1. Early Life
Antonelli was born in Monza, Italy. He is the son of Roberto Antonelli, a former professional footballer who played as a striker for A.C. Milan from 1977 until 1982.
2. Club Career
Antonelli's club career began in the youth ranks of A.C. Milan before he embarked on a journey through several Italian clubs, showcasing his abilities as a versatile defender, primarily a left-back. He later returned to his boyhood club, Milan, for a second spell, and concluded his career abroad.
2.1. AC Milan (youth and early senior career)
Luca Antonelli spent several seasons developing within the A.C. Milan youth teams. He made his first team debut for the club in a Coppa Italia match against Brescia on 8 November 2006. On 23 December of the same year, he also made his Serie A debut in a game against Udinese.
2.2. Bari
In the summer of 2007, Antonelli was loaned out to Serie B club Bari. During his loan spell, he made 17 appearances and scored 1 goal. His impressive performances at Bari led to interest from other clubs.
2.3. Parma
Following his stint at Bari, Parma secured Antonelli on loan from A.C. Milan for the remainder of the Serie A season in January 2008. He made his first appearance for Parma, often referred to as the Gialloblu, against Livorno on 16 March 2008. In June 2008, Parma acquired half of Antonelli's contractual rights from Milan for 750.00 K EUR. The following summer, in June 2009, he was fully transferred to Parma for an additional 2.50 M EUR. During his time at Parma, Antonelli displayed his attacking prowess, contributing to the team's efforts to climb the league standings. He played a total of 58 league matches, scoring 1 goal, across his various spells and full transfer at the club.
2.4. Genoa
In January 2011, Antonelli was transferred to Genoa for a fee of 7.00 M EUR. As part of related transfers, Genoa also signed Alberto Paloschi for 4.35 M EUR, while Parma acquired Raffaele Palladino for 3.00 M EUR and Francesco Modesto for 2.50 M EUR from Genoa. Antonelli quickly established himself at Genoa, succeeding Domenico Criscito as the primary left-back. Over his tenure with the club, he made 104 league appearances, scoring 8 goals.
2.5. AC Milan (second spell)
In February 2015, Antonelli made a significant move back to his boyhood club, A.C. Milan, for a transfer fee of 4.50 M EUR. He signed a three-and-a-half-year contract upon his return. In his debut match during this second spell with Milan, on 7 February 2015, Antonelli scored a goal from a header following a corner kick, equalizing the score at 1-1 against Juventus. However, Milan eventually lost the match 3-1. He played 54 league matches and scored 4 goals during his second stint with the club.
2.6. Empoli
On 11 August 2018, Antonelli transferred to Empoli. He played for the club for two seasons, making 25 league appearances and scoring 1 goal. On 5 October 2020, his contract with Empoli was terminated by mutual consent.
2.7. Miami FC
On 17 February 2021, Antonelli signed with the USL Championship side Miami FC in the United States, marking his first professional experience outside of Italy. He played two seasons with Miami FC, making 19 league appearances.
3. International Career
Antonelli made his senior international debut for the Italy national team on 3 September 2010. His first appearance was against Estonia in Tallinn. He went on to make a total of 13 appearances for the national team between 2010 and 2016. He also represented Italy at youth levels, including one appearance for the Italy U-19 team in 2005 and one appearance for the Italy U-20 team in 2007, where he scored 1 goal.
4. Career Statistics
4.1. Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bari (loan) | 2007-08 | Serie B | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 17 | 1 | ||
| Parma | 2007-08 | Serie A | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2008-09 | Serie B | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 16 | 0 | |||
| 2009-10 | Serie A | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 25 | 1 | |||
| 2010-11 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 12 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 58 | 1 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 61 | 1 | ||||
| Genoa | 2010-11 | Serie A | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 11 | 1 | ||
| 2011-12 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 13 | 0 | ||||
| 2012-13 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 34 | 1 | ||||
| 2013-14 | 30 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 31 | 3 | ||||
| 2014-15 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 20 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 104 | 8 | 5 | 0 | - | - | 109 | 8 | ||||
| A.C. Milan | 2006-07 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2014-15 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 12 | 1 | ||||
| 2015-16 | 28 | 3 | 4 | 0 | - | - | 32 | 3 | ||||
| 2016-17 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2017-18 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | - | 13 | 1 | |||
| Total | 54 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 69 | 5 | ||
| Empoli | 2018-19 | Serie A | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2019-20 | Serie B | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 14 | 2 | |||
| 2020-21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 25 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 2 | ||
| Miami FC | 2021 | USLC | 11 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |||
| Total | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 278 | 15 | 21 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 305 | 17 | ||
4.2. International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2010 | 2 | 0 |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 13 | 0 | |
5. Honours
Milan
- UEFA Champions League: 2006-07
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2016
6. Retirement
On 10 November 2022, after two seasons with Miami FC, Luca Antonelli officially announced his retirement from professional football.