Diego Coppola

Diego Coppola
Coppola with Italy in 2025
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-12-28) 28 December 2003
Place of birth Bussolengo, Italy
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Brighton & Hove Albion
Youth career
2020–2022 Hellas Verona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2025 Hellas Verona 81 (4)
2025– Brighton & Hove Albion 0 (0)
International career‡
2021 Italy U18 1 (0)
2021–2022 Italy U19 13 (1)
2022 Italy U20 1 (0)
2023–2025 Italy U21 11 (0)
2025– Italy 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 May 2025
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 June 2025

Diego Coppola (born 28 December 2003) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion and the Italy national team.

Club career

Hellas Verona

After coming through the youth ranks of Hellas Verona, Coppola made his professional debut with the first team on 15 December 2021, coming on as a substitute during a 4–3 Coppa Italia loss to Empoli.[1] He subsequently made his Serie A debut on 15 January 2022, replacing Adrien Tameze at the 80th minute of the league game against Sassuolo.[2] On 27 February, the defender made his first start for Verona, playing the entirety of the Serie A game against Venezia.[3]

On 20 April 2022, Coppola officially extended his contract with the club, signing a new five-year deal.[4] On 4 February 2024, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 away defeat against Napoli.[5]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 17 June 2025, Coppola signed for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion for a reported fee of £9.4m, signing a five-year deal.[6][7]

International career

Coppola was born in Italy to an Italian father and Dutch mother.[8] He has represented Italy at various youth international levels, having played for the under-18, under-19 and under-20 national teams.[9] In May and December 2022, Coppola was involved in training camps led by the Italian senior national team's manager, Roberto Mancini, and aimed to the most promising national talents.[10][11]

Coppola received his first call-up to the senior Italy national team on 26 May 2025.[12] He debuted on 6 June against Norway, starting and playing the full match, with Italy losing 3–0.[13]

Style of play

A centre-back who can play both in a back three or four, Coppola has shown good athleticism despite his height, as well as a notable tactical intelligence and decent ball-playing skills.[14] Positioning, marking, and anticipation are his strongest traits in the defensive phase of his game.[14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 25 May 2025[15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hellas Verona 2021–22 Serie A 4 0 1 0 — — 5 0
2022–23 Serie A 19 0 0 0 — 1[b] 0 20 0
2023–24 Serie A 24 2 2 0 — — 26 2
2024–25 Serie A 34 2 1 0 — — 35 2
Total 81 4 4 0 0 0 1 0 86 4
Brighton & Hove Albion 2025–26 Premier League 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Career total 81 4 4 0 0 0 1 0 86 4
  1. ^ Includes Coppa Italia
  2. ^ Appearance in Serie A relegation play-off

International

As of match played 9 June 2025[16]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Italy 2025 2 0
Total 2 0

References

  1. ^ "Verona vs. Empoli - 15 December 2021 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  2. ^ Nalesso, Pietro (16 January 2022). "Verona, Coppola debutta anche in Serie A". MondoPrimavera (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  3. ^ Zarra, Angelo (27 February 2022). "Hellas, esordio da titolare in Serie A per Coppola". MondoPrimavera (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  4. ^ Brianti, Simone (21 April 2022). "Ufficiale: Hellas Verona, il baby Coppola prolunga il contratto con gli scaligeri". MondoPrimavera (in Italian). Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Napoli come from behind to edge out struggling Verona". beIN SPORTS. 4 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Albion sign defender Coppola". Brighton & Hive Albion FC. 17 June 2025.
  7. ^ Naylor, Andy (17 June 2025). "Brighton sign centre-back Diego Coppola from Hellas Verona". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  8. ^ "Deze 'Nederlander' speelt voor Jong Italië: "Ik spreek een beetje Nederlands"". ESPN.nl. 22 March 2025.
  9. ^ "Diego Coppola convocato dall'Italia Under 19". Tutto Hellas Verona (in Italian). 24 August 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  10. ^ "Raduno dei giocatori di interesse nazionale, iniziato il lavoro del secondo gruppo azzurro" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Stage a Coverciano dal 20 al 22 dicembre, convocati due gruppi di calciatori di interesse nazionale" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Six players recalled and one first call-up in latest Italy national team squad for 2026 World Cup qualifiers". Football Italia. 26 May 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  13. ^ "Coppola: "Not the debut I hoped for, Italy had wrong approach"". Yahoo Sports. Yahoo. Retrieved 7 June 2025 – via Football Italia.
  14. ^ a b Nalesso, Pietro (18 March 2022). "Diego Coppola, il "baby" mastino scaligero". MondoPrimavera (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  15. ^ Diego Coppola at Soccerway. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Diego Coppola". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
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