Stefano Napoleoni (born 26 June 1986) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie D club Real Monterotondo.
Club career
Widzew Łódź In 2006, Napoleoni was spotted by Zbigniew Boniek during a Promozione amateur game in Rome, where he scored three goals; he was signed by Widzew Łódź shortly afterwards, thus becoming the first Italian footballer to ever play in the Polish Ekstraklasa league. Later that season, he was also joined by fellow Italian player Joseph Dayo Oshadogan. He moved to Levadiakos after Widzew Łódź were relegated at the end of 2008.
Levadiakos In January 2009, he signed for Greek club Levadiakos after APOEL FC had withdrawn its interest in signing him player. Throughout the years, he became an idol for Levadiakos' fans. In July 2012, six months before his contract with Levadiakos expired, Napoleoni was attracting interest from West Bromwich Albion. He left Levadiakos in December 2012 at the end of his contract. Overall, Napoleoni played 98 games, scored 28 goals and made 11 assists while at the club.
Atromitos F.C. In January 2013 he signed for Greek club Atromitos F.C.
In April 2015, as his contract was soon to expire, he was gathering interest from AEK, Sassuolo and PAOK.
On 3 May 2015, Atromitos played against Panionios, which would decide whether Atromitos would enter the playoffs. Napoleoni scored his second career hat-trick and lead his team to a 3-1 victory, promoting his club to the Greek playoffs. Being one of the most stable and most valuable players of Atromitos F.C. during the last seasons, he cashed his offer with a new four-year contract (2 + 2 years), which would have tied him with the club until mid-2019.
İstanbul Başakşehir On 31 January 2016, Napoleoni signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Super Lig side İstanbul Başakşehir for a fee of €400,000. He spoke to club's official website about his decision to continue his career in Turkey with İstanbul Başakşehir, after three years at the club: "I need more than a thousand words to describe my feelings right now, I am happy but also sad for leaving after three years, which I will never forget. I want to thank my teammates, all the managers I worked with, the president, Mr. Spanos, the Technical Manager, Mr. Angelopoulos and especially the fans who supported me during good and difficult times. I would have never made this career step without all of them; they helped me improve as a player and as a person, so I am sure that in the future I will wear Atromitos' shirt again".
Göztepe On 2 September 2019, Napoleoni moved to another Super Lig club Göztepe for an undisclosed fee, on a one-year deal (with an option of another year).
Ümraniyespor On 7 September 2021, Napoleoni signed for TFF First League side Ümraniyespor.
Later years in Italy In November 2022, Napoleoni returned to his native Italy to join Serie D club Roma City. After making only nine appearances with Roma City in a lacklustre season ended with relegation, in August 2023 Napoleoni switched sides, joining Serie D club Real Monterotondo.
Personal life Napoleoni is a fan of AS Roma. In 2013, he said, "I dream of playing in Roma with the phenomenon Francesco Totti. I was on the field against PAOK, I scored two goals, and we won. In the locker room, my teammates told me the result of Roma vs Lazio and, for me, it was a total massacre. If Rudi Garcia called me, I could go to Rome on foot."
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsWidzew Łódź2006–07Ekstraklasa17400——1742007–08Ekstraklasa27700——2772008–09I liga17010——180Total 61111000006211Levadiakos2008–09Super League Greece8300——832009–10Super League Greece26710——2772010–11Football League Greece32810—303682011–12Super League Greece18800——1882012–13Super League Greece10000——100Total 94262000309926Atromitos2012–13Super League Greece10100—641652013–14Super League Greece24730205334102014–15Super League Greece301310206039132015–16Super League Greece1735441—268Total 8124948117711536Başakşehir2015–16Süper Lig11210——1222016–17Süper Lig16494——2582017–18Süper Lig1822191—2942018–19Süper Lig2632020—303Total 7111145111009617Göztepe2019–20Süper Lig29600——2962020–21Süper Lig15120——171Total 44720——467Ümraniyespor2021–22TFF First League13311——144ASD Roma City FC2022–23Serie D90——0090Real Monterotondo 2023–24Serie D298——10308Career total 402902910192217471109
Honours Widzew Łódź I liga: 2008–09
References
External links