Due to his creative style of play, pace, talent, technique and eye for goal, he has been nicknamed "
La Joya" ("The Jewel" in
Spanish).
[3]Paulo Dybala
Dybala in 2017
|
| Personal information |
|---|
| Full name | Paulo Bruno Exequiel Dybala[1] |
|---|
| Date of birth | 15 November 1993 (age 23) |
|---|
| Place of birth | Laguna Larga, Córdoba, Argentina |
|---|
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)[2] |
|---|
| Playing position | Forward / Attacking midfielder |
|---|
| Club information |
|---|
Current team
| Juventus |
|---|
| Number | 10 |
|---|
| Youth career |
|---|
| 2003–2011 | Instituto |
|---|
| Senior career* |
|---|
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
|---|
| 2011–2012 | Instituto | 38 | (17) |
|---|
| 2012–2015 | Palermo | 89 | (21) |
|---|
| 2015– | Juventus | 71 | (40) |
|---|
| National team‡ |
|---|
| 2015– | Argentina | 10 | (0) |
|---|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 September 2017.
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 September 2017 |
Early life
Paulo Dybala was born in Laguna Larga, in
Córdoba, Argentina.
[4] His grandfather, Bolesław Dybała, was from the village of
Kraśniów in Poland; he fled from his country of birth to Argentina during
World War II.
[5][6] Paulo's family also has Italian origins through his maternal grandmother, named Da Messa, from the
Province of Naples.
[5][7][8] Paulo officially obtained his Italian citizenship on 13 August 2012.
[9]
Club career
Instituto de Córdoba
Nicknamed "
La Joya"
[10] or "
El pibe de la pensión",
[11] Dybala made his professional debut in the
Primera B Nacional (Argentine second division) with his hometown club
Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba at age 17. In total, he played 40 matches with the club, scoring 17 goals.
[12][13] He was the youngest to score a goal, beating the record of
Mario Kempes. Dybala was also the first to play 38 consecutive matches in a professional league in the country (again edging Kempes), and was also the first to score two hat-tricks in a season. Dybala also scored in six consecutive games, surpassing the previous record of four matches.
[14]
Palermo
Dybala taking a corner for
Palermoin 2015.
On 29 April 2012,
U.S. Città di Palermo president
Maurizio Zamparini announced the signing of Dybala stating, "We have got Paulo Dybala – the new
Sergio Agüero."
[15] Later the same day, however, Instituto's general secretary José Teaux stated that the man who had completed the negotiations with Palermo did not have the mandate to sell Dybala. Nonetheless, on 20 July 2012 Palermo released a press announcement confirming the signing of Dybala, who signed a four-year deal with the Sicilian club.
[16] According to the financial filing of the club, the transfer fee was €8.64 million.
[17]
Dybala made his debut for the club in a
Serie A match against
Lazio. He scored his first and second goal in Italy on 11 November 2012 when Palermo defeated
Sampdoria at home, 2–0.
[18] Dybala had his breakthrough season in the
2014–15 Serie A where he scored ten goals in the first half of the season, forming a successful striking partnership with fellow Argentine–Italian
Franco Vázquez and being linked with several top European clubs.
[19] He finished the season with 13 goals and 10 assists, which made him one of the top assist providers in the league.
[20]
Juventus
2015–16 season
On 4 June 2015,
Juventus announced the signing of Dybala on a five-year deal for a fee of €32 million (plus €8 million in add-ons).
[21][22] He was assigned the number 21 shirt, previously worn by
Andrea Pirlo, who left the club that summer.
[23] On 8 August, he came on as a 61st minute substitute for
Kingsley Coman against Lazio in the
2015 Supercoppa Italiana. He scored the second goal in the 73rd minute in a 2–0 win in
Shanghai.
[24] On 30 August 2015, Dybala scored his first league goal for the club in the 87th minute in a 2–1 defeat to
Roma.
[25] In his first 16 appearances of the season, Dybala managed six goals and two assists in all competitions, with a ratio of a goal every 151 minutes, which was superior to
Carlos Tevez's and
Alessandro Del Piero's goalscoring ratios in their debut seasons with Juventus. In the club's history, only
Roberto Baggio maintained a superior goalscoring record in the opening games of his debut season.
[26]
Dybala scored his first career
Coppa Italia goal in a 4–0 win over
cross-city rivals Torino on 16 December.
[27] On 23 February 2016, Dybala scored his first
UEFA Champions Leaguegoal in a 2–2 home draw to
Bayern Munich in Juventus' first round of 16 leg.
[28] On 15 March, it was announced Dybala would miss the second round of 16 leg of the Champions League against Bayern on 16 March due to an edema overload of his left
soleus muscle.
[29] He returned to action four days later in a 4–1 away win over Torino,
[30] but was substituted after sustaining yet another injury.
[31] On 21 April, Dybala scored two goals in a 3–0 home win over Lazio, which took his league tally to 16 goals in 31 appearances and also saw him score his 20th goal of the season in all competitions in the process.
[32] He finished the season as Juventus' top scorer with 23 goals in all competitions and 19 goals in Serie A, as the club celebrated their Serie A title victory.
[33][34]
2016–17 season
2017–18 season
On 4 August 2017, Dybala was named one of the three finalists for the Forward of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League season award.
[40]On 9 August, Dybala was confirmed to wear the number 10 shirt for Juventus.
[41] On 13 August he scored two goals in a 3–2 defeat to Lazio in the
2017 Supercoppa Italiana.
[42] On 15 August, Dybala placed sixth in the
2017 UEFA Best Player of the Year Award.
[43] On 26 August, Dybala scored his first hat-trick in Serie A in a 4–2 away win over
Genoa.
[44] He repeated the feat on 17 September, in his 100th appearance for Juventus, scoring all three goals, including one free-kick, in the club's 3–1 away win over
Sassuolo, marking his second hat-trick in Serie A.
[45]
International career
Due to his family heritage, Dybala was eligible to play for
Poland and
Italy, but expressly stated that he feels Argentine and had always dreamed of playing for
Argentina.
[46] Despite having sealed his decision of representing Argentina's colours, Dybala maintains that he feels a strong connection to his grandfather's country of origin, referring to it as "my family's blood".
[47]
On 1 September 2016, Dybala was sent off in the first half of a 1–0 home win over
Uruguay in a 2018 World Cup qualifier for a second bookable offence.
[53]
Style of play
A quick, creative and agile player with excellent technical ability,
[54][55][56][57][58] Dybala is known for his
dribbling skills, balance, and close control in limited spaces,
[58] as well as his ability to beat opponents and protect or hold up the ball for team-mates with his back to goal.
[59] Due to his speed on the ball, positioning, intelligent movement, and ball skills, he excels during counter-attacks
[59] and at beating the offside trap when making attacking runs.
[60][61] A hardworking player, he is also known for his stamina and defensive contribution off the ball.
[59][62] Dybala is capable both of creating chances for teammates, as well as scoring goals himself, due to his vision, passing, link-up play, and ability to drop deep and play off of other players, as well as his powerful and accurate ball-striking ability from both inside and outside the area.
[60][61][62][63] He is also effective at scoring with his head due to his acceleration and ability to anticipate defenders.
[58][59]
A versatile
forward, he is capable of playing in any offensive position: he has been deployed as a
main striker, as a
centre-forward, as a
supporting forward, as an
attacking midfielder, as a
playmaker, as a
false-9,
[63][64][65][66][67] or even as an
inverted winger on the right flank, where he is able to cut into the centre and
curl shots on goal with his stronger left foot.
[58][59][66] He is also accurate from
free kicks and
penalties.
[68][69] His playing style has drawn comparisons with compatriots Sergio Agüero,
[15] Javier Pastore,
[70] Carlos Tevez,
[71] Omar Sívori,
[72] and
Lionel Messi,
[54] as well as former Italian forwards
Vincenzo Montella,
[73] Alessandro Del Piero,
[74] and
Roberto Baggio,
[75] the latter of whom described Dybala as the number 10 of the future in 2017.
[76] Widely considered to be a highly talented prospect in world football,
[61][62][77][78][79][80][81][82][83] in 2014,
Don Balónnamed him one of the 100 most promising young players in the world born after 1993.
[84]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 23 September 2017[12]
International
- As of 6 September 2017[12]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|
| Argentina | 2015 | 3 | 0 |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 |
| 2017 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 10 | 0 |
|---|
Honours
Club
- Palermo[12]
- Juventus[12]
Individual
Notes
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