Nicola Zalewski

Nicola Zalewski
Zalewski with Roma in 2023
Personal information
Full name Nicola Zalewski[1]
Date of birth (2002-01-23) 23 January 2002 (age 22)[1]
Place of birth Tivoli, Italy
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Full-back, wing-back
Team information
Current team
 Roma
Number 59
Youth career
2011–2021 Roma
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021– Roma 77 (2)
International career‡
2017–2018 Poland U16 5 (0)
2018–2019 Poland U17 9 (2)
2019 Poland U19 7 (0)
2019 Poland U20 1 (0)
2021– Poland U21 6 (1)
2021– Poland 25 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 October 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 October 2024

Nicola Zalewski (born 23 January 2002) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a full-back or wing-back for Serie A club Roma. Born and raised in Italy to Polish parents, he plays for the Poland national team at international level.[2]

Club career

Zalewski made his professional debut for Roma on 6 May 2021 in the Europa League semi-final against Manchester United, replacing Pedro at the 76th minute and being instrumental to the winning goal, an own goal by Alex Telles, seven minutes later.[3][4] He made his Serie A debut three days later, on 9 May, during a home game against Crotone.[5] On 29 December, Roma announced his contract had been extended until 2025.[6] On 28 February 2022, he first played as a starter for Roma in their 1–0 against Spezia.[7] On 12 March 2023, he scored the first goal in his senior career in a 3–4 loss against Sassuolo Calcio.[8][9] On 3 June 2023, he scored a goal in a 2–1 victory over Spezia.[10]

International career

Zalewski was born in Italy but he is not an Italian citizen due to the country's jus sanguinis nationality law.[11] He was first selected by the youth selections of the Poland national team after being discovered by Zbigniew Boniek, head of the Polish Football Association and former Roma player.[12] He made his debut for the senior team on 5 September 2021, in the World Cup Qualifier against San Marino where he came on in 66th minute and assisted Adam Buksa in the 94th minute who made it 7–1 for Poland.[13]

On 7 June 2024, Zalewski was called up for UEFA Euro 2024.[14] Three days later, he scored his first goal for Poland in a friendly against Turkey, dribbling down from the wing past two defenders and hitting a strike inside the box in the 90th minute to set the final score to 2–1.[15] On 15 October 2024, he scored a goal in a 3–3 draw against Croatia in the group stage of the UEFA Nations League.[16]

Personal life

Zalewski was born in Tivoli to Polish parents and grew up in Poli.[12] He has a sister, Jessica, born in 1992.[17] His father, Krzysztof Zalewski, died of cancer on 24 September 2021.[18]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 October 2024[19]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Coppa Italia Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Roma 2020–21 Serie A 1 0 0 0 1[a] 0 2 0
2021–22 Serie A 16 0 1 0 7[b] 0 24 0
2022–23 Serie A 33 2 2 0 12[a] 0 47 2
2023–24 Serie A 22 0 2 0 9[a] 0 33 0
2024–25 Serie A 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Career total 77 2 5 0 29 0 111 2
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 15 October 2024[20]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Poland 2021 1 0
2022 8 0
2023 5 0
2024 11 3
Total 25 3

Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first.[20]

List of international goals scored by Nicola Zalewski
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 10 June 2024 Kazimierz Górski National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland 18  Turkey 2–1 2–1 Friendly
2 5 September 2024 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland 22  Scotland 3–2 3–2 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A
3 15 October 2024 Kazimierz Górski National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland 25  Croatia 2–3 3–3 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A

Honours

Roma

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b c "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ – Squad List: Poland (POL)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ^ Nicola Zalewski at Soccerway
  3. ^ "Cronaca Roma - Manchester Utd". Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Roma 3-2 Manchester United (agg: 5-8): Red Devils ease into final". UEFA.com. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Roma-Crotone, problemi fisici per Darboe: Bove esordisce in prima squadra". Il Romanista (in Italian). 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Bove, Darboe e Zalewski rinnovano il proprio contratto con la Roma". www.asroma.com (in Italian). Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Serie A, Spezia-Roma 0-1: giallorossi passano su rigore al 99'". Sportmediaset.it (in Italian). Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  8. ^ Andy Mattioli (14 March 2023). "Nicola Zalewski celebrates scoring first goal with Roma". romapress.net. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  9. ^ Piotr Mika (12 March 2023). "Nicola Zalewski nareszcie to zrobił! Pierwszy gol w barwach Romy, upragnione przełamanie [WIDEO]". sport.se.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  10. ^ Bartosz Wieczorek (4 June 2023). "Nicola Zalewski z drugim golem w Serie A. Reprezentant Polski zdobył bramkę w meczu ze Spezią". sport.tvn.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Zalewski O Mourinho, Michniewiczu I Mundialu. "Włosi Chcieli Mnie W Swojej Kadrze"". YouTube.
  12. ^ a b "Roma, chi è Nicola Zalewski: polacco di Tivoli tifoso giallorosso" (in Italian). GianlucaDiMarzio.com. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  13. ^ "San Marino-Poland | European Qualifiers 2022".
  14. ^ "Michał Probierz ogłosił kadrę na Euro 2024" (in Polish). Polish Football Association. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Polska – Turcja 2:1. Nicola Zalewski daje zwycięstwo w końcówce meczu! [GOL]". sport.tvp.pl (in Polish). 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  16. ^ Tommy Lund (15 October 2024). "Poland fight back to snatch 3-3 draw with Croatia". reuters. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Chi è Zalewski: alle origini del talento della Roma". corrieredellosport.it (in Italian). 4 May 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  18. ^ "Tragedia reprezentanta Polski, zmarł jego ojciec. "Kilka dni temu był najszczęśliwszym człowiekiem na ziemi"" [The tragedy of the Polish representative, his father died. "A few days ago he was the happiest man on earth"]. Meczyki.pl (in Polish). 24 September 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  19. ^ "N. Zalewski". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  20. ^ a b Nicola Zalewski at National-Football-Teams.com Edit this at Wikidata
  21. ^ Honeyman, Sam (25 May 2022). "Roma 1–0 Feyenoord: Zaniolo strike wins the first Europa Conference League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  22. ^ Lowe, Sid (31 May 2023). "Montiel edges Sevilla to seventh Europa League triumph with win over Roma". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  23. ^ "Robert Lewandowski piłkarzem 2022 roku! Wyniki plebiscytu tygodnika "Piłka Nożna"". polsatsport.pl (in Polish). 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  24. ^ "Zalewski wins prestigious Golden Boy Award for being Europe's brightest under-21 football talent". The First News. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
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