1. Personal Information
Alessio Cragno was born on 28 June 1994, in Fiesole, Italy. He is an Italian national. He stands at 72 in (184 cm) tall and weighs 172 lb (78 kg). His primary playing position is goalkeeper.
2. Club career
Alessio Cragno's club career began in the youth ranks of Brescia Calcio before he made his professional debut with the same club. He later moved to Cagliari, where he spent a significant portion of his career, including several loan spells, before joining Monza and then Sassuolo on loan, and finally Sampdoria.
2.1. Brescia
Cragno made his professional debut for Brescia Calcio on 25 September 2012, starting as goalkeeper in a Serie B match against Modena. Brescia secured a 2-1 victory with two goals from Andrea Caracciolo. This debut came after Brescia had sold their previous first-choice goalkeeper, Nicola Leali, to Juventus. Cragno quickly established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper for the 2013-14 season, delivering strong performances. During the 2012-13 season, he signed a contract with Brescia that was set to last until 30 June 2016.
2.2. Cagliari
In July 2014, Cragno transferred to Serie A club Cagliari, signing a four-year contract. The transfer fee for his move was 1.00 M EUR. His debut for Cagliari in Serie A took place on 21 September 2014, in a match against Roma, which Cagliari lost 2-0.
2.2.1. Loan to Lanciano
In January 2016, Cragno was loaned to Lanciano, a club in Serie B. By the end of that season, Lanciano was relegated to Lega Pro after losing their play-out matches against Salernitana. Following this loan spell, on 9 June 2016, Cragno signed a new four-year contract extension with Cagliari.
2.2.2. Loan to Benevento
In the summer of 2016, Cragno was again sent out on loan, this time to Benevento, a newly promoted team in Serie B. His loan agreement included an option for Benevento to purchase him permanently. He had a successful season with Benevento, serving as their starting goalkeeper and playing a crucial role in their promotion to Serie A through the play-offs. After this achievement, he returned to Cagliari in the summer of 2017.
2.2.3. Return to Cagliari
Upon his return to Cagliari for the 2017-18 season, Cragno firmly established himself as the team's primary goalkeeper. He played in 29 Serie A matches and one Coppa Italia game, keeping seven clean sheets. Cagliari managed to retain their top-flight status, finishing the season in 16th place.
During the 2018-19 season, Cragno distinguished himself as one of the league's top goalkeepers. He was awarded the Premio Apport for the best goalkeeper in Serie A, an accolade voted on by the Associazione Italiana Preparatori Portieri Calcio (Italian Association of Goalkeepers Trainers). He concluded the season having played the most minutes in the league (3,686) and recording the highest number of saves (152). Following this impressive season, he renewed his contract with Cagliari, extending it until 2024.
On 7 August 2019, Cragno suffered an injury during a pre-season friendly match against Fenerbahçe in Istanbul. This injury sidelined him for five months. He made his return to the field on 26 January 2020, in a Inter Milan match that ended in a 1-1 draw.
2.3. Monza
On 27 June 2022, Cragno joined Monza, a club newly promoted to Serie A, on a one-year loan agreement. This deal included both an option and a conditional obligation for Monza to purchase him permanently. He made his debut for Monza on 8 August 2022, in a Coppa Italia match against Frosinone, which Monza won 3-2.
2.4. Sassuolo
After Monza successfully avoided relegation in the 2022-23 Serie A season, Cragno was sent on another loan spell on 15 July 2023, joining Sassuolo with an option for the club to buy him.
2.5. Sampdoria
On 3 February 2025, Alessio Cragno officially joined Sampdoria on a half-season deal, arriving on a permanent basis from Monza.
3. International career
Alessio Cragno has represented Italy at various youth levels before making his debut for the senior national team.
3.1. Youth Teams
Cragno made his debut for the Italy under-21 squad on 4 June 2014, coming on as a substitute for Francesco Bardi in a friendly match against Montenegro, which Italy won 4-0. In June 2017, he was included in the Italy under-21 squad selected by manager Luigi Di Biagio for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He also played for the Italy U-17 team, making 6 appearances, and the Italy U-19 team, with 11 appearances.
3.2. Senior Team
Cragno received his first call-up to the senior Italy squad in September 2018, under manager Roberto Mancini. This call-up was for Italy's opening UEFA Nations League matches later that month against Poland and Portugal.
His senior international debut for Italy occurred on 7 October 2020, in a friendly match against Moldova. He replaced Salvatore Sirigu in the second half of the game, which Italy won convincingly 6-0 at home. On 17 May 2021, Cragno was included in a 33-man squad for a pre-UEFA Euro 2020 friendly match against San Marino and the subsequent training camp. He started in the friendly against San Marino, played at the Sardegna Arena, and maintained a 3-0 lead before being substituted by Alex Meret in the 63rd minute. However, he was not selected for the final 28-man provisional squad announced on 30 May, nor the 26-man final squad for the tournament, which included Gianluigi Donnarumma, Salvatore Sirigu, and Alex Meret as goalkeepers.
4. Career statistics
This section provides a detailed overview of Alessio Cragno's professional career statistics, including appearances and goals for his clubs and the national team across various competitions.
4.1. Club Statistics
| Club | Season | League | Coppa Italia | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brescia | 2012-13 | Serie B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 2 | 0 | |
| 2013-14 | Serie B | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 31 | 0 | ||
| Total | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
| Cagliari | 2014-15 | Serie A | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 16 | 0 | |
| 2015-16 | Serie B | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2017-18 | Serie A | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 30 | 0 | ||
| 2018-19 | Serie A | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 40 | 0 | ||
| 2019-20 | Serie A | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2020-21 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2021-22 | Serie A | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 36 | 0 | ||
| Total | 166 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 174 | 0 | ||
| Virtus Lanciano (loan) | 2015-16 | Serie B | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Benevento (loan) | 2016-17 | Serie B | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 39 | 0 |
| Monza (loan) | 2022-23 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | 4 | 0 | |
| Sassuolo (loan) | 2023-24 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 5 | 0 | |
| Career total | 253 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 275 | 0 | ||
4.2. International Statistics
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
5. Honours
This section details the individual awards and recognitions Alessio Cragno has received throughout his career, highlighting his performance and impact in Italian football.
5.1. Individual Honours
- Serie B Footballer of the Year: 2017
6. External links
- [https://www.acmonza.com/it/player/145/ Profile at AC Monza]
- [https://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/alessio-cragno/ Alessio Cragno at WorldFootball.net]
- [http://www.footballdatabase.eu/football.joueurs.alessio.cragno.181392.en.html Alessio Cragno at FootballDatabase.eu]