Giovanni Simeone

Giovanni Pablo Simeone Baldini (born 5 July 1995) also known as Gio Simeone, or “El Cholito”, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Napoli and the Argentina national team.

The son of former Argentine international footballer Diego Simeone and Carolina Baldini, Giovanni Simeone was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, while his father was playing for Atlético Madrid.

His family moved to Italy in 1997, but later returned to Spain in 2003 following his father's career club changes.

Two years later he moved to Argentina, and joined River Plate's youth setup in 2008 when his father was appointed coach of the first team.

He has two younger brothers, Gianluca and Giuliano, both footballers.

After progressing through the youth ranks, Simeone signed a three-year professional deal with the club in November 2011.

In July 2013, he was called up by the main squad for the pre-season; Simeone made his league debut on 4 August 2013, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 away defeat against Gimnasia La Plata.

In March 2014, Simeone was called up by manager Alejandro Sabella to train with the senior Argentina national football team as a 'sparring' partner.

On 6 July 2015, Simeone joined fellow Argentine Primera División side Banfield on a season-long loan deal.

On 12 July 2015, he scored the match-winning goal on his debut in a 1–0 victory against Quilmes.

On 6 January 2015 the technical director of the Argentine U-20 football team, Humberto Grondona, released a list of 32 players for pre-tournament training.

Giovanni "Gio" Simeone was among those called up for the upcoming U-20 South American Championship, which was scheduled to be held in Uruguay.

Later that month he renewed his contract, signing until 2016.

Simeone scored his first professional goal on 8 September, netting the second of a 3–0 home win against Tigre.

On 18 August 2016, Simeone signed for Italian club Genoa for €3 million.

He scored his first goal, on his first start for the club, in a 1–1 draw with Pescara on 25 September 2016.

On 27 November, Simeone netted a brace in Genoa 3–1 win over Serie A leaders Juventus.

Among speculation of Atlético Madrid's interest in signing the young player to be coached by his father Diego Simeone, Giovanni signed with Serie A club Fiorentina on 16 August 2017, for an undisclosed fee.

On 29 April 2018, Simeone scored his first hat-trick in Fiorentina's 3–0 league win against Napoli, effectively ending his future club's title hopes.

On 30 August 2019, Simeone joined Cagliari on a year-long loan deal from Fiorentina, including an obligatory purchase clause at the end of the period.

On 1 September, he made his debut in a 2–1 defeat against Inter Milan.

Simeone's first goal came on 15 September, in a 3–1 win against Parma.

After an inconsistent first part of the season, he scored in four consecutive games upon returning from the COVID-19 lockdown; he finished the seasons with 12 goals overall.

In the following season, Simeone scored a brace in a 3–2 win against Torino; he ended the 2020–21 season with six goals scored.

On 26 August 2021, Simeone joined Serie A side Hellas Verona on a season-long loan deal with an option to make the deal permanent.

On 24 October, he scored all four goals in a 4–1 win over Lazio.

It was his second hat-trick in Serie A, and both came against sides managed by Maurizio Sarri.

On 30 October, Simeone netted two goals against Juventus, for the second time in his career, as Verona won 2–1.

On 17 June 2022, he joined Hellas Verona on a permanent deal with a contract lasting until 2026.

On 18 August 2022, Simeone's signing with Napoli was officially announced on a loan with an option to buy, which became obligatory upon meeting certain sporting conditions.

He made his debut for the club on 28 August against Fiorentina, his former team, replacing Victor Osimhen in the final 15 minutes of the match, which ended in a 0–0 draw.

On 7 September, Simeone made his UEFA Champions League debut, once again replacing Osimhen, and scored his first goal both in the competition and for his new club, contributing to Napoli's 4–1 win over Liverpool.

On 18 September, he scored his first league goal for Napoli, getting the winner in his side's 2–1 victory against AC Milan at the San Siro.

Simeone then recorded his first brace for the club on 26 October, in a 3–0 Champions League home win against Rangers, thereby becoming the second Argentine player after his father to score four goals in his first four matches in Europe's top competition.

On 17 January 2023, in his Coppa Italia debut with the club, Simeone scored Napoli's second goal in their home match against Cremonese, although his side would still be eliminated following a defeat on penalties, with the match having ended 2–2 after extra time.

Simeone went on to score the decisive goal in the dying minutes of Napoli's 2–1 home win against Roma on 29 January.

On 4 May, Napoli would secure their first league title in 34 years following a 1–1 draw against Udinese, which was also the first league title Simeone won in his professional career.

On 15 June 2023, Simeone signed a permanent contract with Napoli, valid until 2026, with an option to extend until 2027.

Giovanni Simeone was initially a part of the Argentine Under-18 team.

His outstanding performances earned him a call up in the U-20 team when he was just 17 years old.