Davide Calabria is an Italian professional footballer, who plays for Milan as a full-back, mainly on the right side of the pitch.
Club career
Calabria has been with A.C. Milan since 2006, playing for the club's youth teams of different age groups up until Primavera. He received his first ever call-up to the senior team ahead of the away game against S.S. Lazio played on 25 January 2015; he, however, remained an unnused substitute. He made his Serie A debut on 30 May 2015 against Atalanta, replacing Mattia De Sciglio at the 84th minute in a 1–3 away win. On 15 July 2015 Calabria was officially promoted to the first team. He made his first start in a 3–2 win over Palermo on 22 September, playing 49 minutes, and was highly praised for his performance. Ahead of the 2017–18 season, Milan acquired Atalanta's Andrea Conti for nearly €25 million, viewing the player as the most likely starter on the right side of the team's defensive line; Calabria had been persuaded yet refused to join one of the lower-ranking Serie A teams on loan to increase his playing time. In September 2017, Conti injured his anterior cruciate ligamentfor the first time, and in March 2018 suffered a recurrence of the injury, effectively ending his season. The club ruled out the possibility of any further emergency signings, thus trusting Calabria as a long-term replacement for Conti in the right full-back position. He completed the season with 30 appearances in all competitions and scored his debut goal in senior professional football on 25 February 2018 in the Serie A 2–0 away win against Roma.
Calabria is a quick and modern full-back who likes to get forward and support his team's attacking moves. His strong overlapping offensive runs, crossing ability, and solid technique caused problems for Juventus in the 2016 Coppa Italia Final although it was he who did not chase Álvaro Morata down his flank to prevent the creation of a scoring opportunity. Regarded as a promising young player, defensively, his positioning, decision-making, and tackling are commendable, and he has also drawn praise from pundits and former footballers for his maturity and personality in spite of his youth. Although he is not physically dominant, he is gifted with good pace and stamina, and can also recover to his defensive position quickly, which enables him to cover the flank effectively. A former midfielder in his youth, while he is mainly deployed as a right-back, he is a highly versatile player who is capable of playing in several positions, and is equally adept at left-back due to his ability with both feet, despite being naturally right-footed.
