Federico Bernardeschi

Federico Bernardeschi (born 16 February 1994) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC.

His nickname is "Brunelleschi", after the famous Florentine architect, for his technique and elegance on the pitch.

Bernardeschi began his playing career with Atletico Carrara and Polisportiva Ponzano.

In 2003, he moved to the Fiorentina youth system, where he spent 10 years, before spending one season on loan at Crotone during the 2013–14 season.

He returned to Fiorentina the following season.

A year later he transferred to Ponzano, a football school of Empoli, before arriving at Fiorentina, who assigned him to the "Pulcini" age group at the age of nine in 2003.

At international level, Bernardeschi has represented Italy at youth level since 2011, eventually making his senior debut in 2016, and was a member of the nation's squads at UEFA Euro 2016 and UEFA Euro 2020, winning the latter tournament.

Bernardeschi began playing football at age six with Atletico Carrara.

After passing through the ranks of the Fiorentina youth system, he spent the 2013–14 season on loan at Crotone in Serie B.

He made his professional debut at 19 years old, on 8 September 2013 against Pescara, when he entered the field after 75 minutes, replacing Soufiane Bidaoui.

At the end of the season Bernareschi scored 12 goals in 39 appearances and Crotone exercised the option to acquire half the player's contract in co-ownership.

On 20 June 2014, Fiorentina officially redeemed Crotone's half of Bernardeschi's contract, and he was inserted into the first team under the direction of Vincenzo Montella.

During the 2014–15 season he obtained 10 appearances and three goals in all competitions, partially hampered by a fracture to his ankle

which kept him out from November 2014.

He made his Serie A debut on 14 September 2014, at the age of 20, coming off the bench in the 57th minute of a 0–0 home draw against Genoa.

Four days later, he made his debut in European debut in a 3–0 home win over Guingamp in the Europa League, in which he also scored his first goal for the club.

After returning to the team following his injury, he scored his first goal in Serie A on the final matchday of the season, in a 3–0 home win over Chievo on 31 May 2015.

He was awarded the number 10 shirt at the start of the 2015–16 season, previously worn by the likes of Giancarlo Antognoni and Roberto Baggio.

On 26 November 2015, Bernardeschi scored two goals in a 2–2 away draw against Basel in the Europa League group stage.

On 6 February 2016, Bernardeschi scored his second goal in Serie A, during a 1–1 away draw against Bologna.

In July 2017, he was sold to Juventus, with whom he won three consecutive Serie A titles, among other trophies.

In July 2022, upon the completion of his contract with Juventus, Bernardeschi became a free agent and signed with Toronto FC.

On 24 July 2017, Bernardeschi was signed by Juventus, one of Fiorentina's main rivals, for €40 million on a five-year deal.

Although he was named as a possible candidate for the number 10 shirt in the media, he eventually chose the number 33, stating: "The No. 10 is a number I like but I'll need to earn it. Taking the No. 33 is the correct choice at this point."

On 13 August, he made his club debut, coming on as a substitute in a 3–2 defeat to Lazio in the 2017 Supercoppa Italiana.

He made his UEFA Champions League debut on 12 September, coming on as a second-half substitute for Rodrigo Bentancur in a 3–0 away loss to Barcelona.

On 1 October, he made his first start for Juventus, and scored his first goal for the club, also assisting another for Gonzalo Higuaín, in a 2–2 away draw against Atalanta.

He scored his first Champions League goal on 5 December, after coming off the bench, netting his club's second goal in a 2–0 away win over Olympiacos; the result allowed Juventus to advance to the knock-out stages of the competition.

On 9 February 2018, Bernardeschi returned to Florence, receiving vulgar insults from home fans throughout the match; he scored a free kick in the second half to silence the crowd.

Bernardeschi scored his first goal of the 2018–19 season in Juventus's opening Serie A match on 18 August 2018, netting the winner in a 3–2 away victory over Chievo in injury time.

In 2019, Bernardeschi revealed that he used to struggle with heart problems at around the age of 16.

On 12 March 2019, Bernardeschi made a great sprint that resulted in a penalty kick in a 3–0 win over Atlético Madrid in the Champions League.

In that match, he also made an assist.

On 4 July 2020, Bernardeschi made his 100th appearance for Juventus in a 4–1 home win over rivals Torino in Serie A. On 26 July, he scored his first and only league goal of the season in a 2–0 home win over Sampdoria, which allowed Juventus to clinch the Serie A title.

During the second-half of the 2020–21 season under new manager Andrea Pirlo, Bernardeschi was converted into a full-back for Juventus after excelling in the position in a Coppa Italia win against Genoa on 13 January 2021.

On 15 July 2022, Bernardeschi signed for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC as a designated player on a four-year contract; he reunited with Italian compatriots Lorenzo Insigne and Domenico Criscito.

He made his debut for the club on 23 July 2022, in a 4–0 home victory against Charlotte FC.

Bernardeschi assisted the second goal of the match scored by Michael Bradley and scored the third goal of the match, despite only featuring in the opening half.

The performance earned him a spot on the MLS Team of the Week.

In the 2022 Canadian Championship Final against Vancouver three days later at BC Place, he set-up Lukas MacNaughton's temporary equaliser in the second half with a trivela cross to tie the game 1–1; he later converted a penalty in the resulting shoot-out, although Toronto ultimately lost 5–3.