Riccardo Calafiori Scouting Report: Studying His Meteoric Rise With Arsenal And The Azzurri

Many discovered Riccardo Calafioris talent during UEFA Euro 2024.

He shone with the Azzurri thanks to his excellent defensive and playmaking performances despite Italy’s overall bad tournament and unconvincing collective performances.

Despite Italy’s poor run of form, Calafiori successfully attracted the attention of most of those who watched Italy’s group-stage games, as he was crucial in most. 

Even though he did commit some mistakes, he made up for them with a crucial assist in the last minutes of the game against Croatia; Mattia Zaccagnis goal offered Italy a qualification ticket to the knockout phase.

Serie A followers got to know Calafiori a bit earlier, as he stood out massively during the 2023/24 campaign at Bologna after spending a season at Basel.

Before that, Calafiori had played for AS Roma from 2020 until being loaned out to Genoa for half a season.

During the last couple of seasons, Calafiori has shown remarkable performance progress.

He has become very mature, strong in duels, quick, talented in passing and vision, and able to score goals in various ways.

All these traits are not easy to acquire as a defender, and Calafioris current level is undoubtedly exceptional for him and the Italian national team.

Therefore, Calafiori’s primary objective for the moment will be to know how to remain consistent in terms of powerful and convincing performances despite playing in a league that develops quickly each season and is very competitive, like the Premier League.

What is also positively surprising for the Italian defender is that he quickly adapted to the Premier League’s playing style and got into Arsenal’s system quickly and fluidly, thanks not only to his willingness to adjust but also to Mikel Artetas tactics and his teammates, who made things a bit easier for him as well. 

Therefore, in this tactical analysis and scout report, we will explore the Italian defender’s development and how Riccardo Calafioris style of play has adapted at Arsenal to become one of the top defenders in the Premier League.

The analysis will cover Calafioris defensive side, playmaking, and goalscoring aspects to study the players complete profile and highlight his current strengths.

Riccardo Calafiori Defensive Abilities

Calafiori is becoming one of the most intelligent defenders in terms of interceptions and knowing how to win duels without really being particularly aggressive.

This means that Calafiori often succeeds in winning the ball with elegance without resorting to committing many fouls per game.

With 61.5% of defensive duels won, we can argue that Calafiori holds a very high rate of one-on-one defensive duels, whether on the wings or near the box.

Calafiori often relies on his quick reflexes and ability to predict the direct opponent’s next move to clear the ball or win it back when the opponent tries to cut inside, penetrate near the goal line, or cross from the wing.

Calafiori does not hesitate to slide tackles when needed, especially when facing tough/quick opponents. 

Once again, he usually succeeds in timing these sliding tackles accurately so that they touch the ball, not the player.

Lately, Calafiori was put to a complicated test when Arsenal faced PSG in the Champions League. 

In this match, he had to mark the winger Désiré Doué and a quick and talented player like Hakimi, knowing that Hakimi is a right-back who advances a lot and creates plenty of overlaps on the wing per game.

One remarkable action shows Hakimi getting the ball and trying to turn quickly as he was about to surpass Calafiori and get near the goal.

Calafioris reaction to this action shows great talent, maturity, determination, and physical strength.

In a second, he knew that Hakimi was getting a bit ahead of him, so he jumped with a sort of sliding tackle to clear the ball away despite Hakimis ball protection attempts as he advanced.

Although such defensive action was risky, it highlights Calafiori’s