Tommaso Pobega

Tommaso Pobega (Italian pronunciation: [tomˈmaːzo poˈbeːɡa] born 15 July 1999), known as a Rocket, is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club AC Milan and the Italy national team.

Tommaso Pobega

Pobega with AC Milan in 2022
Personal information
Date of birth	(1999-07-15) 15 July 1999 (age 24)
Place of birth	Trieste, Italy
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)^[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	AC Milan
Number	32
Youth career
0000–2013	Triestina
2013–2018	AC Milan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018–	AC Milan	29	(2)
2018–2019	→ Ternana (loan)	32	(3)
2019–2020	→ Pordenone (loan)	33	(5)
2020–2021	→ Spezia (loan)	20	(6)
2021–2022	→ Torino (loan)	33	(4)
International career^‡
2019	Italy U20	2	(0)
2020–2021	Italy U21	6	(3)
2022–	Italy	3	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:02, 11 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 September 2022

Club career

AC Milan

Pobega appeared in friendlies for the main squad of AC Milan in the autumn of 2016.

Loan to Ternana

On 23 August 2018, Pobega joined to Serie C club Ternana on loan for the 2018–19 season.^[2] On 7 October he made his professional debut in Serie C for Ternana as a substitute replacing Giuseppe Vives in the 73rd minute of a 1–1 home draw against Renate.^[3] Two weeks later he was sent-off, as a substitute, with a double yellow card in the 87th minute of a 1–1 away draw against Triestina.^[4] On 7 November he played his first entire match for Ternana, a 1–0 away win over Fano.^[5] On 27 December he scored his first professional goal in the 69th minute of a 2–1 home win over Teramo.^[6] On 9 February 2019, Pobega scored twice in a 2–2 home draw against Virtus Verona.^[7] Pobega ended his season-long loan to Ternana with 32 appearances, 3 goals and 3 assists.^[8]

Loan to Pordenone

On 15 July 2019, Pobega joined Serie B club Pordenone a loan until 30 June 2020.^[9][10] On 11 August he made his debut and he scored his first goal for the club in the 44th minute of a 2–1 home defeat against FeralpiSalò in the second round of Coppa Italia, he played the entire match.^[11] On 26 August he made his Serie B debut for Pordenone and he scored twice in a 3–0 home win over against Frosinone, he was replaced by Simone Pasa after 81 minutes.^[12] Five days later he played his first entire match in Serie B, a 4–2 away defeat against Pescara.^[13] On 5 October, Pobega scored his third goal in Serie B in the 40th minute of a 2–0 home win over Empoli.^[14]

Loan to Spezia

On 24 August 2020, Pobega signed a new contract with Milan until 30 June 2025.^[15] On 23 September 2020, Pobega joined promoted Serie A club Spezia on loan until 30 June 2021.^[16] On 27 September, he made his debut for Spezia in a 4–1 home defeat to Sassuolo.^[17] On 1 November 2020, he scored his first goal for Spezia in a 4–1 home defeat to Juventus.^[18]

Return to AC Milan

Pobega returned to AC Milan for the 2021–22 preseason. He made his first appearance for the club on 17 July 2021, in the friendly match won 6–0 against Pro Sesto.

Loan to Torino

On 27 August 2021, Pobega joined Torino on loan until 30 June 2022.^[19]

Contract extension with Milan

On 5 August 2022, Pobega extended his contract until 30 June 2027.^[20] He scored his first competitive goal on 14th September 2022 against Dinamo Zagreb in Champions League match coming in as a substitute.^[21]

In December 2023, Pobega suffered a rectus femoris injury, which was operated in Turku, Finland, by surgeon Lasse Lempainen in late December 2023.^[22][23]

International career

On 12 November 2020, Pobega made his debut with the Italy U21 team, starting in a qualifying match 2–1 away win over Iceland, scoring both of the goals for Italy.^[24]

He has been called up by the national team for the first time on 5 November 2021, for the matches against Switzerland and Northern Ireland for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.^[25]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 11 May 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ternana (loan)	2018–19	Serie C	32	3	0	0	—		—		32	3
Pordenone (loan)	2019–20	Serie B	33	5	1	1	—		—		34	6
Spezia (loan)	2020–21	Serie A	20	6	0	0	—		—		20	6
Torino (loan)	2021–22	Serie A	33	4	0	0	—		—		33	4
Milan	2022–23	Serie A	19	2	1	0	8^[a]	1	0	0	28	3
	2023–24	Serie A	10	0	0	0	4^[a]	0	—		14	0
	Total		29	2	1	0	12	1	0	0	42	3
Career total			147	20	2	1	12	1	0	0	161	22

1. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 26 September 2022^[26]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Italy	2022	3	0
Total		3	0

References

1. "Tommaso Pobega: Biography". A.C. Milan. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
2. "Dall'AC Milan arriva in prestito Tommaso Pobega" [Tommaso Pobega arrives on loan from AC Milan]. Ternana Calcio. 23 August 2018.
3. "Game Report by Soccerway". Soccerway. 7 October 2018.
4. "Triestina vs. Ternana - 20 October 2018 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
5. "Fano vs. Ternana - 7 November 2018 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
6. "Ternana vs. Teramo - 27 December 2018 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
7. "Ternana vs. Virtus Verona - 9 February 2019 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
8. "Italy - T. Pobega - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
9. "COMUNICATO UFFICIALE: TOMMASO POBEGA". AC Milan. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
10. "Il centrocampista scuola Milan Pobega veste il neroverde" [Milan's academy graduate, Pobega will be wearing black-and-green]. pordenonecalcio.com (in Italian). Pordenone Calcio. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
11. "Pordenone vs. FeralpiSalò - 11 August 2019 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
12. "Pordenone vs. Frosinone - 26 August 2019 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
13. "Pescara vs. Pordenone - 1 September 2019 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
14. "Pordenone vs. Empoli - 5 October 2019 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
15. "COMUNICATO UFFICIALE: TOMMASO POBEGA". Retrieved 25 August 2020.
16. "COMUNICATO UFFICIALE: TOMMASO POBEGA".
17. "Serie A, Spezia-Sassuolo 1-4: poker firmato Djuricic, Berardi, Defrel e Caputo" (in Italian). mediaset.it. 27 September 2020.
18. "Pobega: 'Spezia played a good game'". Football Italia. 2 November 2020.
19. "Official Statement: Tommaso Pobega". acmilan.com. Associazione Calcio Milan. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
20. "Tommaso Pobega, new contract extension with AC Milan: the official statement". AC Milan. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
21. UEFA.com. "Milan-Dinamo Zagreb | UEFA Champions League 2022/23". UEFA.com. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
22. Suomalainen huippulääkäri leikkasi viikossa kolme maailmantähteä, Ilta-Sanomat, 22 December 2023
23. OFFICIAL: POBEGA UNDERWENT SURGERY TO REPAIR HIS LEFT RECTUS FEMORIS TENDON, RECOVERY TIME ESTIMATED TO BE 4 MONTHS, rossoneriblog.com, 21 December 2023
24. "Pobega 'wanted' to be decisive". Football Italia. 12 November 2020.
25. "È Pobega la novità di Mancini. Tornano Tonali, Belotti e Immobile" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
26. "Tommaso Pobega". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 23 September 2022.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tommaso Pobega.

• Profile at the AC Milan website
• Tommaso Pobega – UEFA competition record ()