Jacopo Sala
From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki
| Jacopo Sala | |
| |
| Full Name | Jacopo Sala |
| Date of Birth | 5 December 1991 |
| Place of Birth | Bergamo, Italy |
| Position | Attacking Midfielder Forward |
| Chelsea career | 2007-2011 |
| Debut | n/a |
| Games (goals) | n/a |
| Other clubs | Atalanta |
Jacopo Sala (born 5 December 1991) is an Italian attacking midfielder or forward who played for Chelsea's Reserve team.
Contents |
Before Chelsea
Jacopo joined Chelsea as a schoolboy in 2007 from Atalanta, the major side in the Bergamo region in which he was born.
Chelsea career
Jacopo was given some time in the Blues’ Under-18 pre-season games and was tried in a number of positions from right-back to striker. His natural and best position is somewhere on the right of the attack, more advanced in a 4-4-2 but the orthodox right winger in Chelsea’s 4-3-3 formation. He started the season with the Under-16s team but by the middle of the year he’d impressed enough to earn a call-up to Paul Clement’s Under-18s squad, where he featured impressively in a 5-1 win over Charlton, having a big hand in one of the goals.
Following his brief foray into the next age group up, he returned to Under-16 duty, where his development continued unabated. The highlight of his 2007-08 season must surely be a sensational hat-trick against Portsmouth, capped with a glorious 25-yard free kick. His reward for that was to be named captain as coaches Dermot Drummy and Eddie Newton rotated it around different players to see how it affected them. An Italian in his first year in England without great spoken English, he took it in his stride and came out really quite well.
Technically, he is pretty good. He’s a capable dribbler, with impressive vision and physical toughness. He likes to get into scoring positions and is a good set piece taker from wide and from direct chances. Quite tall and rangy, he keeps his head up, but can sometimes be caught with the ball and favour his right foot.
After progressing from the Under-18 team into the Reserves in 2008-09, Jacopo started the 2009-10 season as a full-time Reserve, but didn't always show the same form and consistency he did at the academy level. He has tended to work best with Fabio Borini and has been a part of the club's run to the FA Youth Cup Semi Finals. He was also assigned the number 46 squad number, indicating that he is well thought of in the first team ranks.
His squad number changed to 55 for the 2010-11 season but he was named on the first team substitutes bench for two matches in the first half of the season.
The second half of the season was spent injured, and on 3 June 2011 Jacopo signed a three-year contract with Hamburg in Germany.
International
Jacopo has represented Italy at Under-16, Under-17, and Under-19 level. He has been involved in Under-21 training camps in 2011 but has no competitive caps at that level to date.
Career Statistics
Youth Team Football
| Season | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | |
| 2007-08 | 3 | 0 |
| 2008-09 | 28 | 7 |
| 2009-10 | 12 | 4 |
Reserve Team Football
| Season | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | |
| 2008-09 | 3 | 0 |
| 2009-10 | 6 | 0 |
| 2010-11 | 12 | 0 |
Career honours
Post Chelsea Career
Jacopo spent much of his early Hamburg career on the treatment table but made his senior debut early in 2012 and marked his first start with a goal against Bayern Munich. He became a useful squad player when fit but boardroom politics ended his stay in July 2013 and he returned to Italy to join newly-promoted Verona in Serie A.
