammates with assists. He was also likened to former Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio by "Goal.com" for his qualities as a finisher and for his career across Juventus' youth  levels. Personal life. Miretti was born in Pinerolo on 3 August 2003, but he is originally from Saluzzo. On 30 December 2021, Miretti tested positive for COVID-19 amid its pandemic in Italy; he fully recovered on 9 January 2022. Miretti's idol is former Juventus' midfielder Pavel Nedvěd and his reference point is Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne for his role and characteristics. He has been a Juventus supporter since his childhood. Miretti currently attends Juventus in-house "Liceo Scientifico con indrizzo sportivo" (Scientific high school with sports focus).